moonbaby301's Blog

This has been circulating around the web for awhile and it just appeared in my inbox again.  It's humorous but also very relevant (and accurate) so I'm posting it here for everyone to enjoy.

Bar Stool Economics by David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.

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.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible

 

 

 

Ok, I know that the word snow makes some people cringe at the very thought but, c'mon, when was the last time this area...ok, my area (Southern Davidson County) had a good snow? (that's not rhetorical...I've only been here 3 years!)

Prior to my husband and I moving here, we lived in New Orleans for about 6 years and only got to see snow once.  It actually snowed around an inch on Christmas Day, 2004!  Of course, it promptly melted and was never seen again!  That was nice but it was normally 70-80 degrees on Christmas which made it difficult for me to be in the Christmas spirit.

I was born and raised in Northern Kentucky and a few good snowfalls a year was the norm.  Some years less, some more but always at least a few good ones (my dad called me today to tell me it was snowing...~sigh~).  I remember the Blizzard of 76-77.  Boy, is that a fond memory for a 7 year old!  We went on Christmas break from school and never went back until, I think mid February!   Everyday was a new adventure in sledding and snowman and igloo building!  I remember building an 8' tall snowman with my mom and other neighbors.  My mom would make my sister and I come in periodically.  She'd make us strip naked and climb under the covers in her and dad's big bed while she dried our clothes and made us hot chocolate!  We'd get all warmed up and head back out for more fun!  Ahhhh, memories!  That being said, I really miss snow!!  I thought that it would snow here a lot more than it does.  So far, I've been very disappointed.

I'd love to see my dogs play in snow!  They're both shelter dogs (Labs) from the New Orleans area so the only snow they've experienced was the one short-lived dusting we had down there and the very light dustings we've had since moving here.  Watching them romp around in 6+ inches of snow would be so much fun! 

I know that it can be dangerous to drive in and it's certainly no fun to scrape it off your car at 5am but please, please, please...can't we all just wish for one good snowstorm this season?   Now I don't mean an inch or 2 that melts by afternoon.  I'm talking a good snowstorm...maybe 5-6 inches at least...enough to cover everything and make it all a beautiful winter wonderland!

I know I can drive to the mountains and see all the snow I want but it's just not the same thing.

Just this once everybody....THINK SNOW!!!

One of the other members, Axekick, made a comment on another blog about his fears regarding the Bush Administration coming true as compared to Conservatives concerns for the next administration.  He made some really good points.  He and I obviously have different views and we tend to go back and forth which is what healthy discussions are all about.  I'm re-posting my retort below because I feel that many Americans have the same beliefs and concerns and I feel it's worth repeating.  It includes a good excerpt from The Washington Times.  (His concerns are italicised.)

 

{{the man (Bush) tripled the size of government}}

Duh...we were attacked and we're at war! Most of the spending has been for the military and Homeland Security. Of course there has also been alot of waste in domestic spending but much of it is pork-barrel projects that Bush had to approve in order for the idiots to go along with the "needed" spending to keep you, me and country safe!

From The Washington Times (10/21)...

The White House does not contest the numbers showing near-record growth in the size of government on its watch, but says it has no regrets about the president's decision to eschew a limited government agenda in favor of homeland security and defense spending.

"What we have presided over is the security of the nation -- the creation of the Homeland Security Department and the fighting of two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We don't apologize for the spending needed to protect Americans," White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said.

"If somebody wants to be critical of those efforts, go for it. Have fun. It's a silly point to make," Mr. Fratto said. "America would not be better off had this president not decided to greatly expand the protection of the homeland and to take the fight to the enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Period."

There has been no repeat of a Sept. 11-style attack on U.S. soil, a fact that may turn out to be one of this president's enduring legacies.


{{his patriot act took away more freedoms not seen since the days of slavery}}

So what freedoms of yours have been taken away? Did you ever stop to think about how many terrorist plots against Americans were foiled and how many lives were saved because of the Patriot Act?

{{the wall street bail out was the single most act of socialism in the history of this country}}

The Wall Street bailout is not Socialism...it's a temporary plan to fix what is broken. (Hoover took office in 1929 which is the same year the Great Depression started following the stock market crash. He rejected any government intervention until it was too late and the Depression lasted nearly 10 years.) The bailout is an attempt to not have history repeat itself...not a permanent solution.

{{The message was sent good bad right or wrong the people had enough of the republicans}}

You're absolutely right! Although, it's my belief that the people were misinformed by a largely biased media that had an agenda. Does it make any difference now? No. I just hope that, in the next 4 years, the people begin to realize that Bush and his administration were not the bad guys that everybody thought and the GOP will be able to rise above all this. 

 

 

 

 

Is this what the next 4 years are gonna look like? (ADULTS ONLY)

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cf8_1225939142p>

I find this appalling!  This is the type of people that put Obama in the White House!  Too bad we don't random drug test on election day!  I'd bet that McCain would have had a landslide victory if that little piece of legislation were enacted.  

Oprah Winfrey certainly isn't boosting my confidence in the electoral process either!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPFvhInSw0U

I find these 2 videos extremely offensive!  Especially to those of us who really do care about this country and not just about having somebody "hip and cool" in the White House!  If people were truly interested in electing the candidate who could best serve the country and resurrect it back to what it was before the idiots took over the House in 2007, then they would have voted for McCain.  Not that he was particularly the best choice either but he was definitely the lesser of 2 evils and would have at least revived the economy whereas Obama will just drive us deeper into recession.

Ok, it's all over and there's nothing anyone can do about the outcome. Obama is gonna be the President and that's that (although, I'm still in mourning so fully expect me to moan loudly a while longer...you'll have to excuse the fact that I'm worried about trivial things like the welfare and security of my family!).  So, to all those who believe that Obama was the right choice, I have a proposition for you.  I'd like you to make it a point to come back here to this blog on Nov. 4th, 2009...or thereabouts.  I'd like to know how you feel about your choice for President then.  Are you better off, worse off, about the same?  Is the country better off?  Do you regret your choice...stand by your choice?  I hope that for everyone's sake and for the country's sake that we can all say that we're better off and that the country is headed down the right path.  I honestly don't have much faith in that prediction but I would certainly love to be proved wrong.  Many people think that just because Conservative's lost that we're all rooting for Obama to fail.  I can't speak for everyone but, for me personally, that couldn't be further from the truth.  I'd love nothing more than for Obama to turn out to be the greatest President ever but, at this juncture, I just don't see it.  I think he's dangerous and I think our very sovereignty is at stake.  On that note, my proposition stands.  Let's all pray that I'm wrong!

The majority of the American population has proven there are little to no brains in this country so therefore, the starving Zombies are no more!!

Well, it's happened!  My worst nightmare has come to fruition.  I never truly thought that the majority of the American people were so stupid as to elect Obama as president of this great country.  I guess I way overestimated the American people!

Ya know...what gets me is that, with every President we elect, there's always something discovered down the road that may be deemed unsavory.  Maybe a year or 2 into their presidency, somebody always discovers something in the President's past that raises eyebrows...maybe a questionable deal from early on in their political career or an extramarital affair...nothing too diabolical (usually) but just enough to get people's tongue's wagging.  That being said, look at Obama.  So much has been discovered about him that truly is diabolical such as his associations (i.e., William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Rashid Khalidi, ACORN...etc.), his anti-white sentiment, Socialistic ideals...etc.  For God's sake, he flat out accused the American people of being selfish if they didn't agree with his idea to raise taxes so that he could "redistribute the wealth" to those who don't pay taxes (i.e., deadbeats, illegals, welfare junkies...etc!). All of this was divulged before election day and we still elected him!!  What the hell?  Are the American people all on drugs?  It's as if there's some sort of Jonestown-esque plot going on all over the country except that Jim Jones has been replaced by the liberal media and the suicide punch has been replaced with misinformation, pie in the sky ideas and blatant lies!  The American people seem to be knocking back this new Kool-Aid with such gusto that they're completely snockered!  "Hey look...it's a black man running for president...never had one of those before...wow, he's handsome and articulate...what, he associates with terrorists?...he wants to raise our taxes?...he'll destroy jobs?...he wants a bigger government?...our energy bills will go through the roof when he bankrupts the coal industry?...sip-sip-sip...details, details...wow, he's handsome and articulate...never had a black president before...sip-sip...he'll lower our taxes...sip-sip...no more war...sip-sip...free healthcare for everyone...flowers will bloom in his presence...sip-sip...peace and prosperity for all...sip-sip...let's vote for him...mmmmmmm Kool-Aid!!"

I'm ready to break off and form my own state...who's with me?? 

(cue Taps)

AMERICA - R.I.P.

Say hello to the new USSA (United Socialist States of America)!

I never thought it would actually happen but I guess I greatly overestimated the American people.  Our Forefathers are turning in their graves!

Revolution anyone?

Wow, is this really gonna happen?  Are we really gonna elect this terrorist loving, anti-American, racist, Socialist pig to run our country??  Is this really possible??  To me, it's like a horrible nightmare that I can't wake from!  What has happened to this country that nobody seems to care about facts anymore?  For God's sake people, open your eyes and ears get over the fact that Obama is black.  Yes, he's a black man...yes, he'd be the first black president but let's not elect him just for the novelty of it!  I'm all for a black president if I believe he's qualified.  As I've said in other blogs, I don't care if the candidate is black, white, green or purple.  If I believe in their ideals and policies and I believe they'll be good for the country, that's where my vote will go.  I'm certainly not gonna vote for someone based on the color of their skin or because I think they're attractive or charismatic and especially not because some overpaid, pampered moron in Hollywood told me too!!  Why don't people listen to reason anymore?  They hear a story through the Liberal mainstream media and suddenly it becomes gospel...no questions asked...no research...heard it on the news...must be true.  It's no secret that the mainstream media is in the bag for Obama but the fact that the truth about him is conveniently left out of all their newscasts is an absolute travesty and does a great disservice to this country.   It seems that every other day it's discovered that Obama has more and more ties to terrorists and those with strong anti-American sentiments yet it seems to go unnoticed by the mainstream media.  I fear that his supporters are misinformed and maybe if they took their heads out of the clouds (or out of another place) long enough to actually pay attention and educate themselves, they may make a more informed decision.  Otherwise, who's gonna be the next Secretary of Defense...Charles Manson??

Is it just me or has this country gone completely insane?  Where in the world are people getting their information from?  Do people really not see Barack Obama for who he really is and what he really wants to do to this country?  To me, his affiliation with self proclaimed, anti-American terrorist and Marxist , William Ayers is enough for me to run in the other direction...not to mention Rev. Wright, ACORN...etc.  But do people really understand or even care about his policies?  Talk about drinking the Kool-Aid...it's as if people are so hypnotized by the idea of having a young black man as president that they can't see the forest for the trees.  At this point, I honestly believe that if someone uncovered a photo of Obama shaking hands with Bin Laden that nobody would care!!  Then again, maybe it's just me!!

After seeing the story on the news this morning about the couple in Winston Salem who are still homeless and the 2500 people in the Carolinas that are said to still be struggling after Katrina, I felt compelled to chime in.  I would say that since Katrina, my husband and I are still struggling as well...mostly due to our bad decisions following the storm...decisions made out of desperation.  We were fortunate enough however that, approximately 1 week after the storm, my husband was called by a previous employer and offered a position here in North Carolina.  At the time, we were sitting in a hotel room in Dallas, TX where we had fled to 2 days before the storm hit.  We had been living in a townhouse in Metairie, La (right outside of New Orleans).  Of course there were formalities to my husbands newly offered position and plans for the move had to be made so, after 9 days in Dallas, TX, we moved to another hotel in Houma, La (approx. 1 hr southwest of New Orleans) where we stayed until November and my husband continued to work at his then current job.  My job however, was located in an office building in Metairie which was destroyed.  I was now basically unemployed.  Also, following Rita, I was walking my dogs in the hotel parking lot and proceeded to step on storm debris and break my left foot.  That just added to the great fun we were already having...living in a tiny hotel room with 2 large Labs and a cat!  Anyway, we finally made the move in early November which ended up costing us way more than we had anticipated. This time, we moved into another hotel in Greensboro, NC while all of our belongings (what was left that wasn't either storm damaged or looted!) sat in a grossly overpriced storage unit .  We began looking for apartments or houses to rent.  We weren't having much luck, especially with trying to rent with large dogs.  We ended up calling a mortgage broker just to see what they had to offer...if anything.  We didn't have great credit (mainly due to past medical issues) so our prospects were dismal at best.  We were becoming so stir- crazy from living in such cramped quarters that, when the broker offered us one of those terrific sub-prime mortgages with the extra special adjustable rate, we just threw caution to the wind and took it.  What can I say...we were desperate.  We began the arduous process of finding the right house now that we had our magic number.  It seemed that everything that fit our needs in the city was out of our price range so we began looking at rural areas.  We found the perfect little house out in the country that we could afford (or so we thought!).  After 8 months of living in hotels (me on crutches in a cast!), we finally moved into our house in April 2006.  Although we love our house and love living out in the country, we weren't prepared at all.  First of all, in La, we lived in the city and I either carpooled to work or took the bus or a cab.  Here, in the country,  there's no public transportation and I don't know a soul!  Needless to say, I've not gone back to work.  My husband actually prefers it that way but, financially, it's been very hard.  Obviously, we can't afford to buy a car!  We were so relieved to be out of the hotels that we didn't stop to think things through.  We didn't even have a lawn mower!  Also, all of our appliances and electronics, including our washer and dryer, were all looted from our townhouse in La so we had to re-purchase most of those things.  We began getting credit card offers left and right and took them just to be able to get things for the house.  Later, they became necessary to buy groceries!  To add to an already dire situation, we got blind-sided by the Menu Foods fiasco last February.  I'm still trying to pay off nearly $3000 in vet bills for sick animals! 

Now, here we are today, exactly 2 years later...we're still in our little house and we're still happy with it but our financial situation is critical.  Our property taxes have jumped by about $200 from last year and our mortgage rate will adjust in January putting our monthly payment out of range for us to survive.  We're hoping to be able to refinance before the end of the year but, with all the publicity and fear over sub-prime mortgages, we don't know if that will be possible.  The credit cards definitely aren't helping in the credit department either.  We have high balances on all of them which is dragging down our already sub-par credit score.  I always pay them on time and I'm trying to pay extra on them every month but it almost seems futile at times with their high interest rates.  We live paycheck to paycheck with nothing left over in between.  By the time I finish paying all the bills and going to the grocery, we're broke until next payday.  Luckily, we don't drink or smoke nor do we eat out or go to movies so we save money there but it's still not enough.

Personally, I can't say anything negative about FEMA or not getting any assistance.  We filed immediately after the storm and received assistance almost immediately.  We also received assistance with the hotel bills.  The thing that hurt us and that is still hurting us was our desperation.  We were just so overwhelmed by it all that we didn't make smart decisions.  We made decisions for the moment instead of for the future.  Now the future's here and only time will tell whether or not we'll survive.  Who knows, we might be back living in a hotel before too long!