My redeployment has begun.

Hello All,

Redeployment is the buzz word for "you completed your deployment and you are going back to where you came from". I have about 6 weeks left, but today, I did pack one of my pieces of luggage with stuff I knew I would not need before I leave.

Hard to believe it has been almost 7 mos already. There is no way I will see all the things that I wanted to see. But, even if I only did half the things I did, I would consider it a worthwhile expedition. Certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Since we have a contract on the house, I have been mindful to contain my leisure spending. We have the house in the near future and that house will need a refrigerator (all the installed appliances are GE Profile so I will have to get something that matches those) as well as a family trip to Disney. I figure that Rome has stood for thousands of years and if I don't get out to see it for another 20, I am confident that it will still be there.

Another reason to pull back a bit is that the dollar continues to sink against the Euro. The exchange rate is now Euro $ 0.66 per USD $1. That means to get Euro $100, it costs USD $150. In other words, add 50% to all the prices you see. This in on top of a 20% tax on most everything you buy. It is called VAT or "value added tax" but I'm not sure where the value gets added.

I haven't really done much shopping here in Germany but casual observation has allowed me to draw the conclusion that almost everything you can buy in Germany is also available in the US. The only difference is that you get to pay an extra 80% for it here (20% VAT plus 50% on the exchange rate). As an example, a $50 item in the US is $50 Euro, plus VAT (brings you to $60) plus exchange rate brings you to $90 USD. Of course, Germans get paid in Euros so they don't take a bath on the exchange rate.

Speaking of VAT, maybe we could have a 20% tax on everything that we buy in the US to pay for Universal Health Care. You know, "free" health care for everyone? That way, when you work, you can pay income tax and when you spend, you can pay VAT (don't think you are just not going to spend any money to not pay VAT because there is also an estate tax). Almost be enough make me move out of the country.

You know, Germany has a "cradle to grave" healthcare system. You are probably thinking, "That 20% VAT tax must pay for it". If you thought that, you would be wrong. Everyone who draws a paycheck has an average of 13% deducted to fund this system. If you don't like how much is withheld from your paycheck, maybe you would be happier with 13% less.

If that were the case, we might as well just move the family to Germany. Jodi already knows how to speak German, Wynnie (the dog) already thinks she is a German Shepard and we already own two German made automobiles.

In addition to that, there are highways out here with no speed restrictions and the climate seems to be overcast and cool more then it is hot and humid. Both these things appeal to me. Jodi is also of German heritage so it would be like going back to the Fatherland for her.

I think the Germans would be happy to have us. I have a lot of traits which are valued here. I am efficient, organized, methodical, and precise as well as being somewhat stern. The ladies wear proper footwear here, mostly leather flats and heels. Jodi loves shoes. She also likes riding scooters so she could get a Vespa to get around.

As an added bonus, folks here aren't much for truck based vehicles. Neither am I. An average sized car is the size of a BMW 3 series. Station wagons or estate/touring wagons, as they are called here, are the hip anti-SUV. Jodi and I both like station wagons. Kids, pack your bags! We're going to Bavaria. (Jodi wanted me to point out that she does not like station wagons or scooters.)

Germans apparently have not gotten the word that smoking kills. The smoking rate in the US is highest in W. Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi (28.5%-25.1%). No offense to any reader from those states. Those are just the stats from the Center of Disease Control (those are 2006 numbers, btw). Lowest rate is Utah (9.8%).

For Germans over the age of 17, the smoking rate is a shocking 44 percent for males and 37 percent for females (1996 stats). 2004 stats from German government surveys stated that half the women aged 15 to 30 smoke today.

I have an idea, as part of Universal Health Care, provide to everyone who is over the age of 18, two packs of cigarettes per week and fund an "all you can eat" option at fast food restaurants. If you choose not to smoke your cigs, you are encouraged to give them to someone that will. I don't think we can afford to keep everyone alive until they turn 100 years old.

I've also heard talk about "death panels" that would decide what care you get (or don't get). I'm intrigued. I wonder what the panel chairperson would grade out at (government job term)? Probably a GS-15, I'll bet. Hummmmmm......

They wouldn't be called "death panels" either. I suggest Healthcare Allocation Review Panel or HARP. Don't worry, if I become a HARP Chairman, I have got everyone covered. By the way, my birthday is 14 Nov and I enjoy scotch and cigars (just in case you want me to think of you fondly while reviewing your case). See, I am already towing the party line by setting the example...."Be like your HARP Chairman, smoke and drink like I do!"

You know, if the President wants to stimulate the economy, he should appoint me as his Tobacco Czar to implement this plan immediately. People would save money by not having to buy two packs of cigs a week which would give them money to spend on other things. Cig manufacturers would have to hire people to make more cigarettes which would lower unemployment.

Anything tied to agriculture would also see a boost like fertilizer companies and companies like John Deere because more farm land would need to be cultivated to keep up with tobacco demand. Farmers in the South would switch to growing tobacco and generate more profit for themselves and farmers everywhere would make more money because the farmers in the South are growing less of whatever the other farmers are growing (supply and demand). And finally, people would die sooner because they smoke and that will save everyone money in the long run by having to put less money towards Universal Health Care.

This plan is a win for everyone. If you smoke, you get FREE cigarettes. What smoker wouldn't like that? The government would save money by providing free cigarettes because it would save lots of money on the back end by not having to spend as much on smokers' lifetime care. The government would love to save some money. And, we would win by having truly free healthcare.
The only outlay would be the modest cost of providing people with free cigarettes which the government could do by running federal tobacco farms. Once you do that, the plan sustains itself.

You can see that this is a much better idea then "cash for clunkers" which is not self sustaining and only benefited people who bought a new car, sold a new car, or manufactured a new car. That is pretty narrow in scope.

Think about it and tell me it wouldn't work. I bet you can't.

I think I'll call this plan: "Smokes For Smokers".

Cheers,
Michael