Today I got my hair cut. We hear of high unemployment rates in our area as well as nation-wide, but it must not apply at the Great Clips I go to. I got there about 9:30 this morning, and there wasn't anyone else in the place getting their hair cut. And there were at least 4 employees there, one was washing the hair of another employee, one was sitting down waiting for me, and the 4th was also sitting. Normally at this hour there is usually just two hair people there, and several customers waiting for attention. I guess money is good there if they have either hired more people, or added a couple more for this early hour (they open at 9). The gal who cut my hair looked young, perhaps a recent graduate of hair school. But she gave me the best cut I've had in a long time. She was very conscientious about making sure it was even, took her time to be sure it was done right, and actually styled it very similar to how I do it. For some reason, most hair cutters style it their way, and it isn't "my" way so I was pleased that I didn't have to go home and fix it.
I'm Only Buying Yarn
#3 dd told me that Fred Meyers was having a "buy one get one free" sale on their yarn this week. I need more yarn like I need another child, but those were magic words to me, so on my way home from getting my hair cut, I stopped at Fred Meyers, since there was one sort of on my way home. Turned out it was "buy two get one free," (I must have mis-heard or mis-remembered) but what the heck, I want to make a sweater (if I can find the pattern I have used in the past), and two skeins of yarn isn't going to do it. Plus, I got 7 oz. skeins instead of 5 oz, so hopefully I will have enough. But it's Red Heart yarn, which I can afford if I end up not having enough. Or I can go back before tomorrow and buy a couple more. As I walked in the door, I walked right by Women's apparel. Gee, I haven't had anything new for a while, and dh gave me a little $$ a while back to spend on myself, so why not? There was a "buy one get one free" on their clearance rack, too. I picked out two tops, one was clearanced at $30, the other $28. So for about $14.50 each, I have two new tops. A great buy, until I realized that I seldom spend that much on a top--Walmart's prices are MUCH cheaper. Oh well, one is a nice one for church, the other is casual. I also bought a deli sandwich for my lunch.
Cash For Clunkers--Whose Idea Was This, Anyway?
I don't know if you are all aware of the rules for this debacle, or what they do with your "clunker" when you trade it in, but I think this a ridiculous program. We got a postcard in the mail last week, promoting this stupid plan, and telling us that our 1992 Pontiac Transport minivan qualified for the program. Under the guidelines, you can receive either $3,500 or $4,500 trade-in on your "clunker." Well, I've never thought of my Transport van (which ds is driving) as a "clunker," but since it's rated mpg is 18, it qualifies. I always found that it got better mileage than my MP3 minivan, but checking their web site, they claim that car is rated at 19mpg, which is not low enough to qualify. The program is trying to get old gas-guzzling automobiles off the road, get people to buy a new fuel-efficient car, and save Detroit at the same time. Trouble is, you can pretty much buy any car, including foreign cars, as long as they get better mileage. The amount you get off the new car depends on how good the mileage is. Now if they were really interested in saving Detroit, they would say we have to buy American made cars. And do you know what they are doing with the trade-ins? No, not reselling (after all, the Feds want these cars off the road). No, they are destroying them. I heard several ads for this program on the radio today as I drove around, bragging about taking sledge hammers to these cars and destroying them. One of my dsil's watched a video online showing them pouring something into the motors to seize them up, then crushing them. ACK!
Now, I find several things wrong with this program.
1. Most people are driving these "clunkers" because they can't afford a new car. So they fall for this line, and suddenly saddle themselves with a $300-$400 car payment for the next 5 to 7 years.
2. The "clunker" cannot be any older than 25 years old. So most of these "clunkers" being traded in are 1990's and even 2000's models. The real, true "clunkers" are still on the road (I'm talking these vintage big old 70's & '80's gas hogs).
3. Those of us who drive "clunkers" because we can't afford or don't want to buy a new car, will eventually be upgrading to these '90's and 2000 models. Or would, if we could find any to buy. The fools who are falling for this program are conveniently allowing the Feds to take these cars off the road. What will we buy when our current "clunkers" wear out? Well, I guess we're all slated to ride the bus. Which hurts the economy because suddenly, there will be fewer people licensing cars each year, buying car insurance, gas, oil, tires, etc.
4. With fewer of these cars around, those who kept their "clunkers" will find car parts hard to come by. None of these cars will be in the wrecking yard, the makers of parts for these cars will cut back because after all, there isn't the demand for them. If you can't fix your clunker, what do you do? Give in to the system and buy a new car (but the Cash for Clunkers program will be non-existant by then, so no help there)? Ride the bus?
I imagine the junked out, crushed cars will be shipped off to Japan, where the Japanese auto makers will melt it all down and use it to make more cars to sell to the stupid Americans!
I don't think there's anyone with half a brain running our government these days. They need to listen to real people. Real people are who get these guys elected to office. I will remember this when the next election comes along.
I am grateful that we are within walking distance to most everything we need should the day come when we can't fix and drive our "clunkers." And on two bus lines for those places that we can't walk to.
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