Agriculture Department Imposes Christmas Tree Tax

[Mevara]

Originally Posted by agzg

Are you serious, right now?

"Got Milk" "Milk: It Does a Body Good" "The Incredible Edible Egg" "Beef: It's What's for Dinner" "Pork: The Other White Meat" are all similar programs. Programs that were created to help out a struggling AMERICAN industry (the Real Tree industry is seriously threatened right now by artificial tree makers, which mostly come from China).

We SHOULD care about helping AMERICAN companies, especially ones that are producing something as awesome and time consuming as Christmas Trees. This isn't Monsano and the Soy Bean Debacle, this is CHRISTMAS TREES. Produced by SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. That have a 7 YEAR TURNAROUND TIME. If something isn't done NOW (and yes, promoting Real Trees via marketing WILL make an impact - ask the Dairy Industry), the industry could easily fall victim to over-production, which will drive the costs down and eventually cause it to fail.

THEN what will you do? Are you just going to get in line at Target and buy fake ones from now on?

The industry ASKED for this. They ASKED for help. And they should be helped.

FURTHERMORE, most oil consumed in the United States does not come from the United States. Most Real Trees do. We're completely dependent on oil. We're not at all dependent on Real Trees. Real Trees NEED marketing. Oil does not.



Oh now I know you're full of bullshit. The first words of the article you quoted are "The Obama Administration."

Have fun with your soy milk and your fake trees. Put some more money in the coffers of Monsano, and support Chinese big business while you're at it. I hope you prefer fake bacon over real bacon, as well.

So I didn't pull out the Obama part of the quote... I just took the whole quote from the article.. I will go back and modify.

Yes I do not drink cow's milk or even eat bacon (fake or not), BUT I do that for health reasons. I do plan on buying a live Christmas tree but from a local place that actually grows them in my area.

I ALWAYS try to buy American and support my local community when I can. I purchased my whole bed set from a company that hand makes them in Oregon. So does that mean to support American products we should tax them more, even if it a little bit? Increase the tariffs on imported products not American.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by Mevara

So I didn't pull out the Obama part of the quote... I just took the whole quote from the article.. I will go back and modify.

Yes I do not drink cow's milk or even eat bacon (fake or not), BUT I do that for health reasons. I do plan on buying a live Christmas tree but from a local place that actually grows them in my area.

I ALWAYS try to buy American and support my local community when I can. I purchased my whole bed set from a company that hand makes them in Oregon. So does that mean to support American products we should tax them more, even if it a little bit? Increase the tariffs on imported products not American.

It's fifteen freakin' cents per tree. FIFTEEN. Rather than bitching over $0.15, let's talk about the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BAILOUT that the American Auto Industry got. Which is more harmful? This is a much more preferable way to help out American companies. It's an attempt to work WITH the market, instead of against it, which is what the bailout was, and what tariffs are.

I'm not saying we should have let the auto industry fail. But early intervention rather than a weak "Buy American" campaign that was really against communism more than "all imports" would have gone a lot further and saved a lot of money along the way.

[Mevara]

Originally Posted by agzg

It's fifteen freakin' cents per tree. FIFTEEN. Rather than bitching over $0.15, let's talk about the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BAILOUT that the American Auto Industry got. Which is more harmful? This is a much more preferable way to help out American companies. It's an attempt to work WITH the market, instead of against it, which is what the bailout was, and what tariffs are.

I'm not saying we should have let the auto industry fail. But early intervention rather than a weak "Buy American" campaign that was really against communism more than "all imports" would have gone a lot further and saved a lot of money along the way.

Don't get me started with the bailout of either the Auto Industry or the banks. I don't agree with either but that is not the point I was bringing up here. If you want to rehash that topic again bump the thread and we can go.