By Bill Oakey – May 27, 2020

Remember those news reports that your stimulus check will have Donald Trump’s signature on it? If you didn’t file your income tax with a direct deposit listed for your refund, you would have two options – Put the check in your bank account, or frame it so you can admire your Presidential autograph.

Now, millions of Americans are finding instead that Visa debit cards are being sent to their mailboxes…What?? How did that happen? Why were’t we told about this in advance? As it turns out, many people who got these Visa cards over the weekend, quickly tossed them into the trash. The envelopes look like any other piece of junk mail, with a credit card solicitation. Many people threw them away while sorting their mail, thinking it was some sort of scam.

So, what happens if you did throw away your long-awaited stimulus payment? Can you get it replaced? Well, good luck with that. Check out this article about a watchdog in Iowa who got nowhere trying to help citizens answer that question.

Then, as KXAN here in Austin reported, there are all kinds of fees attached, depending on how you use these cards. But I have a few additional questions. How much taxpayer money did Visa walk away with in this deal? What happened to all those government checks with Trump’s signature on them? Did a bunch of those get shredded? If so, how much did that cost the taxpayers?

We have heard that the home confinement has put a lot of stress on marriages. Imagine husbands and wives arguing and fighting over who’s to blame for throwing away $2,400? Even cohabitating couples must be asking a lot of questions right about now. Sorry folks, the buck no longer stops at the President’s desk. It stops in a big dark hole somewhere in space and time.

Musical Stimulation

1. I Threw It All Away – Bob Dylan

2. A Lover’s Question – Clyde McPhatter