My Little Website is a Microcosm of the Economy

As a guilty pleasure I collect antiques and quirky collectibles. As most collectors know, one's collection can sometimes overrun your life and there comes a time when the collection needs to be thinned. As a result I have a booth at a local antique mall and I also have an online shop at Ruby Lane.com. I am an aucton and estate sale junkie and this is relaxation therapy for me. But when I come home with things that I love, I also have to have an outlet for the extra things that find their way into my home.

When I first started my online shop 5 years ago, my clientele was primarily domestic with only occasional international sales. As the years have passed, the frequency of international sales has gradually inched up, but in the early part of 2008, with $4 per gallon gas and a weakened dollar, I noticed that I was constantly running to the post office with international sales and my domestic sales were sliding downward. Overall my sales were the same, but the balance of international and domestic sales was changing.

Within the last 8 weeks, however, with both the foreign and US stock markets becoming volatile, I have noticed a decline in overall sales, both domestic and foreign. October was one of the worst months ever for my online shop. This mirrors the climate of uncertainty in our country right now and the tendency to pull back and not spend on anything that is not essential.

I hate to think that this will only worsen under an Obama presidency. As his threshold for a tax increase now looms at $120,000 and below and is probably falling, an increased tax burden as well as the price increases that will be passed on to the public by increased corporate taxation will only make it less likely that the public will be willing to spend money on frivilous or luxury purchases like antiques and collectibles.

While my online shop and antique mall booth are hobbies and not my livelihood, I hate to think that I may need to pull up stakes and quit because I am no longer making enough money to turn it back into my little business to purchase more inventory. If my little nickle and dime operation is hurting, think of the small mom and pop enterprises who will be choked out in such an economic climate. These individuals may employ a small number of other employees and if they fail, there are increased numbers of unemployed individuals looking for new jobs. In such a climate, larger companies are also constricting their rolls through attrition and not filling openings as they occur. This downward spiral of increasing prices, increasing unemployment, and increased taxes on everything imaginable cannot improve the economy and anyone, including BHO, who thinks otherwise is a fool.

What I would love to see is a flat tax with no loopholes. Each employed person or married couple would write a single check out to the government on April 15 or have it deducted from each paycheck...easy breezy and simple. Each wage earner would be able to keep more of their own income. People would have more expendable income and that would spur spending and productivity. If the corporate tax rate was lowered so that more of our companies would stay in the USA this would provide jobs for more Americans. If we invest in all kinds of alternate energy projects including nuclear, clean coal, drilling for natural gas and oil both offshore and in ANWAR, we can make ourselves energy independent and spur job creation in the field of green jobs. Why is this so hard to envision??? What candidate might be more likely to accomplish some of these objectives???

Neither of the present candidates is a perfect fit for my ideal, but one is closer by far and this is where I am putting my vote on Tuesday. I would rather work very hard but be able to disburse my money in ways that I deem appropriate, including my tithe and charitable giving, than to work hard only to see my money taken and "spread around" to people who don't work and feel entitled. In fact, if there is no incentive to be productive, and there is forced charity, why would I want to be productive at all??

Think twice people before you pull that lever on Tuesday, because your very life depends on it. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR BECAUSE YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT.

Another Message from Zo, A Black Conservative

I have become addicted to the YouTube videos put out by Macho Sauce Productions. The black conservative voice is out there and Zo is a kind of Everyman. Here is the latest and probably last video before the election, aptly entitled "1 More B4 11 04."




Thank you for telling it like it is with candor and humor.

Election Day Violence---I Hope Not

The link below takes you to an article entitled Police Prepare for Unrest by Alexander Bolton on http://www.thehill.com/ that has finally factually reported what I have been reluctantly feeling but could not bring myself to verbalize because it just sounds so frightening.

"Police departments in cities across the country are beefing up their ranks for Election Day, preparing for possible civil unrest and riots after the historic presidential contest."

Ever since the August primary election in Missouri, I have been worried about this possibility but have been trying to tell myself that this is a foolish thought. My husband was a poll worker at a local precinct. He came home that night and commented that there was a very palpable difference in this election that was unlike any that he had been involved with in the past. He has been a poll worker in several past primaries and in the 2004 general election. His comment was something like "the Democrat workers and voters are plainly giddy and openly verbalized that this election was THEIRS!" There were even soft comments of "Hell to Pay" if Obama did not win. The article proceeds to quote police chiefs from multiple cities as well as well-known political sources from both parties regarding this possibility and their preparation for it.

"Some worry that if Barack Obama loses and there is suspicion of foul play in the election, violence could ensue in cities with large black populations. Others based the need for enhanced patrols on past riots in urban areas (following professional sports events) and also on Internet rumors."

"The Oakland police last faced big riots in 2003 when the Raiders lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. Officials are bracing themselves in case residents of Oakland take Obama’s loss badly. "


“We’ve seen it on the Internet and we’ve heard that there could be civil unrest depending on the outcome of [the election,]” said Lt. Mark Briede of the Cincinnati Police Department. “We are prepared to respond in the case of some sort of unrest or some sort of incident.”

“If [Obama] is elected, like with sports championships, people may go out and riot,” said Bob Parks, an online columnist and black Republican candidate for state representative in Massachusetts. “If Barack Obama loses there will be another large group of people who will assume the election was stolen from him….. This will be an opportunity for people who want to commit mischief.”

So now it seems that regardless of who wins the election, there may be violence due to the anger, angst and general viciousness that has been born out of this election cycle. While I hope and pray that this never becomes a reality, I will be in prayer for our nation from now through the time that the outcome of the election is made known. How did we get to this point???





The entire article can be found at http://tinyurl.com/5vvtkp

Why a McCain Presidency is Good for the Economy

My mother's daily email forwarding brought a chuckle today and I thought it would be fun to share it.

A president's pension currently is $191,300 per year, until he is 80 years old.
Assume the next president lives to age 80.

Sen. McCain would receive ZERO pension as he would reach 80 at the end of two terms as president.

Sen. Obama would be retired for 26 years after two terms and would receive $4,973,80in pension.

Therefore it would certainly make economic sense to elect McCain in November.