Repeating This A Million Times Makes It Okay
This parable has been making the rounds:
In a local restaurant my server had on a “Obama 08″ tie, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference–just imagine the coincidence.
When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need–the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.
I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I’ve decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.
At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more.
I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.
I'm sure there's something unfair about this story, but I can't figure out what.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:22 AM
2 Comments:
It would work better (as a story0 if the guy gave the waiter $3 of his $10 tip, gave the homeless guy $3 and kept $4 for himself for the hassle of administrating all this wealth shifting
Hmm, maybe this version makes it clearer (or not):
In a local stock brokerage my broker had on a “Obama 08″ tie, again I laughed as he had given away his political preference–just imagine the coincidence.
When the trade went through I decided not to pay my commission and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his commission to someone who I deemed more in need–the homeless guy outside. The broker angrily stormed from my sight.
I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the stockbroker inside as I’ve decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.
At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the stockbroker was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved the money more.
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