Political Discussions
Explaining Redistribution of Wealth
Posted by anticsrocks • 5/22/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: grades, obama, redistribution of wealth, socialism, Students
My 16 year old daughter asked me what socialism was, in particularly what redistribution of wealth meant. This was sometime right after Obama walked up on Joe the Plumber during the Presidential campaigns. So Redistribution of Wealth was in the news quite a bit.
I explained Redistribution of Wealth to my daughter in this way:
Your principal calls you and 9 other honor roll students into his office. He explains how proud he and the school are of your straight A's. He then said that there were 10 students that were getting F's. He said that they didn't really study much, take work home to do, or even pay attention very much in their classes. But they were nice and they were very deserving, so he wanted to ask if it was okay with you, the group of 10 honor roll students if he could reduce your grades to straight C's and give the difference to the 10 students that were flunking, bringing them up to a C grade.
She immediately said how unfair that was. That she had worked hard for her good grades, missing out on some fun weekends with her friends at times because she needed to study. She said that if the 10 F students wanted to pass, they needed to make more of an effort.
Amazing how, when viewed through the eyes of a child, in this case a teenager, how Obama's philosophy really looks...well, stupid.
User Comments
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You're gonna get burned at the stake, come on man.... give till it hurts!!! -
I always thought that the "redistribution of wealth" was when the Texas Rangers ownership group got the City of Arlington to invoke imminent domain and lowball the value of property owners in order to enrich the failed child of Connecticut Aristoi -
Redistribution of wealth = when hard working people work, and corporations take all of their money and redistribute it to their CEO's, who then redistribute it to offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes.
See? Anyone can play that game. -
Interestingly, progressive taxation was first proposed by laissez-faire
capitalists
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_tax#History_of_intellectual_debate -
Just out of curiosity, antics, what do you do for a living?-
Why is this relevant? What do you do?
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I am at this moment unemployed because I am undergoing evaluation to be approved to receive a heart transplant. But I have a degree in Psychology, specializing in Child Development.
Why? What do you do? -
Psychology? An interesting field, but without a masters, you can't earn a whole lot. Me, my degree is in computer science from CU. I'm a software engineer.
So using your anecdote, I'd be more of an A and you'd be more of a C.
The problem with this entire argument is, when Obama said he wants to "spread the wealth around," it's taken out of context.
Here is the context:
Obama said, "My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off if you’re gonna be better off if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."
blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/spread-the-weal.html
And his plan is to raise taxes on what people make over $250k from 36% to 39% -- what it was back in the late 90s when the economy was booming. That's hardly socialism.
Now, as a student of psychology, you'd know that misleading a child is not healthy. I assume you're going to explain your mistake to her. -
So when the bill comes do for the stimulus spending, how will that interfere with his tax cut?
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Liberty - from what I understand, many of the companies who have received some form of funding will be required to pay it back, also, some taxes will be raised - the upper 2% of the population will see a 3% increase, as will companies that make a net profit over $250k per year.
Some luxury item are already seeing a tax hike, such a cigarettes, and soda. These will help reduce the deficit, and I would imagine that any tax cut received by the middle class and lower economic classes will be rolled back to normal tax levels after the economy is back on solid ground, and the majority of the country can handle a few more percents in taxes again. (which is quite normal fiscal policy, actually) -
First of all, I never said what level of degree I held. You made an assumption, which is silly on your part.
Secondly, I never misled my daughter. That is a simplified explanation of what socialism is. It never works, even the Pilgrims learned that it doesn't work.
And I really don't care what "grade" you assign me, for honestly, other than maybe patience, you haven't taught me anything. -
it depends on what you count as "socialism." Many conservatives call progressive taxation socialism. True, full-blown socialism is rather different. For that I would use the potluck anology.
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Okay, antics, what level of education do you have and what did you do for a living before you got sick? Also, are you on welfare now?
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Wow sati. Do you want a blood sample as well?
And why do you want to know. Quit cyber-stalking me, I told you, you're not my type.
Can't we just be frien.....no wait. That'll never happen. -
Hey, you're the one that posted a personal anecdote. But if you're ashamed to provide a little background, that's okay.
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sati, how much money do you have in the bank? What is your home address? What is your shoe size? How many windows are in your house? Do you have any cats? How tall is your wife?
Never mind answering me, because those questions are just as pointless and personal as what you asked. I am not ashamed to provide background. NOR am I required to. It has nothing to do with the topic of this post, it is none of your business and your febel attempts to somehow make a personal attack on me is lame, even for you. And that is really saying something. -
I think it's perfectly appropriate. You made a personal post about teaching economics to your daughter, which makes your economic status relevant. It helps to know where a person is coming from.
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I'll show you mine if you show me yours.....
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sati, not that I have to answer you, but you can rest assured I am not on welfare. I am not independently wealthy. I am not going to go further with this. It was crass of you to take this tact, but I forgive you. Now drop it.
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*rolls eyes* -
*dances a jig*
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*basks in profoundness of own point made above*
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*takes a drink of water*
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*Lobs a brick*
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I will give you 10 bricks for one ninja mask!!!
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Why some forms of socialism can be good
Back around 1990, I decided to go back to school and get a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. I didn't have much money, but due to grants and scholarships, I was able to attend the University of Colorado free of charge. I just had to pay my own living expenses (which back then, was pretty cheap due to the recession).
The financial aid I received could be considered a form of socialism. Or it could be considered a good investment by the government. After all, my first job out of college paid twice what I made before I got my degree, which means I paid a lot more in taxes. Within a few years, I was making about four times what I made before college. Of course, with the higher salary, I paid a lot more in taxes. I've paid back the grants and scholarships many times over with the additional taxes I've paid.
THAT is what Obama meant when he said he wanted to spread the wealth around. He wants to provide opportunities for everyone -- not just the privilaged few.-
That is only partially true, you still owe me $17 bucks (without interest).....
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Okay, here's one:
I'll see if I can round up another 16.
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HAAAA, nice one.
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I challenge the notion that a subdivision of concentrations of capital is socialist. just as state control of corporate charters was, it was a goal of the original promoters of limited government
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