{"id":33,"date":"2009-07-14T16:15:19","date_gmt":"2009-07-14T16:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/?p=33"},"modified":"2009-07-14T16:15:19","modified_gmt":"2009-07-14T16:15:19","slug":"deals-o-the-week-hot-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/2009\/07\/14\/deals-o-the-week-hot-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"DEALS O’ THE WEEK & HOT DOGS"},"content":{"rendered":"

RESTAURANT.COM
\nGet 60% Off + get a FREE $10 Certificate. Get a $25 gift certificate for $4. Use the code KITCHEN. Ends Monday, July 20th. Click here:
\nRESTAURANT.COM <\/a><\/p>\n

HOT DOG!
\nThe government allows hot dogs to contain pig snouts, tongues, windpipe, stomach, heart, spleen, and lips. Nothing a little mustard, relish, and ketchup won’t help wash down. I just don’t like when there is too much snout. Now hot dogs filled with spleens…they are the cat’s meow. I can eat them all day long…as long as I have ketchup.<\/p>\n

LOBSTER
\nLobsters are getting so cheap that now lobster fisherman are selling them from their trucks to make an extra buck by excluding the middle man. Here is the story.http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/ap\/20090623\/ap_on_re_us\/us_roadside_lobster_3
\nLobster are bottom feeders meaning they munch on stuff that ends up at the bottom of the ocean…mostly dead stuff. Same like catfish. They eat all the yuck at the bottom of rivers. Ahh, the food chain… <\/p>\n

A LITTLE STORY
\nFor an extra income I started charging birds that have taken up residence around my house in a nest or birdhouse. Those little deadbeats sure don’t like to pay though. I posted notices and also left messages at the local pet shops and asked them to forward it to the birds. I should’ve been a little more clearer though when I asked for a deposit. There were some around the yard and on my windows, but none were of any monetary value. <\/p>\n

What really irks me is that I give them food at two different feeders and not once have they sent me a thank you letter or even called to acknowledge all the free food I gave them. And when they clean me out of all the food that I give them they don’t even want to come around to say hello. It’s like I don’t exist. The least they could do is form a barbershop quartet – I love barbershop quartets – and sing some kind of song for me to show me some type of appreciation. Maybe they could even on of my favorite songs like Elvira by the Oak Ridge Boys. Back in the day I tried to form a supergroup of kids from the neighborhood and one of the songs we would sing would be Elvira. That was until Jimmy quit and Jody got married. <\/p>\n

Lately I’ve even had a racoon getting into the garage and eating my birdseed stash. No note of thanks. That varmint just scrambles off like an ungrateful lover. Just get what ya want and then run when the lights come on. I did have to grease up the pole to the birdhouse in the yard so that it can’t shimmy its way up it and eat all the birdseed. It did make its way up a few times though. It barely fit into the birdhouse. It looked like one of those fat guys in a Speedo that you see at the beach. Just doesn’t look right or seem right, but you can’t stop looking at the trainwreck. <\/p>\n

On the other hand I get plenty of thank you notes and appreciation from the local salamander community. They are just a delight. Sometimes they even surprise me with peanuts that I find around the house. I know they left it for me because there is a salamander ooze on them. And as their homage to me they built a bronze sculpture of me in the backyard. At night I hear them singing me to sleep. Their voices aren’t great. They sound like a drunk Grimace, but it’s the thought that counts. <\/p>\n

TRADE DEFICIT
\nThe U.S. trade deficit fell to the lowest level in more than nine years in May as exports posted a small gain while the weak American economy pushed imports down for a 10th straight month. The Commerce Department said Friday the deficit narrowed to $26 billion, a drop of 9.8 percent from April and the lowest level since November 1999. <\/p>\n

MCDONALDS
\nFree coffee at McDonald’s. Click here for more info:
\nhttp:\/\/articles.moneycentral.msn.com\/SmartSpending\/mondays-free-mcdonalds-coffee.aspx<\/a> <\/p>\n

MINIMUM WAGE
\nThe Federal minimum wage will rise to from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour on July 24. The increase will be felt in 29 states. Seven states already have laws mandating $7.25 minimum pay, while 14 states and Washington, D.C., exceed the new minimum. Employers are required to pay whichever is the highest: Federal or state. <\/p>\n

The U.S. economy has lost nearly 3.4 million jobs in the first half of 2009, which is more than the 3.1 million lost during all of 2008. The number of unemployed is nearly 4.4 million, meaning that benefits for some of the unemployed have expired. <\/p>\n

At $7.25 an hour, a full-time worker earns $15,080. At the nationwide work week average of 33 hours, the worker would earn $12,441. The U.S. government sets the poverty level at $10,830 for one person or $22,050 for a family of four in the lower 48 states and D.C. <\/p>\n

The conundrum is there isn’t much incentive to work full time at minimum wage if that is the only job you can get when government assistance is nearly as good. Jobs should always be better than any type of government assistance. When businesses don’t support the worker with a living wage and benefits then the government has stepped in such as they are trying to do with healthcare. Not always the best thing. Will some businesses not hire people because they can’t afford a higher min wage? Probably, but if businesses want more business then putting it in the hands of those that will spend their discretionary income on businesses that hire min wage workers like fast food, then it’s most likely a wash. <\/p>\n

There are some that think a higher minimum wage increases unemployment. Looking at the top 7 states with unemployment with a minimum wage of $8.00 and more shows that the average is nearly exactly the same as the national average. In June 2009, The national average was a 26-year high at 9.5% while the top 7 min wage states was almost the exact rate at 9.56%. If you include the top 13 states, the average is 9.95%. Not that much higher.
\nFind the states with the highest minimum wage – click here:
\nhttp:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_U.S._state_minimum_wages<\/a><\/p>\n

CVS
\nFree after extrabucks:
\nPhoto Picture Album
\nEnds after Tuesday:
\nRulers
\nPencils
\nPens
\nScissors<\/p>\n

ALDI
\nBlueberries – 89 cents a pint – stupendous price!
\nCanteloupe – 79 cents
\nStrawberries – 1 lb – 99 cents
\nWatermelon – $2.79 <\/p>\n

STAPLES
\n1 cent for a 10 pack of pencils (limit 2).
\n1 cent after rebate for a ream of paper (limit 2).<\/p>\n

LIBRARIES
\nThanks to those that piped in your concerns to the politicians about the funding cuts at libraries. The state pulled back on the cuts some. <\/p>\n

Joe
\nhttp:\/\/www.joethecouponguy.com <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RESTAURANT.COM Get 60% Off + get a FREE $10 Certificate. Get a $25 gift certificate for $4. Use the code KITCHEN. Ends Monday, July 20th. Click here: RESTAURANT.COM HOT DOG! The government allows hot dogs to contain pig snouts, tongues, windpipe, stomach, heart, spleen, and lips. Nothing a little mustard, relish, and ketchup won’t help […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joethecouponguy.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}