Morton Fox's journal

Looks like they finally went with the helicopter drop of money, except they framed it as a tax rebate stimulus package so it won't sound so comically desperate. Even though I don't believe that a panic increase of liquidity is in our long-term best interest, I can't help but be annoyed that I'm not getting any of it. The plan excludes "higher-income taxpayers" earning over $75K. Can we afford the stimulus package? Frankly, no. However, given that we have a national debt of around $9.2 trillion and a Federal fiscal gap exceeding $50 trillion (according to Comptroller David Walker), the Empire is already drowning in debt. So what's an additional $150 billion? Might as well enjoy it while it lasts!

While I miss out on the $600 tax rebate, I found a way to save roughly $400. I currently have both a landline phone and a cell phone. The only reason I kept the landline is because it costs only 6 cents per minute to call the old country, whereas on the cell phone, it costs 17 cents per minute plus a $10 monthly charge to add the international calling feature. This morning, while reading Wise Bread (there I go again with the Wise Bread :) ), I started wondering about using a phone card on the cell phone. So I looked around on the web and found a phone card that will make that international call at a rate of 4.5 cents per minute, with no signup fees, monthly fees, or per-call charges! I think I'll try the phone card with a low stored value first. If it works okay then I can consider dropping the landline.

Today, I revisited The Ramsey TB B&B in Ramsey and The Verger's Veranda at Verger Pat's in Pearl River to exchange more travel bugs. The "Ramsey TB B&B" used to be called "Chevy Chase" because that geocache was hidden under a Chevy hubcap. The hubcap vanished mysteriously so the cache owner renamed the cache.