Betcha didn’t know about this one: turns out that in some department stores, such as Macy’s, you can get an additional, stackable discount of around 11% if you’re a citizen of a country other than the United States!

Macy's International Discount Card

Of course, you HAVE to be from another country, and not just show up with a fake name and accent … “Helo, mein neim iz Gunter, eym from Deutchland … Pleez geev me sum diskountz” ain’t gonna work.  The easiest way to accomplish this would be to bring one of your foreign friends with you when you’re renewing your wardrobe.

After all, if you’re spending several hundred dollars on some businesswear, why not save some money by essentially getting your tax reversed?

Macy's International Discount Card

I came across this little thing when I took my legitimately foreign-born, foreign-residing parents to Macy’s and coyly asked the salesgirl about any “other discounts” that we could apply to our $500 total.  She smiled and said, “well, yes, as a matter of fact, there is one thing you can do, since I couldn’t help but notice these folks you’re with are not from here“.  Then there’s a small matter of actually wanting to support your local government via paying the sales tax …

This year I waited until the last day to file my 1040, which is pretty stupid considering we’re getting a refund. It should include last year’s stimulus, which we’ve never gotten due to some complications with filing (IRS apparently never received my 2007 return even though TurboTax swears they did). That’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way, and from now on I decided to file paper, not bits and bytes, keep meticulous copies, and send with proof of sending.

Well, the income tax we did pay during the year apparently went to fund the wars.

Income Tax Fiscal Year 2009

So, between the human resources and wars, where’s the money for, you know, what we THINK taxes pay for, like police, roads, firemen, schools, etc?  Easy — all that other life-supporting stuff is paid out of our local and property taxes, which last year amounted to about $5,000 where I live.

This is not any kind of a call to action, but I’m inviting you to think about where your taxes go.  And now some featured stuff …

Finding a good bank account is not as easy as it once was. Some banks will offer good certificate of deposit rates but in today’s economic climate, you have to be sure you can find a sturdy financial institution as well.  Bromoney blogs about the latest bank rates and offers ratings on the banks with each post. They also give reviews on the best credit card offers with a full breakdown of the rewards and rules that go along with the cards.

Call me what you will, but this is the second year I am boning up on my gardening skillz and planting a garden, Victory Garden-style. I think things are going to get much worse in the economic sense, and I have a big enough yard to support a bunch of fruits, vegetables, and flowers for decor. By the way, although flowers are not immediately consumable as food, I decided to plant those anyway — they cheer me up!

I have already planted radishes, onions, basil, rosemary, bell peppers, parsley, cilantro, pickling cucumbers, squash, cherry tomatoes … marigolds, petunias, crocuses, daffodils. Still have to plant Roma tomatoes, more cucumbers, currant bushes, climbing roses, maybe a lime tree.

We’ve also trimmed the tree that’s been hanging over part of the yard, so now there’s plenty of sun for tomatoes.

So why am I doing all this? I want to be prepared for the impending collapse in the quality of life in the US as we know it. I’ve lives in many countries, multiple cultures … NEVER have I seen the excesses that I’ve witnessed during the last 8 years — someone’s gotta pony up to pay for them.

At least I’ll have a tomato to chew on when the time comes.

This is truly, truly amazing. A (supposedly) decidedly capitalist society like the United States decided to practically nationalize its automakers … while an (officially) Socialist society like Sweden has been unequivocal in stating that it’s not ready to own car companies yet.

Read all about it here.

Think about how crazy something like that sounds: a laisses faire country bailing out private businesses, and a centrally-planned country allowing free markets to work … up is down, black is white, and what they teach in college is nonsense.

Saab

Although most can point to how GM destroyed a Swedish marquee, it’s amazing to me how neither GM nor the Swedish government are willing to “save” the company!  Perhaps it’s the good sign of the things to come, and more governments will follow Sweden’s example … Although who am I kidding … there will be more bailouts, more “too big to fail” mentality, and more maternal “we need to take care of everyone” attitide …

What’s all this talk of laid off people going back to school, people?

Number one … How the hell can anyone afford education in this environment? The University of Texas (UT) MBA program is $8,800 (conservatively), which amounts to about $980 per month … can someone explain to me how you can get LAID OFF and then decide you’re going to magically come up with another grand a month to GO TO SCHOOL?

It’s all nonsense. I have not heard of a SINGLE individual at work who decided to all of a sudden join the ranks of MBA students just because they got laid off.

On a related note, in my home country of Ukraine, it seems like EVERYONE has at least TWO degrees … mostly a law degree and a business degree, which does make them more competitive.  However, they seem to have gotten those degrees back-to-back, while living with parents …

At any rate … As I was sitting at work, watching HR people walk my colleagues out one by one, I realized that although I cared on a personal level, I didn’t give a shit on all other levels.  They’ve cut star-studded, seasoned professionals, those who you would never think would be laid off … I am yet to hear about ANY of them going back to school.

Don’t believe the hype.  And while you’re at it, consider the kind of business education you’re gonna get, anyway … Most likely, it’s going to be a hard-to-digest Keynesian smoothie of macroeconomics and bullshit.  Go Mises!