The Great American Rebate Scam

There has been much ballyhooing lately about the "economic stimulus rebate" and many otherwise intelligent economic experts and talking heads have been busy advising the public how best to invest and/or spend their windfall.

Merchants as varied as car dealerships to your local mega-store have been running ads enticing you to spend "your money" at their places of business-with the underlying theme being to parrot the administration's assertation that by spending, rather than saving this bonanza, you can do your patriotic part to help the staggering economy get back on it's feet and focus our national attention once more to spreading democracy around the world.

The real problem here is that no one seems to want to talk about the elephant in the room; the elephant being that the funds that make up this generous hand out by our beloved government is, in fact, stolen from you in the first place.

Folks from all walks of life who would be aghast at the suggestion that they were taking government welfare are risking carpal tunnel syndrome by logging onto their banks' online services in hopes that the rebate fairy has visited-while never giving a single thought as to from whence the money comes.

"Who cares? Now we can get that new stove, camping gear,prom dress, piano lessons, vacation in Mexico!"

The most ironic part is that in the very halls of Congress that excreted such stopgap measures, walks a senator from Texas who has for many years, warned of exactly this kind of economic consequences of action; and who has long been ignored when he put forth intelligent and easily applicable solutions to out-of-control spending. Of course the man in question is Ron Paul and in spite of the fact that all three of the "mainstream" candidates for president have paid lip service to adopting some (but certainly not nearly enough) of his economic ideas and only after it became obvious that Dr. Paul had tapped into a wellspring of support for his common sense approach to the devaluating dollar-which was another reason the three first tier players had to scramble to appear as if they had a plan for the coming recession.
The powers that be seem to think that the average taxpayer would rather pawn off paying the proverbial piper to future generations than to exact some real world changes to our pork laden beauracracy...that we can be bought for a few bucks in trinkets and gadgets. And unfortunately, they seem to be right-at least they are in my particular case. Well, maybe not technically trinkets and gadgets, more along the lines of groceries and gas but still...

How wonderful it would be to say that I was using my ill-gotten bootie on guns and ammo or non-perishable goods, or even better, to send it back with an admonishment to stop stealing from the hand that feeds you; but that'll never happen. What I can do and what I will do is cut as many corners as possible in order to spend the lion's share on the wonderful publications by LaissezFaire Books and the JPFO; books and information that will go much farther in helping to get the government beast off our backs than any old Ipod could ever do.

The other thing I will do is continue to work hard locally in spreading Dr. Paul's message and to campaign tirelessly for delegates to help bring lasting change to the Republican conventions and bylaws. Real change, not the chump change the other guys keep yakking about.

And lastly, when the smoke clears next January 20th, no matter which Stepford candidate wins the "election", I will loudly and clearly let it be known that

YOU CAN'T BLAME ME, I VOTED FOR RON PAUL!!!