Sometime this year, we taxpayers may again receive an economic stimulus payment. This is a very exciting new program, and I will explain it using a Q&A format:
Q: What is an economic stimulus payment?
A: It is money the federal government will send to taxpayers.
Q: Where will the government get this money?
A: From taxpayers.
Q: So the government is giving me back my own money?
A: Only a smidgen.
Q: What is the purpose of this payment?
A: The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q: But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China?
A: Shut up.
Nick Spencer is a dapper Englishman who has restored one of the most famous houses in England, Daneway. For his 70th birthday, Nick climbed the 6,959-meter Argentine mountain Aconcagua to raise funds for a trust for children in several small villages in Nepal. Less than half of those who try to climb the mountain make it, and he did.
And that is one of the reasons I’m still hopeful: At least there are people like Nick out there, fighting against all the clunks.
