a fractured fairy tale from the simple mind of a conservative
Once upon a time, in the land of Oz, there lived two little girls. They were typical little 3rd graders in most ways, although everyone said that they were wise beyond their years.
One hot summer day, the two little girls decided to open a lemomade stand on the corner of their street. Their lemonade was special, because they used freshly squeezed lemons, and it was delicious beyond belief! They sold their lemonade for 50 cents a cup, and made quite a tidy profit their first day. In fact, they made such a nice profit, and received so many compliments on the quality of their lemonade, that they decided to sell lemonade every day. Each and every day, they had many satisfied customers and they made a good sum of money.
All was not happy, though. There were other children in the neighborhood who were jealous of the two little girls. These other children were jealous because the two little girls now had "walking around money" and they didn't. That wasn't fair! Now understand, these other children could have opened up lemonade stands if they wanted to. There were no restrictions, so anybody who actually wanted to work, could work. The other children, however, didn't want to work. Hot summer days were good for swimming in the local pool, and playing baseball, and riding bikes, and so many other fun things. They didn't want to work! That didn't stop them from still being jealous, though.
The other children plotted and they schemed, and this is the plan they came up with. They went to their Mommies and Daddies, who oversaw the neighborhood, and threw a temper tantrum. The children complained about how they couldn't compete with the lemonade made by the two little girls because those two girls had sole access to the best lemons. This wasn't true, but why let the truth get in the way of a good temper tantrum? The children complained that their teachers hadn't done a good enough job teaching them how to make change, so they had no chance to be successful like the two little girls. They complained that the two little girls had set up their lemonade stand on the best corner, so all of the other children would never be able to find a spot suitable for selling lemonade. All of these complaints were untruthful, because the real truth was that all of the other children were just too lazy to start their own stand. Their Mommies and Daddies, however, believed their bogus complaints, and they resolved to Do Something!
The first thing the Mommies and Daddies did was to create a Lemonade Tax. For each 50 cent cup of lemonade the two little girls sold, they had to give 15 cents to the Mommies and Daddies. That revenue was then redistributed among all of the other children. The other children, though, were not satisfied. The other children said they wanted to work with the two little girls selling lemonade. They didn't really want to work, but that's what they said. The Mommies and Daddies told the two little girls that they were required to hire two of the other children, and split the after-tax profit from their lemonade business equally with them. So they did. But after the two little girls hired the two other children, the two other children became upset over the length of their work day. How could they go swimming and ride bikes and play baseball if they were selling lemonade all day? So the Mommies and Daddies told the two little girls that the other two children would only work half the day, but would still receive a full share of the after-tax profit.
This arrangement went on for several days, but still, the other children and the Mommies and Daddies were not satisfied. They began to resent the two little girls, because, even with all of the rules and requirements that had been placed on them, and despite the 15 cent tax being collected and redistributed, the two little girls worked harder and were still able to have more "walking around money" than the other children.
The other children began protesting every day on that street corner. The two little girls were greedy! They were not compassionate! They didn't care about "the little guy!" The protests continued and soon, the two little girls had to close the lemonade stand. All of the other children were joyous, because, even though that 15 cent tax dried up, their Mommies and Daddies still took care of them in other ways, and still allowed them to swim and ride bikes and play baseball and not have to worry about work all the livelong day.
And the two little girls? They were puzzled about why the other children didn't just open up their own lemonade stands! And so they moved on with their lives, unaware that they had just received their first lesson in The Way Things Work In This World.
One hot summer day, the two little girls decided to open a lemomade stand on the corner of their street. Their lemonade was special, because they used freshly squeezed lemons, and it was delicious beyond belief! They sold their lemonade for 50 cents a cup, and made quite a tidy profit their first day. In fact, they made such a nice profit, and received so many compliments on the quality of their lemonade, that they decided to sell lemonade every day. Each and every day, they had many satisfied customers and they made a good sum of money.
All was not happy, though. There were other children in the neighborhood who were jealous of the two little girls. These other children were jealous because the two little girls now had "walking around money" and they didn't. That wasn't fair! Now understand, these other children could have opened up lemonade stands if they wanted to. There were no restrictions, so anybody who actually wanted to work, could work. The other children, however, didn't want to work. Hot summer days were good for swimming in the local pool, and playing baseball, and riding bikes, and so many other fun things. They didn't want to work! That didn't stop them from still being jealous, though.
The other children plotted and they schemed, and this is the plan they came up with. They went to their Mommies and Daddies, who oversaw the neighborhood, and threw a temper tantrum. The children complained about how they couldn't compete with the lemonade made by the two little girls because those two girls had sole access to the best lemons. This wasn't true, but why let the truth get in the way of a good temper tantrum? The children complained that their teachers hadn't done a good enough job teaching them how to make change, so they had no chance to be successful like the two little girls. They complained that the two little girls had set up their lemonade stand on the best corner, so all of the other children would never be able to find a spot suitable for selling lemonade. All of these complaints were untruthful, because the real truth was that all of the other children were just too lazy to start their own stand. Their Mommies and Daddies, however, believed their bogus complaints, and they resolved to Do Something!
The first thing the Mommies and Daddies did was to create a Lemonade Tax. For each 50 cent cup of lemonade the two little girls sold, they had to give 15 cents to the Mommies and Daddies. That revenue was then redistributed among all of the other children. The other children, though, were not satisfied. The other children said they wanted to work with the two little girls selling lemonade. They didn't really want to work, but that's what they said. The Mommies and Daddies told the two little girls that they were required to hire two of the other children, and split the after-tax profit from their lemonade business equally with them. So they did. But after the two little girls hired the two other children, the two other children became upset over the length of their work day. How could they go swimming and ride bikes and play baseball if they were selling lemonade all day? So the Mommies and Daddies told the two little girls that the other two children would only work half the day, but would still receive a full share of the after-tax profit.
This arrangement went on for several days, but still, the other children and the Mommies and Daddies were not satisfied. They began to resent the two little girls, because, even with all of the rules and requirements that had been placed on them, and despite the 15 cent tax being collected and redistributed, the two little girls worked harder and were still able to have more "walking around money" than the other children.
The other children began protesting every day on that street corner. The two little girls were greedy! They were not compassionate! They didn't care about "the little guy!" The protests continued and soon, the two little girls had to close the lemonade stand. All of the other children were joyous, because, even though that 15 cent tax dried up, their Mommies and Daddies still took care of them in other ways, and still allowed them to swim and ride bikes and play baseball and not have to worry about work all the livelong day.
And the two little girls? They were puzzled about why the other children didn't just open up their own lemonade stands! And so they moved on with their lives, unaware that they had just received their first lesson in The Way Things Work In This World.
posted by hondo at 9:22 AM
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