Subject:
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Re: Conversation w/ a LEGO Rep
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Tue, 24 Aug 1999 18:22:57 GMT
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Viewed:
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2131 times
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Richard Dee wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Aug 1999 14:51:45 GMT, Steve Bliss uttered the following
> profundities...
>
> > Right now, gas prices are sucking in MI--they're hanging around $1.25/gal
> > for 87 octane (that's 'bout 0.33USD/liter for the cheap stuff, if anyone
> > cares).
>
> <rant at no one in particular>
> Oh how criminal. The shame of it. Oh how you yanks are ripped-off in so
> many ways. Stop your pathetic whining over what are pathetically cheap
> goods and rejoice in the good things that you have and give the rest
> of us a break!
>
> It is really shocking how Americans do nothing but complain about their
> ridiculously cheap prices, not realising that:
> 1.the rest of the world pays twice, if not more, than you do.
> 2.the rest of the world pays twice, if not more, than you do, probably
> to subsidise the ridiculously cheap prices that you complain
> about being too expensive.
> </rant at no one in particular>
>
> As it is well known, I usually post to provoke, not necessarily
> having the relevant info to back it up.
> However.......
Richard is right. We do whine a lot......
BUT Americans do make sure their elected representatives HEAR them (whining).
When USA taxes are raised, the usual result is someone in government gets
booted out of office. Lower taxes are the norm. And no, no one else provides a
subsidy for our cheap gas prices. They just more clearly reflect the true
price, with far far fewer taxes.
In many other countries governments are much more paternalistic, thinking they
know what is good for the common man. The net result, higher taxes.
I too live in Michigan (near Detroit), and compared to what I was paying in
Europe the last time I rented a car, a buck-and-a-quarter is a bargain.
So yeah, we (USA) should be more sensitive to what is going on in the rest of
the world.
Are we luckier? Is there is a price to pay for our cheap gas?. Yes, there is
a price. To use the vernacular, "our roads suck!" We may have cheap gas
prices, but we make up for them in more frequent auto repair (now there's
something to whine about!).
And Lego is cheaper here because of lower taxes as well (I had to throw in this
statistic because Todd's gonna yell at us if we go too far from the LEGO
topic).
Gary Istok
P.S. Another quirk: we might also be the only ones that give free refills on
a cup of coffee in all our restaurants. But have you ever tasted American
coffee? Now there's something else to whine about. European Coffee is superb,
even if you have to pay for every cup!
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: Conversation w/ a LEGO Rep
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| (...) It's funny: when I was younger, I thought LEGO was cheaper in Belgium (where most of my relatives live) than in the US because it was closer to Denmark. Maybe it was cheaper because my parents didn't have to pay for it; my grandparents did :) (...) (25 years ago, 24-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: Conversation w/ a LEGO Rep
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| (...) I agree as well and that is probably one of the reasons many people dislike Americans. We rarely take a Global view and are for the most part more concerned about ourselves and rarely think outside of the bounds of the USA. That being said (...) (25 years ago, 24-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: Conversation w/ a LEGO Rep
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| (...) <snip> (...) provides a (...) I'm with Richard on that one. In the UK we pay the equivalent of about $5 a gallon. People here do complain about the huge petrol tax here but I'd say it's fair. Driving *DOES* damage the environment. You drive a (...) (25 years ago, 25-Aug-99, to lugnet.general, lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Conversation w/ a LEGO Rep
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| (...) Gary, haven't you noticed Governor Engler's re-election signs all over the state? They say things like "Detour" and "Road Under Construction". I figure by the time the election is over, every mile of highway will have been repaved. Steve (25 years ago, 25-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Conversation w/ a LEGO Rep
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| On Mon, 23 Aug 1999 14:51:45 GMT, Steve Bliss uttered the following profundities... (...) <rant at no one in particular> Oh how criminal. The shame of it. Oh how you yanks are ripped-off in so many ways. Stop your pathetic whining over what are (...) (25 years ago, 24-Aug-99, to lugnet.general)
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