Here is the truth behind the email
A really good experiment by Birk
I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.
Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in
a We Deserve It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000
bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.
Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman
and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.
My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a
We Deserve It Dividend.
Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.
Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595,000.00.
What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college – it’ll be there
Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car – create jobs
Invest in the market – capital drives growth
Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else
Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks
who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company
that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it…instead of trickling out
a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.
If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!
As for AIG – liquidate it.
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.
Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.”
But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion
We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.
And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned
instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.
Ahhh…I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
Birk
T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic
PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it’s either good for a laugh
or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!!
83 responses so far ↓
Michelle // September 25, 2008 at 7:43 pm
He’s way off! 85 billion divided by 200 million equals 425 dollars not 425 thousand dollars!
Anonymous // September 25, 2008 at 7:45 pm
85,000,000,000 divided by 200,000,000 is not 425,000….it’s 425!
Jerry // September 25, 2008 at 7:46 pm
85,000,000,000 divided by 200,000,000 is not 425,000…..it’s 425.
Bob // September 25, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Hate to break it to you, but this guy can’t do math. The correct figure is $425, not $425,000. Kind of a big difference.
Andy // September 25, 2008 at 7:50 pm
May I respectfully point out that neither you nor Birk is smarter than a 5th grader.
Do the math…
85 billion = 85,000,000,000
200 million = 200,000,000
Eliminate the extraneous zeros:
850
2
Now do the math in your head and figure out how you’re going to pay off your mortgage, send your kids to college and buy a car for $425.00.
chick // September 25, 2008 at 7:56 pm
get out your calculator, it’s only $425 per person.
logic // September 25, 2008 at 7:56 pm
TJ Birkenmeier would be better suited to run our government if he attended high school.
$85 Bil divided by $200 mil is $425.00 per citizen.
Mike Schunk // September 25, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Did anyone check his math?……. it’s $425 per person
IRGenius // September 25, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Yeah, but T.J. was going to get my vote…you spoil sports aren’t. Pfft.
Don’t worry T.J. You can give them $425 each, I will take your $425,000 and thank you for it
gabethebabe // September 25, 2008 at 8:54 pm
-Thoughts of a Progressive American-
A Response to Birk’s Economic Recovery Plan-
(excuse typo’s, grammar and some rambling but it was written in urgency and is an exercise in self thought and provocation.)
First, we are all frustrated with the current mess with our economic situation. But now is not the time to turn into angry populism and unfocused energy or selfish demands of checks or money for us.
Birk wrote “Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.” (see rest of the email below)
I am no economist but I can do math and $80 Billion divided by 200 Million americans is not $400,000.00.
It is $400. Even if you take the total of the proposed Bailout plan being discussed today of $700 Billion and the closer approximation of the US adult population of 250 Million we would only be $2,800 for each U.S. individual.
Birk wrote
“What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grad (etc)”
Sounds like a good idea except we already did this. We Americans have been living on money binge for the last 8 years. It was called easy financing. WE KEPT MORTGAGING and borrowing from OUR HOMES TO MAKE US THINK we were RICH. And we spent the money in our homes we thought of as “money-making” investments some even leveraging 2 or 3 homes (nine last count for McCain) driving the outrageous boom. We spent the money on Gas guzzling SUV and Hummers that sent our wealth to foreign monarchs and dictators and sent trillions of tons of carbon into the air accelerating global warming to a point that may not be reversible. We bought self-gratifying toys such as I-PODS and I-PHONES, Plasma Flat Screens HDTV’s, we spent our money on consolidating or making the next credit card payments. The whole time crying about higher taxes and letting our childrens schools become breeding grounds for learning mediocrity, structure dilapidation and lost hope by our youth. We let our cities with its deteriorating bridges and grid locked traffic clogged roads with wasted hours of human existence better spent on our families and community service. We neglected our brothers and in some cases ourselves by ignoring healthcare costs and skyrocketing unemployment by by putting our faith in unregulated greed called capitalism with winners and losers and were the winners become bigger winners if more people are losers. were sending our jobs and money overseas and rewarding CEO, wall street companies, and even ourselves with our hope that our pension funds will be there to help us survive our golden years.
As Hemingway wrote , “ask not for whom the bell tolls…. the bell tolls for thee” or as Barack Obama says “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for” or in this case “we can blame”. No, now is not the time for asking for personal cash gifts for pedestrian squander. No, it’s time for a REAL CHANGE from the ground up. And I don’t just mean giving in to hysterical populism because believe me I was in LA during the Rodney King Riots and I have seen how fragile society truly is. Let’s get this financial mess fixed with the safeguards that insure we get repaid and maybe even make a profit and we fix the regulation that the the so called deregulating “Right” and the greedy capitolists that ripped us off and start to take care of the real causeof this mess and the bigger problem of current society. Have smart, responsive, and accountable true democratic government that will invest in society, in us. On Schools that work, on jobs that are meaningful and decent paying that produce real value and true good for people (and not just to our pleasure seeking cerebellum that want shiny new toys to fill some lacking emotion of true humanity). Lets cure disease by not just treating the symptoms but the causes and stop making drug companies rich on how sick we are. Have we forgotten Katrina and our urban and rural citizens? Poverty and poor education lead to in-balances and ignorance. How about this UNJUST WAR for OIL and sacrificed life? What do we owe them? Let’s fix this problem by making sure we don’t get suckered by wall street again. Tight regulations is Paramount and so is repayments. And “Demand” Wall Street and Government begin putting the money into CLEAN and NON FOSSIL Based fuels that will preserve our children’s world and quality of life. Let’s invest in our American children (all not just the select few) with quality education and healthcare. Let’s value science and the light it sheds on ignorance and extremist religious views and face our future with eyes wide open. Let’s provide affordable housing and retirement with out having to worry about the gambling mentality and greedy excess of speculation and investment derivatives. Let’s get public transportations and electric cars and energy once and for all.
Let’s elect Obama and congressional representatives and local government that look out for society’s needs not just the individual which usually mean the rich and influential.
You may be saying I am un American or that I am a Socialist or even a Communist and I would say you are totally wrong! I do believe in peoples ability to live their lives and of human creativity and american individualism and even the market place (if managed) and entrepreneurism . Yes I am 100% American and I do believe in the American way. But the difference between me and those that use the cover of the American Value “of self reliance” and “individualism” to not want to seek a solution or real progress to solving society’s problems and its needs are the real un Americans. These are the same people that blame the least of our brothers for all that is wrong and hail themselves as morally better because they some how have made it in this society or belevinig in a uncarring God while mortgaging our future and wasting our resources. These are the same people that blame the poor, the person of color, or the most vulnerable and our undocumented “WORKER” or homeless for all our woes. It’s time to change the way we think and the way we act and what we value. This economic crisis will pale to the challenges we will be facing this century and it’s time to think of ourselves not just as individuals and family units which is still the backbone of American but also of a new responsibility in an ever shrinking and intertwined world and co inhabitants and fraternal members of a society and fellow countrymen and World citizens.
Enough with the me first society and lets start saying WE. and YES WE CAN!
Yes We Can ask for a better future for all,
Gabe
Progressive American
Cantankerous Old White Guy // September 25, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Mr Babe,
You are the reason I delete comments.
You make a few points and then …you implode….
capitalism is bad….more money for our brothers and sisters….tight regulations on everything…unjust war for oil…..
all the liberal talking points….
but then THE PAYOFF- you sign yourself as a Progressive!
Thats just weak spine talk for Liberal.
I approved your comment so others could read it…..I doubt I would be afforded the same courtesy on a progressive blog.
What kind of change are you looking for?
You won’t be happy until we are bent over at the waist in a rice paddy, wearing coolie hats and living on a collective farm….to quote Bill Cunningham
I can change my whole life by quitting my job, but it would not be change for the best…..but hey? it would be CHANGE.
After that, I could HOPE to get another one!
Captainahab // September 25, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Right now, there is someone in Congress getting this e-mail saying gee…this is a great idea….
Kathee // September 25, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Math aside… If our government demanded that every US person over age 18 pay $425 dollars, you would have everyone up in arms, and citizens standing on the porches of our lawmakers demanding something be done!!
Why are most people meekly accepting this?
THE BUDMAN // September 26, 2008 at 12:22 am
JESUS, “can’t we all get along?” LOL… JUST A LITTLE LEVITY HERE… WHEEEW!
Norm // September 26, 2008 at 2:02 pm
This is simple proof. People believe what they read without thinking for themselves. To the people that thought it was $425,000…Try thinking for yourselves, you may find that the answer is clearly different than what you heard.
Craig Monin // September 26, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I was kind of wondering where “we” would get the money. The 85B and now the possible 700B. Are we not a debtor nation and if so would we be simply giving this money by putting it on “our” credit card? The fact of the matter is that our money (financial) system is now international and few people, including myself, really fully understand it. My guess is that most of us wouldn’t like this system especially if you’re a principled conservative person!
Anti-Socialist // September 26, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Mr Babe,
To put it quite simply, did you forget it was a liberal movement of forcing banks to loan money to underqualified borrowers to temporary stimulate the economy and in turn cause this crisis? Unfortunately not everyone deserves a loan but when people that your type elects need to stir up votes in the poor communities they give handouts to undeserving people and create a “false” hope for them which in my opinion is only going to prolong someone from trying to better themselves and their future generations. This is why capatilisim works and socialism fails…
Spotsondemand // September 26, 2008 at 5:47 pm
gabethebabe,
Nice diatribe, i will keep this simple and easy. You main point is that you want to refocus everyone’s energy to doing the “correct” thing. What alarms me the most is the fact that you think Obama is the one to do this. How ridiculous is this? You want to hand the US to a Chicago politician? Have the years gone unnoticed in respect to the corruption and crime that has originated from Chicago politicians?
His economic adviser, William Daley. Lobbyist. Mayor’s brother.
His money man, Tony Rezko. Client. Patron. Convicted Felon.
His “political godfather.” Emil Jones. Under ethical cloud.
His governor, Rod Blagojevich. A legacy of federal and state investigations.
Barack Obama couldnt even buy a house on his own!! How can he possibly handle American fianances. He will line his own pockets and the American public be damned if he has his way. The only true way to be rid of all this crap and garbage we are seeing happening now is to forcibly remove all politicians at the national level and rebuild our country from scratch. And as soon as I see a viable leader ready to do this, I will be the first in line to help in any fashion that I can.
Chad Raymond // September 26, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I appreciate TJ’s willingness to admit his error. I do think it underlines a common occurence. Conservatives could make valuable arguments about whether we should be spending $425 on AIG or on individual citizens, but instead they show up to the table with the wrong information. It is these kind of factual errors and wrong conclusions that have given us some of the worst governing in our history over the last two terms. It’s great that people want to be involved in politics, but then they should take it seriously, instead of just throwing stuff out there without really putting in the time to insure it’s accuracy. WE NEED COMPETENCY TO BE IMPORTANT AGAIN!
JT // September 26, 2008 at 6:10 pm
This person Birk must have worked for AIG accounting!!!!!!!! $85,000,000,000.00 divided by 200,000,000= $425.00 ea. the $700,000,000,000.00 bail out = $3500.00 ea but what does a few 0’s matter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chip // September 26, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Heck, I give him credit for posting a retraction. I still think the bail out is a bad idea. $425 or $425,000. Well, especially if it’s $425,000… yeah, definately if it’s $425,000… which of course it’s not; but, I don’t like the bail out anyway… or the $700,000,000,000 which is per good math… $3,500. No, I don’t like that even more. And, I hear it’s going to be closer to $1T or $1.25T anyway, or more.
bob // September 26, 2008 at 7:29 pm
lol. Ron Paul’s website and Pat Buchanan’s website both have this same article with the same stupid mathematical error.
“A lie travels halfway around the world before the truth has got its boots on.”
Jim Girouard // September 26, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Sadly, an income of $425 is all that is needed to qualify for a sub-prime mortgage.
Leave it to the mortgage brokers to pencil in three more zeros to the W2!
Jack Russel // September 26, 2008 at 7:48 pm
your bail out , you must of went to government school , what a DICK ……
Anonymous // September 26, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Sorry Birk, I’d much rather take the puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) over your $297.50
Larry Howard // September 26, 2008 at 8:33 pm
The whole premise is wrong, there is no bail out, and the Fed is destroying AIG with this deal.
The government took over AIG who has $1,000,000,000,000 ( trillion in assets) by getting 79.9 per cent of its stock in return for the $85b credit line. AIG asked for a bridge loan until the financial crisis blows over, but the gov’t took them over. They are forcing AIG to sell its parts off to pay for the cash call on the $85 billion investment, at an 8% interest rate later rising to 11%. The cash call is to pay for the insurance demands on the bonds that AIG wrote supporting the mortgage market.
As a result, over 100,000 employees worldwide may lose their job; employees and shareholders will lose over $150b in investment value, and the government (taxpayers) may end up paying for AIG retirees pension plans if they totally go down. So where is the bail out?
The government IS bailing out the shyster bankers, mortgage lenders and financial wizards who built this pyramid scheme.
If the government had does its job and regulated the banks and mortgage lenders there would have been none of this.
Reed // September 26, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Are you missing a chromosome?
John // September 27, 2008 at 4:38 am
T. J. Birkenmeier is correct in his calculation if you use the “Long scale is the English translation of the French term échelle longue. It refers to a system of numeric names in which every new term greater than million is 1,000,000 times the previous term: “billion” means “a million millions” (1,000,000,000,000), “trillion” means “a million billions” (1 followed by 18 0’s), and so on.” Unfortunately the Long scale is no longer used; so I guess we’ll only get $425 under TJ’s plan.
John
Paul // September 27, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I am glad others are catching this math error. These kind of emails can turn heads and form public opinion of people who believe everything they hear. I don’t beleive everything and when this email started circulating in my area I did the math in my head and saw it was bogus. Unfortuneatly many politicians throw out bogus figures al the time with nothing to back them up.
Gordon // September 27, 2008 at 3:19 pm
It’s people like Gabe that want to feel good and help everyone feed at the public trough. Obama? lets see, he had 149 days under his belt as a US Senator when he decided to leave his post for the promised land of being president. With that and his days as a neighborhood organizer in Chicago, how can we lose?
BarterBing // September 27, 2008 at 5:10 pm
T.J.’s altruism,
an unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others,
is a wonderful sentiment but unfortunately not very practical in the “real” world. Aside from Mother Teresa and Dr. Sweitzer, I can’t cite many others who dedicate their lives to the welfare of others, and that’s a shame.
Too bad TJ’s math was off, not that it would make a difference. Unfortunately we do not have many in Washington who are altruistic and good at math. I don’t mean to sound cynical but Politics and Altruism have a tough time working together.
Let me get to my main thought. During tough times people need to barter more, exchange goods and services without money changing hands. Bartering is the oldest form of commerce and has never gone out of style.
In the late 1950’s some creative business people came up with a twist on the barter concept and created “Barter/Trade Exchanges”,
not true bartering but rather an alternative currencey.
Today there are hundreds of Barter/Trade Exchanges globally where millions of $$ of products and services are sold for trade dollars which are the equal to the US dollar, and then used to buy from members of this alternative economic community.
In 1982 the Reagan Administration passed TEFRA,Tax Equity And Fiscal Responsibility Act. One aspect of this law is that Barter/Trade Exchanges are considered to be quasi banks and third party record keepers. As such these exchanges can issue lines of credit to members to stimulate economic growth.
My main thought, whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent is, don’t be ruled by fear, get creative and start bartering…one on one, or as a member of an exchange.
If you are unfamiliar with the concept just do a web search for bartering or barterbing.
For those of you old enough to remember the New Deal, the WPA and CCC were two programs that improved the infrastructure and lives of thousands of the unemploued. Get your public servants to revisit these programs they could come in handy.
Maryjane // September 27, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Think the the adminstration may have had prior expectation of this AIG bailout. ie, bonus tax checks earlier in year.
SoCalGal // September 27, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Friends, simply go to Google and type in
“85,000,000,000 divided by 200,000″
You will get the figure of $425,000. Mr. Birkenmeier’s math is correct, but his perceptions are wrong.
For an insightful analysis of “our” problem, please take the time to read:
http://www.2000wave.com/gateway.asp
Tony // September 27, 2008 at 8:11 pm
So what if the number was $700 Billion? Would that make a difference?
PEACE
Tony
Tony // September 27, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Then what would it look like if the number was not $700 billion, but 1.8 trillion. Perhaps he missed it on the AIG bailout, but if he took into account the total package, it would get closer to his number.
VonMagnum // September 28, 2008 at 12:34 am
That dude seemed to be using 85 TRILLION as his basis, not 85 BILLION. Besides that, the correct figure to start from is 800 Billion. Now, a better PLAN would be to use around 1 trillion to put solar panels on every house in the country (if you do the math with about $14,000 per house on average, it comes out somewhere around 1 trillion averaging out the population per household) and that would go a LONG way towards solving our energy problems, particularly with newer electric or partial electric vehicles. I’m sure the power companies wouldn’t like it, though, but screw them too.
T. J.Birkenmeier // September 28, 2008 at 5:03 am
My Spoof Plan has created a real Tsunami wave!
Please go to the website and click on my mugshot and please read about my “little experiment” on my blog:
Zillion, Trillion, Billion, Million…what’s a few zeros among friends?
Then read: The Seinfeld Phenomenon and
Tinker to Evers To Buffett?
You might be pleasantly surprised.
If what you read resonates with you sign on for more mischief, madness and merriment.
Kindest personal regards,
Birk
Commonsensetarian
and Citizen Of The Republic
An awake, aware and vigilantly skeptical American Citizenry is our best defense against stupidity.
cho33 // September 28, 2008 at 5:54 pm
This is scary, you didn’t send this all over the internet just to get people to your website? There’s probably some people who actually believe your numbers in your first email. : (
Ann // September 29, 2008 at 12:06 am
Gabe, you ARE un American. AND you are a REgressive American. You libtard buddies share this quality.
Chitina // September 29, 2008 at 6:18 am
I’m sorry but Gabe is 100 percent correct. During WWII we sacraficed for the war effort. Except for the folks with someone in the service, the American people have gone on spending and spending money they don’t have. And so has the government. And you say the liberals are the reason we are in this mess? I believe until recently the Conservatives have had the mojority in the Congress and the White House and they decided we didn’t need regulation. Greed was the cause of this – plain and simple and it was Wall Street businesses that did this not liberals!
Chitina // September 29, 2008 at 6:21 am
Sorry about the spelling errors
Flip // September 29, 2008 at 1:08 pm
SoCalGal…it’s 200,000,000…NOT 20,000,000. Please try again.
As for T.J. and your “Spoof” plan..sorry, once your math was off, I lost interest in anything else you might have to say. If only the Obama lover’s would take this approach!
marge // September 29, 2008 at 7:52 pm
It’s 850 Billion not 85 billion. The math works. The news has been saying 800 billion. 800 billion divided by 200 million is 400 thousand. I like the idea – it could work
Cantankerous Old White Guy // September 29, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Chitina,
WRONG! The liberal Democrats forced banks to make bad loans to people that could not or would not pay it back. This goes back to Clinton!
They forced banks to relax lending standards. No income? No problem. “Come to me muh babies and suckle from the swollen teet of diversity.”
We all see that if you force banks to loan money to people that are a bad risk, it will collapse.
Once again, plain common sense.
Hugh Jarse // September 29, 2008 at 9:55 pm
sorry Marge, 800 billion divided by 200 million is 4000…you’re getting closer though.
Cat // September 29, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Marge, do the math one more time using the figures you quoted ( 800 billion divided by 200 million is 400 thousand). The correct result using those figures is four thousand. The math DOESN’T work.
Hey, I know – why don’t YOU run for office? I’ll vote for you.
concience // September 30, 2008 at 4:31 am
Please tell me how you force a bank to loan money. I need some quick. LOL
Nate // September 30, 2008 at 12:05 pm
cowg, it goes back to reagan. no one forced banks to do anything, they asked for deregulation. they wanted to make $$ so they did what they thought could make them some easy money. just wait, credit cards (and that industry of easy money) are next. fun times we’re in.
TPA // September 30, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I have a question for Cantankerous Old White Guy….How exactly did the “liberal” Democrats force banks to make loans? Since we have a free market banking system and no regulation, how did they force them to relax lending standards? Please be more specific. Show me the piece of legislation that can point to this being because of government intrusion. What it comes down to is greed. It starts with one bank taking risky loans to try and make a few bucks. Once they start making money others recognize this tactic and follow suit. The financial institutions that are not making these loans start to lose business and are pressured by their stockholders to get in on the game; and you end up with a situation like we have now. Think of this in sports terminology. When some baseball players began to use performance enhancing drugs, others had to follow suit or else they soon would not be able to compete on the same level. I ask you what was the reaction of Congress???? They pressed for regulation by MLB to level the playing field. If you recall, they even threatened to pull their antitrust exemption. The result is….homerun numbers have fallen dramatically. The point is “deregulated” does not equal “free market”. Free markets, like free societies have rules and regulations to protect us from the unscrupulous who are only concerned with themselves.
BeSharp // September 30, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Here you go floks, in front of your faces (85 * (10^9)) / (200 * (10^6)) = 425
See – -your high school education really wasn’t worth it if you can’t do this calculation on your own, and get this answer.
The best part of it all is that this farce has shown us that there are people out there paying attention to what comes across the internet, even the tongue-in-cheek stuff as per Birkenmeir. If you don’t see it as tongue-in-cheek, just check out his photo, and you’ll know that he’s a mischievous guy.
[And I musn't forget to randomly and sarcastically toss in the hackneyed phrase"What would Jesus do?"]
Keen Kenn // September 30, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Armchair Economists,
Now wait a minute everyone….
What would you do with $297.50 to $595 in your family?
Pay a third of your rent - housing crisis solved (for this month anyway)…
Repay college library late fees… what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for “a class” at a vocational school – it’ll be there
Save it in a piggy bank – create money to loan to aspiring lemonade stand entrepreneurs.
Buy a new bike – create a new paper route job
Invest in the super-market – food drives growth
Pay for your parent’s centrum silver vitamins – health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to pocket some extra beer money – or else
Ahhh…I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
Regards to T. J. Birkenmeier… A rambunctious little guy with quite the imagination & Citizen of the Republic of Narnia
PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it is definitely good for a
laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion.
With love and concern,
Keen Kenn
frank // September 30, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Maybe the reason we’re in so much debt is that the mathmatically challenged TJ already is running things?
Cantankerous Old White Guy // September 30, 2008 at 9:14 pm
TPA, Nate and Concience,
Here is one example:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo125.html
or just looku up 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)
If it is a bad idea and can tank a whole country, you can bet your ass it’s going to have a Democrat stench to it.
Nuff said!
P.S. // October 1, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Kathee…..(see above) is the scariest comment so far. (and yes, I did read every one.) Forget math skills, how about reading comprehension skills? I feel she epitomizes the intelligence level of America’s “idle/idol” public. She thinks we would be “paying” not “receiving” the proposed “We Deserve It Dividend.” OMG she scares me!! I sure hope she does not vote on important issues. If you are INFORMED on REAL ISSUES and you care to have a voice in your government (not a voice in who dances best or who to vote off of American Idol ) then PLEASE VOTE. If you are NOT informed, then please do not bother.
Smiles, P.S.
Discusted Citizen // October 1, 2008 at 6:19 pm
The world we live in has been operating at this level of corruption since the dawn of money. Face it people, for as long as corruption exists in our vocabulary, it will exsist in our everyday lives. Work your ass off, do what you can, and die just like everyone else. How typical!
Gather a group of people large enough to make an impact and invest in practical ideas to physically remove these compromising anomolies. Oh but wait…I contradicted myself, what good is making a change, if we are all creatures of bad habits. Oh well, Death will come for me one day and I shall wait for him .
My worthless 2 cents anyway…
5000notbad // October 1, 2008 at 8:52 pm
700 billion / 138,893,908 tax paying citizens = 5,039.82 per tax payer
factchecker // October 2, 2008 at 1:55 pm
check out his blog – he wanted us to do the math. and we should be doing a lot more of it. he’s right, we are number numb – what is another 0?
http://birkblog.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/09/zillion-trillion-billion-millionwhats-a-few-zeros-among-friends.html
anonymos // October 2, 2008 at 6:08 pm
by the way, what’s $85,000,000,000? that’s eighty five thousand million. 85 billion is $85,000,000,000,000…. just tought i’d point that out so therefore he is right… Gosh!!! there’s 12 zeros in a billion… jeez louise!
Rich // October 2, 2008 at 6:09 pm
So the math is bad. Does this disqualify the guy from running our government? His numbers are closer than Barney Frank’s!
Rich // October 2, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Must have been part of the No Child Left Behind Math program.
JimBert // October 2, 2008 at 8:41 pm
If I had a$zillion (that would be more than $425) I would buy all the TV, Pint and Radio advertisements (out bid the politicians) and promote electing ALL challengers to incumbents.
Vote – Republican, Democrat, Independent, Green …… as long as they are NOT running for reelection.
Vote the incumbents out and let new people who are NOT corrupted by power, money and status reform government.
That would be “change” I could believe in.
Rob // October 3, 2008 at 3:00 am
To: Cantankerous Old White Guy
You are partisan and hate filled ……I noticed that you delete any comments from anti republicans….you notice I didn’t use the term “conservatives” …you people are anything but…conserve amaerican economy?…NOT…conserve american lives?….NOT….you are a twisted hateful person…you use the term “liberal” the same way racists use the “N” word…..you don’t want any opposing ideas to get to the public because god forbid that might put a hurting on your selfish hateful anti american plan…..you be a good little gop soldier and delete this one too…but by the time you crawl out of bed…which I am quite sure is located uder a rock, many people will have already read this and be wise to your devious low life ways…oh and by the way…I watched the debate…do you also pronounce “nuclear” “nucular”…..or I Rack or I ran….its Iraq and Iran (ear-ock / ear-an) Maybe the world would look at us differently if our leaders could properly pronounce paramount issues….like the democrats can. YOU ARE GOING TO L-O-S-E !!!!!!!!!!!
Cantankerous Old White Guy // October 3, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Rob,
I don’t even know where to start with you. This website is not a democracy.
I can delete anything I choose and if I choose a comment to be deleted then so be it. Your’s is off topic but I kindly let it stand so others can see the love and compassion of a typical Liberal Democrat.
There are only a few of you but you control the media so we are bombarded with WE WILL LOSE.
I have trust that the good people will make the right choice.
As far as the way I use the word Liberal….truth hurts doesn’t it?
And of course no Liberal statement would be complete without referring to race or the “N” word. It is the only sword you know how to swing. I really wish you folks would sing a new song…..this one is getting worn and frazzled.
Same typical Lib crap, different pile!
NEWZJUNKIE // October 4, 2008 at 2:03 am
Who is this ROB guy? Holy crap, ROBBBBB… CALM DOWN DUDE!!! You’re a bit “intense” wouldn’t you say? Man, it’s people like YOU who seem to be filled with rage, hate, and a “hair-trigger” way of communicating with people, that give us SANE Demorats a bad name. Don’t you GET IT yet? Politics is like religion, EVERYONE’S entitled to an opinion, and it’s the people who are INTOLERANT of any opinion other than THEIR’S, that come off like ASSHOLES and LUNATICS. We are in the mess we are in today, due to “RELIGIOUS FANATICS” who think THEIR way is the ONLY way, and are trying to kill the rest of the world if it don’t agree with them. It’s like only YOUR views are correct, and anyone else’s can’t possibly be right, or have merit. I know what I believe, and don’t CARE if my neighbor believes something else. I suggest if you “listened more” maybe you could “learn more”, have more friends, have more “credibility” than you come off as having, and be somewhat less “frustrated”. With all due respect, you come off like you need therapy, an “anger management” course, or you work in a Post Office… As a “peaceful” life-long Democrat, I happen to really enjoy this “Cantankerous” guy. He makes me “think”, even if I don’t agree with him much, and find his dry sarcastic wit, very entertaining. We could use a little more of that in this world… By the way Rob, I only HOPE you don’t own a firearm…
Rob // October 4, 2008 at 3:16 am
Well, I was actually starting to think you were a decent person just trying to do your best to support your party….and then the typical republican punch at “the liberals” when you finished…and to NEWZJUNKIE, I understand your comment and respect your view….you hit the nail right on the head when you explained your view on “people who think their way is the only way”….that is the republican moto…coming across as logical and “what I will do…not what they have done” for some reason doesn’t work. The republicans have figured this out…we found that out 8 years ago and then again 4 years ago. You fight fire with fire when it comes to politics….I hope my fellow democrats have learned this by now. and I must say…I appreciate the moderator leaving my last message for view….I think you might have a speck of democrat surfacing….there may be hope for you …and this country yet.
Rob // October 4, 2008 at 3:21 am
Oh…and one last thing not that this will still be here tomorrow…..just because I am passionate about my views and chose my own way to convey them doesn’t automatically mean that I am a psychotic, dangerous gun nut. Although someone who makes an accusation like that sounds alot like a republican…maybe you should vote for the cute girl and her running mate.
Rob // October 4, 2008 at 3:31 am
No need to leave me a reply to my message…seeing as how “this website is not a democrcacy”…exactly the way republicans like to run a country….I will not be visiting again….I am sure you will appreciate that.
Cantankerous Old White Guy // October 4, 2008 at 4:30 am
Hey Rob,
The country is not a democracy, it is a REPUBLIC .
So why is it a surprise the country is run that way???
You did study this in high school right? Oh wait your a lib. Put down the doobie and take a civics class.
NEWZJUNKIE // October 4, 2008 at 4:37 am
Rob, you missed the POINT! Now I and ALL the readers of this, KNOW you’re nuts! You sound like someone “on the edge”! PLEEEEASE get some help! At least get “spell check” for your computer. It’s DEMOCRACY, and with your reference to ” the cute GIRL and her running mate”, makes me realize where you are coming from! LOL… By the way, since you won’t be reading this, you should know the COWG, LOVES to post crap like you wrote. It increases READERSHIP… What’s that I hear? CLICK, CLICK??? Nite Nite… (And I’m a DEM, my friend…)
TRAINZ72 // October 4, 2008 at 5:11 am
This ROB fellow is wound “too tight”. Just MY opinion… T72
HOTFIRE // October 4, 2008 at 5:15 am
Is this guy Rob REALLY this angry? Can’t WAIT for his next post…
SUNDANCER // October 4, 2008 at 5:16 am
This is GREAT reading! BETTER THAN CABLE!
Lancer103 // October 4, 2008 at 5:19 am
This guy Rob is TOO much! Please keep him goin’!
Nick // October 4, 2008 at 11:09 am
Only problem with email, his maths only works if you use the British definition of a Billion which is a million million $85,000,000,000,000 , which is not the US standard of thousand million
Here is the actaul story:
Hi Pals,
I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.
In stead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.
Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425.00.
My plan is to give $425 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.
Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.
Every individual 18+ has to pay $127.50 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297.50 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595.00.
Pay one installment of your mortgage – housing crisis delayed for one month.
Still in the shit
Kimmy // October 4, 2008 at 4:32 pm
At least he seems to be smarter than Palin
ha
paul // October 6, 2008 at 7:16 pm
To the conservatives that think “progressive (liberal) american” gabe is crazy (and I do)…it looks like Obama will win! How? by getting the press on the Obama bandwagon full steam ahead…let’s not forget that the press had Kerry ahead prior to the last pres election and that Clinton enjoyed the very split vote from the great H. Ross Perot.
Better get out and vote, bring 1o others to vote with you and then look out for all the wholesale cheating that Barack and team has planned. It will happen
Andrea // October 7, 2008 at 1:55 am
Divide the 85 Billion by only working individuals. The results will be higher than 425. per tax payer.
Granma // October 12, 2008 at 3:24 pm
did calculator on google, it would actually be 4,250.00, but still not enough
dissapointed // October 17, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Great blog… had a blast reading it! Bottom line, money and power controls the hearts of men. This will never change.
COWG – I like and respect the fact that you dont erase comments (even though you have the power to do so) that make you look like a simple minded person who cannot or will not consider views/ideas that do not come from the right.
For those on the Obama bandwagon. Sorry ya’ll, he isn’t going to save us. Mccain will only do us harm as well.
The problem is a “everything revolves around me” mentality. The way I see it. Unless your willing to work hard for it, you don’t deserve it. What ever “it” may be. No matter creed, color, nationality. If you want to be in this country, then pick up a broom and get to work with the rest of us. If you dont want to pitch in then find somewhere else to be. That simple. If your not part of the solution then your part of the problem. Move you and yours to Mexico cause we dont need you.
“Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government…” Thomas Jefferson
Tom // November 25, 2008 at 11:50 am
Glad this guy is not an economist!
Save the world // January 11, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Kill Yourself
Manny // January 28, 2009 at 7:17 am
I read Birk’s email, but I am fascinated by the comments on this website. Birk said “…every American OVER 18 years of age…” Check the US Census there is approximately 122,450,047 Americans over 18. It still comes out short, however, $694.16. Everyone was so quick to doing the math, but using the wrong numbers! Being on SS I can use this money more then AIG.
Yes we need change in our country, but we’ve got to get our house in order. No I’m not religious, but I see the bible as a good philosophy book. And when I read it it just amaze me how people in that time had wisdom. Take the story about the “clay feet..” and the body of iron. Translated means we can’t build our country into a great society on “clay feet”, meaning on a “lie”. I’m willing to hear something on this other then my own opinion.
Yep! Just like in those Babylon eras it will surely fall to the ground–think we’re almost there.
Check ae911truth.org and you will know what I am talking about. Being in the same profession as Mr. Richard Gage and using the same tools that all engineers use will arrive to the same conclusion, 911 was an inside job and we cannot build our country upon clay feet/a lie.
We need to start cleaning up our own mess before we can lay the foundation to our new Country.
Please facts not personal hyperbole.
rik // January 29, 2009 at 6:32 am
What is 85 billion divided by 200 million?
In: Math [Edit categories]
[Edit]
[Edit]
1000 / 200 is the same a s 100 / 20, which is the same as 10 / 2 … when two numbers in a division share a number of trailing zeroes these can be cancelled out.
85,000.000,000 = 85 billion
200,000,000 = 200 million.
As both numbers have 8 trailing zeroes, we can cancel them out. This leaves us with 850 and 2. Now the division problem is much easier. 850 /2 = 425.
So 85 billion divided by 200 million = 425.
– edit –
In British English usage a billion has 12 zeroes. so the answer then would be 425,000