In a local restaurant my server had on an "Obama 08" tie. I had to laugh.

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 needed the money more.

I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept
than in practical application.

The experiment would have been relevant if the one who didn't work had an income of over $250,000 dollars a year and the guy groveling at your feet to serve you made about $20,000 a year and you went outside and took $10 from the the one who had the high income and gave it to the poor SOB who had been hustling food from the kitchen for you.The guy with $249,990 would have cried and phoned Rush Limbaugh bitching about how the socialists are taking over the world and the other guy would have $20,010 and would still feel broke.

Lunch anyone?

or we could do what we have been doing and take $10 dollars from the waiter and give it to the CEO with the hopes that will make the CEO go out and eat more food at the restaurant thus allowing the restaurant owner to increase the salary of the waiter by a dime or so an hour and we can all benefit from getting trickled on!

First of all, I'm not really political but I wanted to post on this subject anyway.

I'm really glad that you shared your wealth with a man who didn't have any. I feel so bad for those people who don't have anything. While I was driving home with my family from Maryland on our summer trip there was a Vietnam veteran standing by the highway, who had a sign asking for a tent, a blanket, or food. He even had a sign that said he wasn't asking for just money. He had one more sign that read "Keep your coins, I want change." I felt so terrible for this man, I sat in the back seat and my eyes filled up with tears. There I was with all this food, in a car, with clothes on my back and this man who had to serve for our country didn't have anything. and I couldn't do a single thing about it.

On the Obama snack, I can feel for her, I had a burger and a coupla of beers in NYC last summer and it cost me about $60, that place is F'n expensive!

In Finland, where people (even wait staff) get paid a living wage, tipping is not an issue. In fact, when we visited there this past summer and tipped what we would normally tip in the US, we were told by the recipients that it was too much. Perhaps if we paid people a living wage (unlike what we pay most wait staff here in the US) your experiment would be valid. But what you did was take from (or not give to) the poor and give to the poorer. Hardly what Obama apparently is proposing. If you were dissatisfied with the service then, by all means, leave a smaller or no tip. But if it was purely to "prove a point" because of this person's political views then you were punishing him for his beliefs and rubbing his nose in it. It seems to me to be less an experiment than political vindictiveness.

Any arguement can seem to make sense when put in the form of a parrable. However, the concepts are quite different as it relates to fair taxing. I , too have a distaste for paying more than I need to when I see government waste and people that abuse entitlements and welfare and the like. The far right makes arguements like in Dave's story and like the story of "Joe the Plumber" all the while knowing that they are pulling the wool over the eyes of people that may agree with them in principle, but are not now and may never affected by the higher tax brackets they rail against. I for one would love to be in the highest possible tax bracket. I'm not.The country is going to hell because of supply side thinking out of control. There is a middle ground. Look at the Clinton years, which are the exact opposite of the Bush years. Bring 'em back!

So far as fair is concerned, remember that the federal goverment prints the money and makes the rules, and the federal goverment is us.
If we relied on a barter system, we as a country would perhaps be practicing feudalism, communism or some other less than desirable economic system. If, at some point resourses and wealth are over concentrated in the hands of a small minority there will come a time where socialism will be the next revolution. To some extent, it's already started with the corporate socialism we are seeing put into practice now.
The clowns that started this mess are the supply siders and ironically are killing the capitalist system they love the best by doing so.
So, shake 'em up, throw them out and lock some of them up.

And Dave, I hate to see my hard earned tax dollars overpaying those civilian naval guys! Let's start cutting goverment right there! ( GO GIANTS.....favored by 9 over the cowboys this week) ( Larry now ducks and covers)

And, curiously, an almost identical "experiment" was related on Rush Limbaugh's broadcast today. Coincidence? Hmmm!

Incidentally... the New York Post has retracted the erroneous report on Michelle Obama's "New York Snack"

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10212008/go ... 134490.htm

The new Kool-Aid flavor.....Oxycotten Dittohead Red! How the hell do you spell oxycotten anyway????

Probably... since in my humble opinion Limbaugh is an asshat! Me, I'm a G. Gordon Liddy fan. The difference in the shows from when I started listening is that Liddy will allow opposing viewpoints on his show where if you're not a "diddiot" you don't exist.

http://www.radioamerica.org/PRG_ggordonliddy.htm

Oh, he's got a hat now? Dave we can agree on this one!

From the slang expression having one's head up one's ass, thus, wearing the ass as a hat. The term is extended to people who are clueless or bumbling, who don't understand what is going on.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/asshat

Have you seen YOUR head lately?!

I knew that............