I have nothing conclusive or in-depth about economic policy to offer. I am not an analyst, nor do I study the market. What I know about the current state of economic affairs in the U.S. as it pertains to financial matters is this: I am on unemployment, I have very little income and a tax cut for me might only help slightly.

So many pundits, depending on your bias leanings, are blathering about the Economic Stimulus package each party in Congress is offering up. It all sounds like the same old song and dance. Republicans want tax breaks for the rich using the old "trickle down" theory, and the Democrats want tax breaks for the middle class using the old, "put the money in the pockets of the working man theory."

In my recent discussions as servant to the wealthy (who are ALL Republicans) the "trickle-down" theory works and as far as they are concerned that is the only way to stimulate the economy. Seeing as how I am dependent on them for the pocket change I have (.32 cents as of this post) I am happy to see them with more money to spend on the little people.

In fact, the way I see it, in the service industry that I am working hard to break into, the upper tiers of the economy are the people I am most dependent on. I need for them to have disposable income. What they have is more money than time, and what I have is more time than money. For most wealthy people, it's much easier to make more money, but no one has been able to generate more time.

I also understand the need for the middle class to get a break. Dual income families with kids in college, mortgages and car loans need more money in order to become consumers again. The '90s boom was about consumption and even an economic naif such as myself knows that consumption drives the economy. I spent less this year on Christmas than I EVER have. Obviously my impending unemployment fueled my spending habits, but retailers just weren't offering the kinds of deals I needed to part with my precious cash.

Discount stores I am convinced fared the best. Places like Wal-Mart, Marc's, Big Lots and the like were packed. The malls were as desolate as a whorehouse during a raging outbreak of the clap (ewwww!!!). I wanted reasonable items at a cheap, Cheap, CHEAP price. So did everyone.

I received the below anecdote that describes what tax theories mean to those of us without an MBA. What an eye-opener.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men — the poorest — would pay nothing; the fifth would pay $1, the sixth would pay $3, the seventh $7, the eighth $12, the ninth $18, and the tenth man — the richest — would pay $59.

That's what they decided to do. The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement — until one day, the owner threw them a curve (in tax language a tax cut).

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