The Birk Economic Recovery Plan Correction

Below you will find an intersting email that I received. It was so intriguing that I was compelled to do the math. Guess what? It didn't check out quite the way Mr. Birks did. Do the math real quick and let me know what you come up with...my answer is at the bottom.

"Recovery Plan
too bad this guy isn't running for office
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Subject: The Birk Economic Recovery Plan
Hi Pals,
I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.
Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.
Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.
My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.
Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.
Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595,000.00.
What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college - it'll be there
Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car - create jobs
Invest in the market - capital drives growth
Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else
Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.
00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed
by one of our candidates for President.
If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!
As for AIG - liquidate it Sell off its parts.
Let America n General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here's my ra tional e. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.
Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."
But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion
We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC ..
And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.
Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
Kindest personal regards,
Birk
T. J.
Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic
PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billio n!! "


Sounds great! But when I divided the $85,000,000,000 by the 200,000,000 people, I only got $425 dollars... am I wrong?

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Indiana Quake

April 18, 2008

An earthquake?

In Indiana?

Why not, we've had just about every kind of weather this month alone. It happened at 4:37 this morning. Or 5:37 depending on who your state representative is. A 5.2 magnitude earthquake is a pretty big deal around here.

Lights went out & panic ensued statewide. Martial law was enacted followed by looting and rioting. In all 48 people were killed or maimed.

Okay maybe that part didn't happen. Actually most of us slept right through it only to find out
much later in the day that it happened.

Can't spend too much time talkin about it time to plant the corn!

Where to find the value of antiques for free

Antiques and 'antiquing' have become quite popular in recent years. It seems especially so during the warmer months of the year. Alas, spring is finally in sight for those who enjoy the garage sale and flea market treasure hunts. For those with a sharp eye, there are definitely some gems out there to be found. But, what do you do when you get home with your treasure? Run out to the local dealer and ask for an appraisal? After long hours of searching, I finally found a FREE database. Believe it or not, it's through the local library's website.

Once you're on the library's website, you go to library resources, online databases, and look for the antiques database. There is a hyperlink that says "click here" to enter your library card number. This database can be used to evaluate almost every kind of antique in your collection. Search through thousands of antiques including furniture, glass, pottery and porcelain, paintings, prints, clocks, toys, dolls, advertising collectibles, books, autographs, lamps, silver, firearms and historical documents. Each record includes information on when and where the item was sold and a color picture of the item.

Digital to analog TV converter box

Just picked up my new Digital Stream DTX9900 digital to analog TV converter box. We sent away for our $40 coupon about 10 weeks ago. Along with the coupon we also got a list of retailers in our area where we could use it. It seems that Wal-mart and Radioshack were the only stores in our area that could take the coupon. So we went to Radioshack (not a big fan of Wal-mart). Radioshack only had one model in stock so our decision was pretty easy. Our cost was right around $25 after the rebate.

After putting the groceries away I got right on connecting the box. The hardest part of the installation was getting the cardboard box open! I plugged the converter into the wall, unhooked the antenna cable from the VCR, plugged the antenna wire into the new box, and plugged the cable from the new box into the VCR.

Now comes the setup. The converter came with a short setup manual which was really easy to follow. Just set the TV to channel 3. Turn on the converter and follow the instructions on the short setup manual. It took right around 15 minutes for the whole procedure, not including putting away the groceries.

The picture quality is so much better. I'm posting pics both are shots of tv's in my house- one with only an antenna and one with the antenna and converter. We are pleased with the difference. Our opinion is that it's worth the $25.

Good luck with yours!