Monday, February 18, 2008

60 Years of Marriage


A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no
secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.

She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.

He asked her about the contents. 'When we were to be married,' she said, ' my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.'

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll, but what about all of this money?
Where did it come from?'

'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'

I wish I knew how to crochet! All the money I could make on Ebay! Just kidding!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But, what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.; and for those who don't get it, no explanation is possible!

Dave inserts: The italiced sentence in the second to last paragraph is the only inaccurate statement in this narrative. As the analogy itself reveals, while across-the-board tax cuts benefit everyone, the wealthy typically get the least benefit from such tax breaks as measured by a percentage of how much they already pay. Although a tax cut saves the wealthy a greater amount in terms of dollars, this is because the wealthy pay most of the taxes. As Fred Thompson pointed out last year in an excellent article, the richest 1% of Americans pay 35% of all taxes, and the top 10% pay more taxes than the bottom 60% combined. The bottom line is that when liberals allege that tax cuts favor the wealthy, they are lying through their teeth.

Monday, February 04, 2008

We're having a girl!

So the predictions we had regarding the gender were correct. My mom still has an almost perfect record and I feel like I have a perfect record for my own children!

We went in for our ultrasound on Monday, Feb. 4th and found out we're having a girl. The baby looked good and I'm feeling well. It is a huge relief to have these doctor visits confirm that the baby is healthy, because at this stage I wonder if perhaps I'm just getting fat and clueless as to the health of the baby. I believe I felt her first movements on Sunday but haven't had the time to sit still long enough to concentrate on the feeling in the womb.

I enjoy this stage of the pregnancy when the movements begin and then increase in intensity and quantity. For some time now Nathan has mentioned that we'll have two babies, Timothy and Liberty. We have always talked about naming a daughter Liberty and some how Nathan has picked up on it. I'm not sure what her name will be at this point.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Get out and vote! Super Tuesday!

I believe our country would be stronger and better if more people were interested in American politics instead of sporting events. I have spent the last two days volunteering my time and energy in support of Mitt Romney. The polls show McCain winning in Arizona but I am almost losing sleep over the thought of this liberal candidate being the Republican nominee let alone the president of our country. He is a sell-out and Huckabee is no better. For anyone who reads this post, at this point of the race, any vote for Huckabee or Ron Paul is a vote for McCain. You might as well just vote for McCain and then feel the slap in the face afterward. He is dishonest and must not understand the meaning of a "straight-talker."

His record is horrible when it comes to most of the issues.

DELETED previous comments regarding the issues and where McCain stands. Those who read my posts are intelligent enough to research the issues and get behind a candidate who most represents their views on the future of America.

I kept this youtube video because it is hilarious when John McCain tries to explain his strengths when it comes to economic policy. John McCain & Miss Teen SC on Economics

We'll be voting for Mitt Romney and encourage you to look at the issues and get involved in the great cause of freedom.

P.S. John McCain will never have my vote.