Father/Daughter Talk
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and was very much in favor of "the redistribution of wealth."
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?"
She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she 's too hung over."
Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"
The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the Republican party".
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5 comments:
Great false analogy! I suppose from that we are to assume that the wealthy and powerful are the only people with work ethics and able to hold down jobs?
I hate the assumption that our social and economic class is a reflection of how "good" or "bad" we are. Poor people are obviously lazy or they wouldn't be poor, right?
it is an interesting analogy. I am not the most knowledgable about our tax and social systems. but what could our world look like if we all just acted responsibly rather than what might just be fair. what is your opinion on flat taxes?
I think it also says that everyone is born into the same circumstances and has the same opportunities in life to succeed. That is false! Also, it's saying hoard all your wealth-as much as you can and leave the rest behind! I don't think Christ would approve of that philosophy. About flat taxes-I don't think so-do you mean flat percentage or amount?
Flat taxes?
my understanding there are two main type. Flat as in everyone pays the same percentage. or graduated, in which the higher the income the larger the percentage. the big difference is that there are no deductables, tax shelters, etc.
Honestly, im not sure. but i can tell you this, if it is the same percentage for everyone it would be burdensome to a lower income person, because in theory, everyone will get the same services, such as police, fire, etc. As such, the lower income person would share more of the burden because while the percentage is the same, the buying power is not.
julio
the idea of a flat tax is very appealing to me. Everyone pays a percentage of income with deductions based on starting income and family size so that lower income families actually fare much better. It helps eliminate loopholes in the tax code used by wealthy individuals and corporations. Think of it as tithing - only I think the going rate is around 12 -17 percent instead of 10.
For more information about countries that use a flat tax check out this wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_tax
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