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To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (8953)	10/22/2001 7:29:46 PM
From: Thomas M.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17683

I would suggest Americans reduce their spending in wartime, and reduce their debt as well.. Tom

To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (8953)	10/22/2001 8:20:13 PM
From: Toby Zidle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17683

On the surface, Elwood, you have a good idea. When you examine it, though, there are so many loose ends. Most important, as many studies of consumer psychology have shown, a 'shopping day' does not stimulate spending. It changes the timing of spending. If Saturday is your 'shopping day', I (as a consumer) would support it by deferring Wed/Thurs/Fri spending and advancing Sun/Mon/Tues spending. I might, as a consumer, love your idea, but I won't spend extra money. To be stimulative, I have to perceive 'getting something for nothing'. Several states do this by designating one or two weekends a year as sales tax holidays. The 'something for nothing' is freedom from sales tax, a real economic value to a consumer. Then this statement: "Just think, a buyer of a new $20k pickup truck that day would be contributing 2% or $400.00 to the victims families." Not true - unless he has to pay $20,400 for that truck. What you suggest is imposing a further 2% tax on the retailer. In a recession, to boot. If MacDonald's wants to donate 4 cents from my $2 burger to a relief fund, that's great! But the decision should be MacDonald's, not a government edict. You refer to "taking in 2% of America's gross sales for one day to rebuild New York City." Very altruistic! Who administers this financial windfall? I'd trust the Red Cross, the Salvation Army. Do I trust my local, state, or federal government to add it to the general coffers and then take out some of it for relief purposes - after building a bureaucracy to handle the funds? How many billions for improving airport facilities are languishing in the Treasury instead of being used for its intended purpose. We pay $3/leg on every flight segment into this fund, but little money has ever come out of it. The fund could have paid many times over for airport security training and equipment and the hijackings might never have happened in the first place. Why not simply encourage every American family who is economically able to contribute $50 to the American Red Cross designated for New York relief? It would be so much more effective. And why not remember here that the families of hundreds of victims of the plane crashes have no connection to NYC whatsoever? Are they to be forgotten while we focus on NYC?