A Garage Sale Primer

Folks all around this great country of ours know that sometimes when the piggy bank gets a little too empty, it may just be time for a garage sale. I admit that I love a good garage sale. There is nothing quite as exhilarating as getting rid of some accumulated junk that you can live without that some schlub is eager to take off your hands at bargain prices. It can also be fun to search for treasures among someones junk. It can be a win win situation either way.

The Gubernator understands the value of a good garage sale. With California's piggy bank being depleted and then some, Arnold Schwarzenegger decided it was time for a garage sale. You have to hand it to Arnold, love him or hate him, he isn't afraid to do the unconventional. I'd like to deliver a message from Arnold. It is one that Arnold delivered at the Republican National Convention in 2004:



That's right, don't be "economic girlie men", or women for that matter. Assess the empty bank account, take charge, and have a garage sale.

Perhaps the federal government should take heed, after all, Arnold is practically a Kennedy. Besides, what more evidence do you need that it is time to act?



Obama has spoken, "We're out of money now." So, why not have a garage sale? Its not as if the federal government doesn't have enough useless junk laying around. When that useless junk is taking money out of my wallet, a garage sale sounds like a great idea.

If I was to organize a garage sale it would be hard to know where to start. The National Endowment for the Arts and Corporation for Public Broadcasting are two luxury items in the federal budget that come to mind. Tightening the belt sometimes means doing without. Perhaps somebody will stop by the garage sale who realizes the value of these two castoffs and supports them with their private dollars instead of my public dollars.

But those are small potatoes. We need something really big and juicy to get the passersby to pull up to the curb. I'm thinking about something that we can really live without. How about the Department of Education (DOE). Federal support of K-12 education has increased 138 percent since 1985, yet according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. secondary education is ranked 18th among 36 nations. I'm not suggesting that we scrap educational spending altogether. I'm just saying that the DOE, should be out on the driveway with the lava lamps.

Of course, occasionally when you put something out for sale, nobody wants to buy it. Maybe we could do what I do after the garage sale when there is something that nobody wants to buy. Slap a FREE sign on it, close the garage door and go inside. I guarantee that it will be gone by the next morning.

If the DOE were sold for cash, or just freed up some space in my wallet, it would still be a win win situation for me. It wouldn't fill up the piggy bank, but it might buy a few more necessities.