Welcome to Joel's Soapbox
You may very well disagree with the things said here, but these are thoughts I (Joel) needed to air out. Don't feel obligated to comment or anything....
What you'll find on this page (click to jump):
- Smoking: A dirty, offensive, deadly habit?
- Import vs domestic autos: Where does the money REALLY go?
- Taxes: Paying an awful lot lately?
- Road Tolls: Are toll plazas just ripping us off?
- Air Pollution: Is anyone really trying to help this situation? SUVs aren't!
- Real Life Expenses: At this rate, will they the next generation be able to afford life?
- Littering: Why can't you just put it where it belongs?
- Living together: Do you know that it jeopardizes your marriage?
Smoking: A dirty, offensive, deadly habit?
Most smokers we've met could care less about others too. I'll smoke in a confined space with you if I want to,
is the common response. Thank God most buildings are now smoke free and we don't have to put
up with it on a regular basis. It's really funny to me to see people so addicted to those
little fire sticks that they will huddle up outside of buildings when it's 20 below zero outside
just to inhale some smoke. Sounds kinda nuts when you really think about it, huh? The other
thing I REALLY hate about smoking is that the butts are thrown everywhere. Talk about inconsiderate!
My car gets hit regularly by someone throwing their butt out their car's window. And if it
doesn't rain for a while, look at the THOUSANDS of cigarette butts on the streets. Nasty. Thanks
for the garbage laying everywhere. Keep your butts off the ground, people - it's gross!!!!
Now, I've heard TONS of reasons to smoke, from looking cool to "I enjoy it" to "I'm addicted
to it". In closing, here are 10 GOOD reasons to STOP smoking:
See, there is a portion of the profits which will go back to the foreign company headquarters, but it will go to
the company and the high-ranking staff. The good part about having the cars built here is that the
average American building the cars is now employed and being paid well. WHO NEEDS THE MONEY WORSE - the
average, middle class citizen or some CEO? The average, hard-working person deserves money, of course.
GM execs will suck up that money here too - you're making a "select few" richer.
Now, some of you are saying that the "company" still gets that money. Not really. Only a little bit
of money is used to further the company. The rest lines the pockets of the execs. It's the same overseas
or here at home, so the money earned selling cars can at least support some average American worker's family for
the next year. The same can be said of American car companies, right? Only to a certain extent.
Look at all the cars being built out of the US. Did you know that Camaros are being built in Canada?
Your F150 may have come from Mexico. Your Pontiac's transmission likely came from Japan. There are
more American parts in the new Honda Accord than a new Grand Am. Sorry to break the news folks, but the
"big 3" are farming jobs to Mexico and Canada like crazy. That ELIMINATES American jobs, and doesn't
help us out at all. So, if you bought American strictly to "support the American company", you may
have bought something not built in this country at all. The automobile economy is becoming more global
everyday, so make sure you keep that in mind next time you hear talks of this type!
The tolls do one thing well though - they disrupt traffic flow and stop up roads for every rush
hour traffic jam to get much worse. What a great idea. Let's have everyone on the road stop
every 15 miles and throw 40 cents in a basket. Who's the genious behind that one? At any rate,
it's no longer about paying for roads, but rather about paying someone handsomely for doing nothing.
That sucks! I won't skip them (as many people do in protest). I know one guy who has traveled
the tollroads for years, and unless the gates are down, he throws in a penny and drives on. For me,
it's a little different. I feel bound by the words of Jesus: "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and give
unto God what is God's."
Smoking is gross. Really. If you are a smoker, I don't mean to offend you, but it's
really gross. Smokers' cars and homes are ALWAYS dirtier than a non-smoker's home. Just
look at anything white in a smoker's house. It will be yellowing from the smoke - guaranteed.
I won't even mention the extra amount of dust in the air and the ever-present smell in the
house, which is engrained in the carpet, furniture, and draperies. Cars are the same way.
I won't buy a car which was smoked in, usually, because they smell. And many have those
lovely ash burns in the seats. Thanks, but no thanks! A known fact - non-smoker cars retain
their value over smoker's cars. Same deal with houses. Now, on to the next point.
1. It's inconsiderate of others. Your smoke stinks, and you stink after burning one (clothes, breath, etc). Non-smokers don't enjoy that smell!!
2. Your home and car values will increase.
3. Your health insurance premiums will drop (what's that tell you??).
4. You will stop aging as fast. Smokers look older than they are, and many have the "leather skin" and raspy voice to prove it.
5. You will be healthier. Smokers aren't as healthy (nice hack you've developed there). Period. C'mon - let's run a mile!
6. You won't have to deal with lung cancer or emphysema in old age (portable oxygen tanks are NOT cool, kids).
7. Your teeth won't be full of tar. By the way, if your teeth look like that, what do your lungs look like? Eek!
8. You will save a lot of money. With the expense, imagine that extra money each week!
9. You may get more dates. MANY guys and girls are instantly turned off by smoking.
10. You can stay inside at work and not have to go out in all types of weather and suffer!
Import vs domestic autos: Where does the money REALLY go?
I hear a lot of argument on this topic, and since I really like the quality of Japanese
autmobiles, I hear it a lot living here in the Midwest. Let's think this through though. The average Asian automobile
will run longer an cost less over the life of the vehicle, and it will be much more reliable.
That's why I buy them. It's fact, not my opinion. Most of the Hondas and Toyotas and other "foreign" cars are now built in the United States
now too, which is good - employing American workers. The biggest argument I hear is that the "real
profits" still go overseas, so it doesn't matter that the cars are built here. Not a bad argument,
but I can show the problem with it.
Taxes: Paying an awful lot lately?
Ugh. Taxes. Every year, they are so much fun to file, aren't they? Well, I don't really mind that so
much, but I'm getting concerned. I believe taxes are required. Obviously, they make this country work,
but are we going too far? Taxes are now consuming more of people's income than ever before in this country,
and I constantly see new taxes coming out. I have to ask - if people's incomes are taxed by percentages,
then the money taken out is increased as people earn more, right? So how come the taxes need to go up at a
rate that much higher that a new tax is required every time you turn around? Federal taxes, state taxes,
food taxes, sales tax, automotive taxes, realty taxes, gas taxes and more. The list seems endless. It's hard
to believe that one third of the price of gasoline is tax. It's hard to believe it costs thousands of dollars
each year to stay in a house just because of taxes. It's hard to believe that I need to give up close to
8% extra on every purchase just to buy something. And, the more you make, the more you get taxed. It's really
hard to get ahead that way, isn't it!! It's time to stop the tax increases. The American people are starting to
suffer under excessive taxation. WHAT THE HECK IS ALL THIS MONEY GOING FOR ANYWAY? If people are getting paid
that much in politics, I guess I need to get in! Otherwise, we need to start looking at excessive spending or
something, because it's getting out of hand!
Road Tolls: Are toll plazas just ripping us off?
You bet! I wrote this to apply to the Chicago area. You know, 294 - 355 - 90 - 88: what do
they have in common? They cost you cash to drive on them. The original intent was to put
the tolls in place to pay for the roads, then remove them. The next argument was that the money
was needed to maintain the roads. Well, several roads (294 in particular) has paid for itself
many times over. These toll booths are just raking it in for some exec of the toll
booth authority. I pay taxes for road repairs. I don't see those roads being
fixed any quicker than the other highways in Chicago. Something is not right.
Air Pollution: Is anyone really trying to help this situation? Today's cars/trucks aren't!
SUVs are so popular and car engines keep gettin bigger again - this country seems to be going backwards with technology! You know,
we have more ozone action days in the summer now than ever before. On recent trips to Los Angeles
and Las Vegas, I couldn't believe the bronze haze covering everything. Pollution is causing so many
problems, including breathing problems and acid rain (to name a couple). The worse part is that
although emissions are getting better, we are using more gas than ever, which is still causing
the pollution amount to be excessive. We were a societly headed towards higher gas mileage and reduced
emissions. Instead, we are creating monster trucks that guzzle a gallon of gas every 12 miles, and
people are buying them as commuter vehicles. HUH? Did I miss something? Status seems to rule over
common sense I guess. Even the cars are getting poor mileage. Big 3, are you listening? Stop trying to make so much money off those ugly SUVs and start
making the environment better. Why do you have engines that are RATED at 10mpg? Hello?
Until we realize that we are only hurting ourselves, we will continue to pollute the environment. Eventually,
we will realize it. It will then be too late. As a car lover, it's hard for me to say that we shouldn't
have gasoline engines, but at the same time we need to be responsible. I love my cars, but I will continue
to buy economical, environmentally-friendly vehicles. To all those who are buying those big SUVs and pickups that just
plain DON'T NEED THEM, please - for the environment - scale it down and get something that won't cause so much pain
for your children. If you can kill yourself in the garage with the car running, it's just a matter of time
before we kill ourselves driving millions of cars around the garage called earth.... And THEN there's the Peak Oil problem that will affect us all in huge ways....
Real Life Expenses: At this rate, will they the next generation be able to afford life?
Houses are up 5-10% per year. Cars go up $1000 a year or more. Education is ridiculously expensive. Did your income go up that much? Doubt it!
So, what can we do about it? I don't know! Reports show that "prosperity of the people" is higher than ever, yet I know
too many people who are having a hard time making it. I know that without the second income of my wife,
we wouldn't have a house - that's for sure! If we every have kids though, she and I both agree that it would
be best for her to stay home to raise the kids right. How can we afford to keep the house? I know my parents did
it, as did hers, and all our grandparents did it the same way. Now we can't afford to. What's going to happen
a couple years down the road? It's getting impossible. Think about it, and what can be done about it! Taxes aren't
helping as they slowly creep up. Everything seems to be going up, while people are taken advantage of by large
corporations who don't seem to dole out the extra money they make to those who actually make it happen. We need
to start finding a solution now, because it will be too late too soon!
Littering: Put it where it belongs. I can't believe how many times I see people throwing
trash out the windows of their cars. Driving down the highways and local roads, or just sitting at the
light, down goes the window, out goes the wrapper, tissue, cup, etc. This stuff doesn't pick itself up
people!! Look along the roads - they are gross. We have volunteer crews cleaning stretches of highway
because people can't keep their garbage until they stop somewhere. When there is a strong wind, you may
notice all the plastic flying through the air, cups and cans on the ground, and paper blowing into your
yard. Please help keep it clean so we can enjoy the view, whether it's a cityscape or acres of grass!
Living together jeopardizes your marriage.