Pumps' Perplexities

The prices have yet to change but they are
about to change.....

Friday night, in my house, is pizza night,
just like I expect in a vast number of
American homes.......

My pizza man is scared.....He is a small
independent which bought a franchise
from a newer chain with a "high end"
product.....His raw material costs have
gone up, the financial crisis has more
people using a CREDIT CARD to buy
pizza and he is wondering where the
CASH is.....

Credit is beginning to "dry up" and
harder to get......One of my credit card
companies just informed me, by mail,
that if there is a "glitch" in my credit
the Annual Percentage Rate will be
29.99%......That is what "Joey The
Greek" get......It is usury.....

The financial "house of cards" may have
collapsed but all the "cards have not yet
been played".....Hang on folks.....Pumps

Poor Tim Kaine, Governor of Virginia.....
He only has two more years on his current
job and then there is really no future......

He was one of the first to back Barack Obama
for president, because he WANTS a job in
two years.....

He is a Democrat, supports Obama and
wants to "carry" the State in the election.....
He will not quit as Governor because the
job will be turned over to a Republican...And
that is a no - no......He can not run for Senate
because Webb is in there now and Mark
Warner will win in November......That makes
two Dems in office with their next elections
in 2012 and 2014 respectfully......No job there
for Kaine......

Next change for a job in Washington DC is
2010 if he wants to run against Eric Cantor.....
Cantor has a "good hold" on the congressional
seat and Kaine could lose......He really would
not like that......

Poor Tim Kaine may be looking for his next
job at Monster.com.....If Obama does win,
maybe Obama will throw him a bone....But
I suspect it will be a "quick thanks" and
then it will be "under the bus".....

Ain't politics just GREAT.......Pumps

I ain't no "Joe the Plumber", but I am close.....
I'am "The Pump Doctor".....

Same type of guy.......A little in debt, once in
a while.......Divorced, once and learned how
to cook my own meals.....

Had a chance to open my own business,
but, there was too many Federal regulations,
ID numbers and quarterly taxes, on yet
unearned, money that went along with the
prospect of business ownership......Then
there was all the State and County forms
and taxes on sales and personal property.....

I SAID NO......And, retired in peace...
Good thing I was old and able to do so.....
Pumps

Today it was announced that GM, the
automobile manufacturer, will lay off some
1,600 employees beginning in 2009......

Now once the employee gets laid off
he/she will receive for his/her first 48 weeks of
"non work" the equivalent of his/her full pay
from GM and State unemployment checks....

After 48 weeks he/she will have to go to a "Job
Bank" and then receive only 85% of his/her full
pay, with benefits......

After two years he/she will lose his/her pay and
benefits unless he/she gets another job with
GM.......

FACT: If you buy a GM car in 2010, somewhere
in the price is the cost of a few guys/gals just
sitting home, reading the paper, and getting
paid by GM to do so......

And people want to know why America is
in the current economic position that it is
in today......Pumps

Enough already......With about 22 days to go, I
feel like a cancer patient awaiting the results
of a biopsy.....I just want to get it over with
and find out the results.......

No matter which man is the winner, the
average American middle class person will
get "screwed".....

Should McCain win, the congress will be in
control of the opposite political party and
"gridlock" will return and again the country
will move slowly to becoming a socialist
state.......

If Obama wins, the congress being of the
same political party, the process to socialism
will be hastened.....

America will join German, France, England
and other smaller countries which are using
the socialistic model of government......And,
the middle class will cease to exist.......

No more poor, middle and rich.....Just poor
and rich.....Back to serf and landowner......
Pumps

There is a group of people in America along with
others in the world that have a political theory
that the world is moving too fast......Well people,
it is slowing down and let us see if this group
of people will finally find happiness......I doubt
it but here are some thoughts, of others.....

The Recession will reduce the amount of CO2
emissions therefore Global Warming will no
longer be a problem.......

The Recession will cause the price of gasoline
to decrease because no one can afford....

The Recession will reduce the amount of cars
being sold therefore helping the CO2 problem..

The Recession will prevent "suburban sprawl"
because no one can afford houses in the
"burbs" anymore......

The Recession will cause people to consume
less....But have no fear Campbell Soup stocks
are up this week......

I hate to tell the younger generation this,
but it sounds like we are back in the '40s
again......So much for all of THEIR
advancements.....Now they will have to live
as their grandparents did....Shame......
Pumps

Everybody always is looking to place blame for
something that has happened in the world.....
Like who caused "this" or who started "that"....

Well I have the answer on Global Warming -
James Watt 1736-1819.......

You see this Scotsman sold the first
commercial steam engine in 1776....A famous
year.....It powered a coal mine water pump....

Then the engine, powered by more coal,
begot other machines which in turn begot
other machines, like the internal combustion
engine.....

All these engines doing things became known
as the Industrial Revolution.....All these
engines produced carbon.....All this carbon
is said to be killing the earth......

Like I said it's James Watt's fault......Don't
you feel better now.......Pumps

Many years ago, you were taught to save
money, buy what you wanted and OWN it......
There was a little credit in those days......
Perhaps the local grocer, put you on the "cuff"
for a few days until a pay check came in.....
You may have borrowed on Wednesday for
a pay back on Friday.......

In today's world people do not OWN a lot
of their "stuff"......OK, we know that the
house and car HAVE to be bought on credit,
but that little bunch of credit cards in your
back pocket, let you buy your sneakers,
groceries, gasoline and other items.....These
items you DO NOT OWN.....Let's face it...
It seems like you are renting them, with
interest, until you fully pay off their
purchase......

On any application form, for anything,
there is a line about your home......It asks
the question do you "rent or own" your
home.....There are only about 25% of the
people in America who DO OWN their
home.....The rest are paying off a mortgage....

The pity about the current crisis is that
the Plasma TV, furnishings, and most of
the food and clothing in the same house
are NOT OWNED but mortgaged also.....

All this proves that a great axiom of business
has failed....."You can not live off other
peoples money"......"You must have your
OWN" to survive......Pumps