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Someone tell me...
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stratoaxe View Drop Down
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And my axe...

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    Posted: 09 November 2011 at 5:06am
that this is a joke.
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evillepaintball View Drop Down
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Not sexy - only dangerous to self

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Which part upsets you?  The part about the tax on Christmas trees or the part about a federal program to promote Christmas trees?
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Rofl_Mao View Drop Down
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The idea is stupid, but I lose 15 cents to my couch all the time!
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tallen702 View Drop Down
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I dunno, doesn't seem as bad as it's being made out to be. $0.15 once-a-year is nothing, and if it helps to provide services for our nation, so be it.
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PaiNTbALLfReNzY View Drop Down
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I don't buy Christmas trees, but $0.15 isn't a big deal.

However, I do anticipate someone will try to make the argument that he's taxing Christians specifically.
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Mack View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Rofl_Mao Rofl_Mao wrote:

The idea is stupid!


fixed . . .

. . . and it's not just the 15 cents (I use fake trees anyways), it's the idea that with all the problems facing the nation our "leader" wasted government time/energy/money on something this trivial.





Edited:  To add the quote marks (" ") around "leader."  This is going to now be my version of FE's "++Obama++" or whatever it is that he does.


Edited by Mack - 09 November 2011 at 11:26am
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evillepaintball View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Mack's sig Mack's sig wrote:

 (better yet; ignore the FEaper) 

Doing the same crap he does is definitely not ignoring him.  I think it's about time we vote out our own leader.  WHO'S WITH ME!?
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agentwhale007 View Drop Down
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I don't have much of a problem with it.

Tree farms are good for the environment. The statistic I've seen, granted unverified, is that one acre of average Christmas tree farm produces enough volume of oxygen to supply 18 people for 24 hours. They also produce oxygen through sucking in carbon dioxide. They also require very few pesticides to grow. 

The idea of this initiative seems to be to collect money to promote the live Christmas tree industry in hopes of getting more people to buy real trees - thus causing the growth of 1) A domestic market, and 2) A market that is very environmentally helpful. This will potentially replace some of the market on fake Christmas trees - which are often made overseas (Bad for U.S. markets) and are often petroleum based (Not the best for the environment). 

The abridged version: PR isn't cheap, and you might as well collect/spend on things overall beneficial. 
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ParielIsBack View Drop Down
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I am 100% sure we have more important things to discuss.
BU Engineering 2012
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evillepaintball View Drop Down
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The first thing Adolf Stalin got rid of when he took over Communist Nazi Germany was the Christmas tree.  Look it up.  
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deadeye007 View Drop Down
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^^ that brought a smile to my face

Edit: Being serious now.
"The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry”

Isn't this the job of the people selling the Christmas tree and not the governments? This has to be a joke.

Edited by deadeye007 - 09 November 2011 at 2:58pm
Face it guys, common sense is a form of wealth and we're surrounded by poverty.-Strato
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Originally posted by deadeye007 deadeye007 wrote:

^^ that brought a smile to my face

Edit: Being serious now.
"The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry”

Isn't this the job of the people selling the Christmas tree and not the governments? This has to be a joke.


It's also the job of the dairy industry to sell milk and cheese, the auto industry to sell cars, and the oil industry to sell gas and natural gas, but they all get a leg-up from the US Gov't, so why not tree farms? Let's face it, subsidies aren't anything new, and at least this one is transparent.
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stratoaxe View Drop Down
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Points: 6839 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stratoaxe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 November 2011 at 5:23pm
Originally posted by Mack Mack wrote:

. . . and it's not just the 15 cents (I use fake trees anyways), it's the idea that with all the problems facing the nation our "leader" wasted government time/energy/money on something this trivial.
 
Bingo.
 
My issue with this twofold-for starters, it's horrible PR. I don't have an issue with the .15, but the timing is pure crap when the economy is in the tank.
 
Sure, support the tree industry, I'm cool with that. But really, this is my big issue-
 
Originally posted by The article The article wrote:

Acting Administrator Shipman had the temerity to say the 15-cent mandatory Christmas tree fee “is not a tax nor does it yield revenue for the Federal government”
 
Odd. They're collecting a percentage (albeit a small one) from Christmas tree sales that goes to the Secretary of Ag, sounds like a tax.
 
Also, how is this enforced? To Christmas tree sellers have to keep paperwork on their .15 collections? Did we have to devise new papers for them to file? Then who keeps track of the distribution of the money? If it's not a formal taxation, how on earth is it being filed?
 
You see where I'm going? Government initiatives don't come for free, somebody has to keep track this crap.
 
Originally posted by PariellsBack PariellsBack wrote:

I am 100% sure we have more important things to discuss.
 
We sure do, that's the point.
 
Whale-I totally agree with giving domestic industry a leg up, but how much of the proceeds from this go to keeping the program itself alive? I'm not saying I'm 100% right, this could be breath of fresh air to a dying industry. I'm saying I'm incredibly skeptical of the logistics that the idea presents.
 
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agentwhale007 View Drop Down
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Originally posted by stratoaxe stratoaxe wrote:


Whale-I totally agree with giving domestic industry a leg up, but how much of the proceeds from this go to keeping the program itself alive? I'm not saying I'm 100% right, this could be breath of fresh air to a dying industry. I'm saying I'm incredibly skeptical of the logistics that the idea presents.
 


I concur with the bold portions as well. Although I may not be incredibly skeptical, I would like to see the breakdown of the $0.15, how much is going to be spent in which ways: PSAs? Outside agencies? How big of a campaign? Etc. A thing to keep in mind is that the tree farming industry largely backed the tax. 


I cannot argue with that. It was framed as a "tax on Christmas." It really didn't look good, despite being similar to past efforts. 
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Reb Cpl View Drop Down
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I just can't fathom how the phrase "We need to promote the Christmas Tree industry" can pass lawmakers lips seriously when they've got a whole economy that G.W. Screwed up staring them in the face.

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agentwhale007 View Drop Down
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Forum's Noam Chomsky

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Points: 12014 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote agentwhale007 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 November 2011 at 6:24pm
Originally posted by Reb Cpl Reb Cpl wrote:

I just can't fathom how the phrase "We need to promote the Christmas Tree industry" can pass lawmakers lips seriously when they've got a whole economy that G.W. Screwed up staring them in the face.

I mean, it's the Department of Agriculture, and it was a push to promote a domestic agriculture market, despite how poorly the push itself was proposed. 

It's not too far off from their job description. 


Edited by agentwhale007 - 09 November 2011 at 6:40pm
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High Voltage View Drop Down
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So was this Obama's plan or the Dept. of Agriculture's plan?
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Originally posted by High Voltage High Voltage wrote:

So was this Obama's plan or the Dept. of Agriculture's plan?


This depends on if its successful or not. Tongue
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Reb Cpl View Drop Down
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Originally posted by agentwhale007 agentwhale007 wrote:

Originally posted by Reb Cpl Reb Cpl wrote:

I just can't fathom how the phrase "We need to promote the Christmas Tree industry" can pass lawmakers lips seriously when they've got a whole economy that G.W. Screwed up staring them in the face.

I mean, it's the Department of Agriculture, and it was a push to promote a domestic agriculture market, despite how poorly the push itself was proposed. 

It's not too far off from their job description. 


No, I understand that. It just....sounds silly.
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agentwhale007 View Drop Down
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Points: 12014 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote agentwhale007 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 November 2011 at 8:10pm
Originally posted by Reb Cpl Reb Cpl wrote:

Originally posted by agentwhale007 agentwhale007 wrote:

Originally posted by Reb Cpl Reb Cpl wrote:

I just can't fathom how the phrase "We need to promote the Christmas Tree industry" can pass lawmakers lips seriously when they've got a whole economy that G.W. Screwed up staring them in the face.

I mean, it's the Department of Agriculture, and it was a push to promote a domestic agriculture market, despite how poorly the push itself was proposed. 

It's not too far off from their job description. 


No, I understand that. It just....sounds silly.

No argument there. 
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