I haven’t published much here recently, but I notice there are still a few of you following. Have you checked out my travel blog? It’s called Pilgrimito, and it’s at http://pilgrimito.com/. You should have a look!
Whether he meant to do so or not, President Obama has tossed the myth of the Clinton “surplus” under the bus.
About a dozen years ago, the Clinton administration claimed its government finances were in a surplus for the first time anyone could remember. However, the only way one could make sense of the claim was by assuming that debt owed to the Social Security trust fund was not really debt. The media, predictably, bought into the claim and the assumption. However, the fact was that it was the Social Security trust fund that had the surplus. The rest of the government continued to bleed red ink, just as in previous administrations.
Fast forward to this year.
The treasury is now very close to reaching the statutory debt ceiling, and President Obama is eager to cut a deal that will enable him not to deal with the issue again until well after the 2012 elections. To make his case to the nation, he is threatening the nation’s retirees. Without a debt ceiling increase, he claims, the government may not be able to send out Social Security checks next month.
So now, it would seem, the money owed to the Social Security trust fund is really debt after all. Otherwise, retirees would have nothing to worry about. The implication of the threat, of course, is that the Clinton “surplus” was merely a pleasant fiction.
Note: This is the first in a what will probably be an irregular series of gratuitous photos of my wife’s cat Russy. I mean, who doesn’t love cat photos, right? I’ll also use this space for a wrap-up of my recent posts, as well as a mention of some of the stuff I found interesting elsewhere on the web.
Here’s a photo of Russy, standing on high alert on the kitchen counter. I have no idea what he sees or thinks he sees. The picture was taken March 23 this year. Continue reading
I suddenly felt hungry on my way home from work this afternoon, so I decided to stop at a Dunkin’ Donuts for a small coffee and a donut. The bill came to $2.71. I gave the cashier $20.76. He gave me back a ten, a five, a one, and a nickel.
And a two.
How often do you see these?
I’m pretty sure the last time I received a two-dollar bill in my change was the day I visited Monticello. They give change in twos because Thomas Jefferson is the portrait on the bill. That happened back when I lived in Charlottesville, Virginia. I haven’t lived there for years.
The first thing I thought of when I counted my change was James Altucher’s blog. He once wrote about how, in his younger days, he would try to impress dates by paying for dinner with two-dollar bills. It’s not clear whether or not it worked. I wondered if he’d been in Phoenix eating a donut on a Wednesday afternoon in June. Probably not.
It more likely came from the strip club down the street. The Federal Reserve noticed the circulation of two-dollar bills started to increase a decade ago in the United States, at least in part because they’re used for change in adult entertainment establishments. The theory is that since the change is used for tips, bigger bills mean bigger tips. I didn’t notice any stripper glitter in my change.
In any event, I’ll have to be careful where I spend it. Best Buy has had people arrested for tendering two-dollar bills.
Update (6/30): A link to another good story about misadventures with two-dollar bills, this one involving Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
I’m the guy who’s generally really quiet at work. That said, when I do open my mouth to say something, I want it to be memorable.
Today, for some reason, there was a high-pitched whistle in my work area. I don’t know if a compuer hard drive came off its axle or if a steam pipe in the ceiling had a temporary release or something. It was loud, whatever it was.
So when the boss came out of her office to ask if we all could hear that noise, I couldn’t resist what I said next.
Hear what?
See, kids. That’s how you make friends.
I haven’t written much on this blog recently. However, I have been writing on my Pilgrimito blog, which has just my travel stories. You should check it out, if you haven’t already done so.
If you prefer the format here at Pearls of Nonsense, don’t worry. I’ll be back to writing irrelevant nonsense in the very near future.
I want to remind my U.S. readers that today is Election Day. In particular, some of my family members get upset if I don’t put a mention of it in my blog. Of course, last November was an exception, since it was impossible not to know when Election Day was. Continue reading
Basha’s, a local supermarket chain here in Arizona, has been recently promoting rotisserie chickens for $4.99. I haven’t tried one yet, so I don’t know if it’s a good price or not. For me, the more interesting part of the promotion is the store’s guarantee that chicken will be in stock between 4 and 7 pm or it’s free. Continue reading
This is the final post in a three-part series.
Sunday was the final day of our trip to Los Angeles, and it wasn’t really supposed to be much of a day for us. The plan was to get up early, pack up our things, find a place to attend mass, and make the long drive back to Phoenix. Continue reading
This is the second post in a three-part series.
For the most part, Kathryn and I slept pretty well the first night in L.A. I was woken up by a bit of noise around the pool area at midnight, but I got back to sleep pretty quickly. What woke me up was the sound of a beer bottle hitting the ground. Luckily it didn’t break. The managers must have given the folks a talking to, because they drank from cans the following night.
We woke relatively early Saturday, around 6:30 or so, knowing we had a big day in front of us. We had a light, early breakfast at the hotel, mindful of the fact we’d be attending mass later. The breakfast served was what a lot of hotels now refer to as deluxe continental, which means continental plus a waffle iron. Kathryn and I shared a waffle and each had some cereal and something to drink. After heading back to the room to shower and dress, we got in the car and headed over to St. Francis. Continue reading