TGIF 2/2/18

Hey everyone -- desperately seeking advice today, while celebrating that it's Friday.

Like many folks who got paid today, I got my Republican tax cut 'raise' and boy, I'm struggling trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do with it.

Seriously!

Am I supposed to be a 'good' American and immediately spend it? If I'm supposed to spend it, what are the rules for that?

Can I spend it online, or do I have to spend in a bricks-and-mortar establishment? And, would it be OK to spend it in a store that the president doesn't like?  Can I actually spend it at Macy's, or Nordstrom?

Do have I to spend it on something actually made in America, or is it good enough to buy from an American company, even if the product is made someplace else?

If I decide to purchase something that is made in America, do I have to get something that was made by an American company, or is it OK to purchase something from a foreign company as long as they employ American workers?  You know, like solar panels for the roof or something.

Does it have to be made by a union member? By someone earning at least $15 an hour? How am I supposed to know if either of those are true?

And what if I wanted to get a car? Some of those are made with parts from other countries, but they're assembled here in America - would that count as a Made in America purchase?

Can I purchase fruit or veggies for the Super Bowl party?

I'd be OK with that, as long as I can tell whether my purchase was picked by an American, or by a legal immigrant, because I certainly don't want to get anything that was handled by an illegal one that's stealing a job from an American.

I'd want to get something from a small family farm, if I could, not a factory farm. But then, sometimes the small family farms are in co-ops and so their stuff may look like it came from a factory farm. How am I supposed to tell?

Is the Wegmans Organic Farm a family farm? And if I start buying only organics, isn't that going to put Americans who make pesticides out of work, and drive down our economy?

Gosh, it all seems so very confusing trying to spend the money the right way -- maybe I should save the money for a rainy day, or for my retirement?

I can put it in the bank, I guess - but can I use the ATM, or do I have to actually deal with a teller? I wouldn't want to put a person out of work, but the ATM is so easy. Does anyone know if any of those are made in the USA? Programmed in the US, at least?

I could use the money to make an extra payment on my credit card, I guess. But then that won't stimulate the economy at all -- it'll actually take money out of the economy twice: first when I don't spend the money directly, and second when the credit card company doesn't get any interest. I wouldn't want that.

Maybe I'll pay for a subscription to the Washington Post, or the NY Times. Oh, crap -- that's Bezos and fake news and more fake news.  I better not do that.

Damn. I really am struggling with this. Hopefully I'll get it all figured out before I have to go back to work on Monday.

TGIF.