Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!!!
I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween. Here are a few pictures of us in our costumes.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Welcome Home, Sugar
If you read my previous post about the plant, I mentioned getting rid of responsibility. Well, I have decided to add to my list with an addition to our family. I have reclaimed my sweet dog from college. She has been living with my parents for the past few years. They are really busy and spend a lot of time out of town so it made sense that we bring her to our house. Plus I do not have to endure the guilt trip from Dad about not taking care of her. She is 7 years old and wonderful with the kids. I regret not making this decision sooner. Logan is helping me feed her and both kids are showering her with hugs and kisses. We look forward to many more years with Sugar.
Monday, October 27, 2008
I love Economics...
I found this post on a professor's blog. I loved taking Economics classes in college because they always made sense. I thought this was a great explanation of the tax policy. Enjoy.
Bar Stool Economics
Topic: The Good of Affluence
A friend sent me this little thing making the Internet rounds. Thought I would pass it on.
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 paid $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.
HT: Bill Garaway
Bar Stool Economics
Topic: The Good of Affluence
A friend sent me this little thing making the Internet rounds. Thought I would pass it on.
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 paid $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.
HT: Bill Garaway
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Geneology and the Internet
I am a history buff and the internet has made it so much easier to do your own geneology. Check out the picture I found below. My great grandfather is the one holding the fiddle. My dad now has this fiddle but I have never seen a picture of my great grandfather. I am not exactly sure of the date of this picture but my guess is the late 1800's. My great great grandmother is seated in the middle of the picture. She was born in 1857.
Anyway I thought this was interesting...
Anyway I thought this was interesting...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
A Woman's Liberation
I know all of you are expecting a post of feminism complete with a bra burning ceremony. I hate to disappoint you but I did feel liberated by tossing out a plant. For those of you that know I do not have a green thumb this may not come as a surprise. However, I had managed to keep a peace lily alive for the last 3 years. It has sat in my office wilting and demanding water at the most inopportune time. It took up space and would close itself in my file cabinet drawer. I swear it mocked me reminding me of all the responsibilities I have. It was that one thing that always found itself on my to do list. Since most of my responsiblities can not be changed, I took great pleasure in tossing this plant out yesterday. No more water, wilting leaves, or RESPONSIBILITY. I have been liberated...
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Pictures from Texas
Some of you may remember we visited family in Texas over Labor Day. My sweet cousin Raven emailed some pictures from that weekend. I wanted to post them. We had such a great time. I wish we all lived closer so we could get together more often. Enjoy the pictures.
Dit Dit, Laney, and Caylin
Logan
Colby and Caylin
Papa Charles and Laney
Caleb and Chad
Dit Dit, Laney, and Caylin
Logan
Colby and Caylin
Papa Charles and Laney
Caleb and Chad
Monday, October 13, 2008
Pumpkin Patch
We had a great weekend. We took the kids along with some of our friends to our local pumpkin patch. It was so much fun. They had a hayride, corn maze, and lots of animals to pet. The kids really enjoyed being with their friends. I am so glad Landen and Melissa had this great idea. We hope to do this again next year.
Logan and his girlfriend, Leightyn
Laney and her new friend, Ava Grace
Feeding the Ducks
Sharing Popcorn
Logan and his girlfriend, Leightyn
Laney and her new friend, Ava Grace
Feeding the Ducks
Sharing Popcorn
Monday, October 6, 2008
Chad
Chad reminded me that I never mention him on my blog and rarely do we take a picture of him since he is the one behind the camera. I decided to change that this weekend. I took a picture of him on his motorcycle. He loves this motorcycle like it is a part of our family. Hopefully, he will have more time to ride as the kids get older.
Also, he is not wearing his helmet for the photo only. I had to put this disclaimer out there since he is a safety rep. for a living. We wouldn't want to ruin his reputation.
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