American Made or Bust !

My primary New Years resolution (beginning now) is to buy as many “American Made” products as possible. That is something we as individuals can do (be we conservative, liberal, independent) to help improve our national economy. I suppose we could go out and protest, burn a few buildings, and bust out a few windows, but I’ll leave that to someone else.

Leona and I went to Costco today. We were lucky that most of our purchases were produced here in the good old U.S. However, there were two exceptions: 1. Folgers Coffee – Their coffee beans come from South America. Hawaii does grow coffee beans but I’ll have to research where they are sold, etc. 2. We did buy some blueberries from Argentina. I know blueberries are grown in the U.S. so we’ll have to make a different purchasing decision in the future. I don’t expect to be perfect at this right from the get-go. It’s an evolving process.

I invite all of my Facebook friends to join me in this effort. If we share our experiences, we can help each other with ideas and hopefully, help in some small way to improve the unemployment problem we have.

Going Out of Business Sale

Sadly, another small business went under recently.  Sierra Nursery, a family owned nursery in Roseville is closing its doors.  According to this article, it was the 5th family owned nursery to go out of business in the past two or three months.  This economy (along with the weather last spring) has made it very difficult for these small businesses to survive.

I am almost feeling guilty about taking advantage of their 50% off sales today to purchase some needed fertilizers.  But – that’s capitalism.  There are always some winners and some losers.  Still, I hated to see it happen.

Let’s wish the Adams family good luck going forward!

Texas Golf Wrap-Up

All good things must end.  We had a wonderful time in San Antonio – not only because of the golf but also because of the other things we were able to do.  Plus, lots of great family interaction and conversation.  Sunday and Monday was spent taking people to the airport – Jason’s family on Sunday and Eric on Monday.  Early Tuesday morning, Phyllis, Leona and I headed back to California by way of El Paso, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon south rim, Las Vegas and finally home.  It was a long drive.  We spent two nights in Las Vegas.  We went to the Rio Seafood buffet the 2nd evening.  Unfortunately, it was not near as good as I remember it being at previous times.  They no longer have the Rock Lobster that was so good.

I am posting a few pictures that we took on the way home.  If you haven’t been to the Grand Canyon, you should go.  It is amazing.

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Winters, CA Day Trip

Leona and I decided to take a day trip to Winters. We had driven by on the freeway many times but had never stopped. In addition, I was interested in seeing the Putah Creek cafe. There was an article about it recently in the paper. We didn’t eat there (I have a cold and didn’t want other diners to throw their biscuits at me when I went into a coughing and blowing fit). However, we did pick up some carrot cake to take home. Instead, we got some sandwiches at the Preserve and had a picnic lunch in the park.

All in all it was a nice little trip. Took about 3+ hours. We were ready for a nap shortly after. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon.

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We also bought some strawberries.

Class Warfare

Here is a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln which I think perfectly fits our issues today.

“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage
payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s
initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for
them, what they could and should do for themselves.”

Occupy Washington

The “Occupy Wall Street” crowd are protesting in the wrong place.  Almost all of our economic problems can be blamed on Congress, both past and present.  The loopholes that allow large corporations or wealthy people to avoid taxes have always been created and passed by Congress.  Both political parties are guilty of this.  For many years, Congress has used loopholes and various deductions in an attempt to social engineer.

Fixing many of our current problems will require a substantial overhaul of the Internal Revenue Code.  Many, if not most, of the current deductions should be eliminated.  If loopholes are eliminated, then rates could be lowered, and equitable income tax payments would be more easily achieved.  The rich would still pay a much higher percentage and many of the poor would pay nothing at all.  Isn’t that really what most people think should happen?

Reforming the tax code is one action that would provide far-reaching impact on the future economic health of the nation.  Isn’t it about time we get started?