Deal of the Day Site

I am officially sick of deal of the day sites. What was once a gun slinging, fast reaction combination of e-commerce paint-ball and shopping has now turned into either a way for retailers and junk peddlers to get rid of last years insect-ravaged toaster models - or - a way for bad local restaurants to lure in the masses with 50% deals on cheeseburgers and spa treatments.

It just plain sucks, and I ain't doing it anymore.

When Ebay switched over from the world's largest garage sale full of snipers, and treasure and bidding wars into the world's largest cheap Chinese good flea market / store, the fun went out of that as well. Ebay Stores suck.

So I don't do that anymore either.

What is left for me is Goodwill - which will soon be ruined by hoarders and vultures trying to pretend in their own limp way that they are American Pickers looking to score a "honey hole" or "flip" that silver plated baby rattle into the "find of a lifetime". I swear it is like dealing with a bunch of Guy Fieri knock offs with worse haircuts and more body odor.

I can still search through Craigslist and fend off the desperate horde of single moms selling baby swings, onesies and broken toys as I continue the elusive search for something of value - and the "something of value" gets harder to find every day.

Barn finds, estate treasures and garage sales are all that is left. It seems that I got to go mobile to get to the good stuff!

Left Wingers and Crybabies in general - the British are coming!

Left leaners and cry babies in general in the US could learn a lesson from this British dolt who successfully sued the police after a justified stop for inflicting him with "post traumatic stress disorder" because of the stress of being legally stopped.

Businessman Robert Whatley, 71, of Usk, took legal action over a 17-minute pursuit for not wearing a seat belt. Mr. Whatley was later found guilty of not wearing a seatbelt, failing to stop for a police officer and having tinted car windows that did not conform to legal requirements. He also admitted having an invalid registration plate and was fined a total of £235 and ordered to pay £300 towards prosecution costs by Caerphilly magistrates.

Mr. Whatley was stopped in 2009 at the end of the pursuit, after he would not stop for officers and was chased for several miles along country roads between Cwmbran and Usk. Mr. Whatley promptly filed a complaint against the officers and a claim against the police force.

The officers were later cleared in a disciplinary hearing for any wrong-doing and Gwent Police has made no admission of liability.

Mr. Whatley, who claimed "post-traumatic stress disorder" as a result of the incident he created, has already received more than £8,000 from the force after claiming for damage to his Range Rover.

BBC Wales says the payment is in excess of £20,000. Police said they decided to settle on financial grounds. Contesting the matter further would have incurred substantial legal costs if the case had gone to court”

Why I left Canada - Pizza, Taxes and Socialism

KC went shopping with the mother in law from Canada today. At the grocery store she saw the prices and fainted. After reviving her she stated that categorically every food item in the US was at least 1/2 the price it was in Canada. Milk at a grocery in the US? $1.88. In Canada? $4.99.

So I decided to do a little investigatin' and a lot of calculatin' and some assumpteratin'.

Western Pizza in good old Regina (hold the beaver jokes) Saskatchewan, Canada (pop 185,000) charges an astonishing, mind bending, delirious price of  $51.95 for an 18 inch all-dressed pizza. In addition to that - they have the rock-hard, diamond encrusted, brass coated stones to charge a $5.00 delivery charge for AAANNNYYYY pizza - not just the largest one. This makes the cost of an 18" pizza a mind numbing $56.95. Add in the generous gov't taxes to fund the working poor's adventures in life and you are out $65.50 for a pie.  A 14" "large"? That will set you back $35.95 with delivery. Over $40 with taxes. Want to see the evidence?

In the good ole' USA (capitalistic, exploit the working man USA) the same pizza would cost $21.00 at Bill's Pizza in Prescott Arizona (pop 90,000 if you count the sheep!) and you would get free delivery. For the record, the closest homes in Prescott are further from the pizza store than the farthest in Regina. And the taxes are 7%. Total cost? $22.47.

A 14" pizza, with everything, delivered in Phoenix regularly costs under $14.00. $15 with taxes.
And don't think I forgot about tipping - despite the fact Canadians never tip a delivery guy - I just negated it from both sides of the equation.

Here's where it gets good. My personal tax rate in the US is 20% lower than it is in Canada. Ergo to purchase that pie in Canada would cost me an additional 15-20% in gross pay to get the job done. Using an 18% rounding I come up with $77.29 in equivalent earnings to buy that Western Pizza dough-sicle. Lastly the US dollar is worth about 3% more than Canada, meaning all things being equal - that pie cost my Canuck bretheren about $74.97 in US funds.

Give or take - that pie is 343% more expensive in the Great White North.

Who wants a slice of that "free" health care? I'll get it with extra cheese for ya.

Part II - KC writes Western Pizza corporate head office with his cogent analysis.....