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Since Monday, May 26, is Memorial Day I thought I’d share a few interesting facts:

1. Traditionally, Memorial Day is a day where many stores are open and offer “Memorial Day Sales” and with this years tax stimulus (rebate) many stores are hoping you’ll come in and make larger purchases than normal. Of course many of those things are made in places other than the US so it’s debatable as to which country’s economy you’ll be stimulating. Also, a lot of folks will not be buying things because they’ll be using their windfall to pay bills or lower their credit debt.
   
   The interesting fact about Memorial Day 2008 is: Many Americans have a little extra money this year.
   
   My question is: How can buying an imported product stimulate American’s economy? Will buying imported products produce more jobs here at home?
2. Memorial Day weekend is the last weekend in 2008 where New York affiliates do not start losing sales because of New York’s new sales tax law. The law goes into effect on June 1, 2008 and from what I understand, anyone who lives in New York and sells online must collect New York’s sales tax. I also have read that Overstock.com has already dropped it’s affiliates who live in New York because of this law while Amazon has put software in place to handle the new law even though they have filed a complaint in the state’s Supreme Court. You can read more about the issue and some comments concerning why some support the decisions made by Overstock and Amazon here.
   While I don’t know if the law will stay in place or be removed here’s something to think about this Memorial Day.
   
   If the law stays in place will it eventually get to other less well known affiliate programs? Also, what about those who do drop shipping (eBay) or sell digital products either as an affiliate (ClickBank) or a reseller? And if this sales tax stays in place how long will it take for other states to enact the same type of law?
   
   An interesting fact about Memorial Day is: New York has been officially declared the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
   
   My question is: Will New York also be recognized as the place where killing online affiliate marketing started?
   
   Another interesting fact about Memorial Day is: The original intent of Memorial Day was to honor those who died in the Civil War. Later it became a day of remembrance for all those who died in our nation’s service and some parts of the US extended it’s meaning to include all those who have died.
   
   My question is: Will the intent of Memorial Day again be extended to now include the death of small online businesses?
3. Memorial Day is a 3 day weekend and many people are used to taking mini-vacations, camping and visiting out of town friends and relatives. With the high cost of gasoline a lot have decided to either make shorter trips or stay home. Because it’s doubtful that gas prices will go down very much any time soon, you may want to use Memorial Day weekend to think about ways to lower you fuel consumption i.e. walk, ride the bus, carpool, ride a bike or horse or stay home.
   
   An interesting fact about rural American: Those of us who live in rural America have an easier decision to make because we have fewer choices. The closest business of any kind is usually several miles away, there is no bus service and carpooling isn’t an option since the distance between those going to their workplace or a store may be just as great as the distance to the business.
   
   My question is: How are those who live in areas that have no form of public transportation going to get to work, the doctor or the grocery store when they don’t have enough money to buy gas?
4. Memorial Day is the beginning of warmer weather across the nation so you may notice your home heating bills going down. However the weather will get cool again sometime around Labor Day so you may also want to start thinking about how you’ll stay warm next winter. The price of natural gas and fuel oil will continue to rise just like the price of gasoline and this summer is the time to make home improvements to reduce your heating fuel needs next winter.

   An interesting fact about home improvement products this year: Many home improvement products like vinyl windows and siding and asphalt shingles are made from oil so their prices have already started to climb significantly. Even the plastic many use in place of storm windows is made from oil.

   My question is: What are people going to do when they can’t afford the products to winterize their homes?

5. You may have noticed that the prices for many things, including food items, has been rising. Most of this can be accounted for by the rising cost of fuel to transport these items from overseas and across our nation. And with the Memorial Day sales you may be lulled into believing that prices have leveled out. However it’s predicted that the price of fuel will continue to rise. And because farmers have to pay high fuel prices to run their farm machinery and transport their products many will either stop farming as much or start growing more profitable products like corn. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean corn will get cheaper because, as you know, we now use corn to make automobile fuel.

   No interesting fact, just a question: When the price for a gallon of gas is $5 or more and the price of food products has gone up to absorb this cost, how will this affect peoples lives?

Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer here in America and unfortunately it doesn’t look like it’s bringing in a good one for us or for those in many other countries this year. Prices are going up and more people are losing their jobs, their online income and their homes. I guess my biggest questions are:

Should we celebrate Memorial Day 2008 by remembering what we used to think life would be like for us and our children? Should we now be celebrating the death of:

• the “American Work Ethic” since so many are un- or under-employed?
• the right to be an individual since employers view employees and interchangeable cogs in their money-making machine?
• “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” since medical costs and insurance prices keep many from maintaining their health, we’ve lost many of our personal rights due to laws that are suppose to be protecting us from terrorist activities and achieving happiness has been re-defined as having a full stomach or being warm in the winter?
• “… the proposition that all men are created equal” since the gap between the wealthy and the poor is wider now than ever before?
• the “American dream” since achieving your goals through your own abilities and hard work and giving your children the opportunity to have an even better life is no longer the dream but a fantasy of middle and lower income level Americans?

I don’t have the answers for any of today’s problems. But, as they say, knowing the problem puts you 1 step closer to solving it. So as you celebrate this weekend, think about the above interesting facts about Memorial Day 2008 and how you would answer my questions. And if you have any of the answers, please leave a comment and share because there are a lot of us with the same questions and we have no answers.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. In addition to supporting this blog by leaving a comment you can buy me a cup of coffee. (Actually, since the weather has turned warm I’ll probably use it for a cold, diet beverage.) Just look for the Tip Jar under the pictures of my friends. – Thanks -