The ant and the grasshopper

[George Schilling]

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long,
building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and
plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well-fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his
house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and
plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and
demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well-fed
while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the
shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home
with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor
grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody
cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where
the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse
then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that
the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call
for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share .

Finally, President Obama approves the EEOC draft from the Economic
Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act, retroactive to the beginning of the
summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green
bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is
confiscated by the government.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a
defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of
federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed, when he was in office, from
a list o f single-parent welfare recipients.

The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of
the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens
to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't
maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house,
now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the
once peaceful neighborhood.

[Earl Merz]

with all these bugs around, I think the Orkin Man needs to be called to clean the area up.

[Jeff Shyu]

good summary of Atlas Shrugged

[Craig Naylor]

with all these bugs around, I think the Orkin Man needs to be called to clean the area up.

Yes, but who's going to pay the Orkin man: the ant who no longer lives in the home, the estate of the dead grasshopper, the felon spiders, or the red ink government?

[Earl Merz]

Yes, but who's going to pay the Orkin man: the ant who no longer lives in the home, the estate of the dead grasshopper, the felon spiders, or the red ink government?

The Badger, he's an evil one you know.

[Jeff Shyu]

Yes, but who's going to pay the Orkin man: the ant who no longer lives in the home, the estate of the dead grasshopper, the felon spiders, or the red ink government?

The Badger, he's an evil one you know.

[Steve Ekstrand]

The cockroaches are laughing at you all from the heart of WALL-E's Twinkie.

[Earl Merz]

So, you are saying Gio is going to pay the Orkin Man?

[Steve Ekstrand]

Does the Orkin man gas the liberals? I'd pay for that.

[George Schilling]

With all these insects to choose from, I end up the being the frickin' ant. I'm trying to get a house rented right now and the question I hate the most is "DO YOU TAKE SECTION 8. For a family with four kids, not only are we paying them welfare, but our tax dollars will pay up to $2,400.00 a month rent for a home for the deadbeats. Can you say "Man, this really f's up the market tor the hard working ants".

[Jeff Shyu]

i like this little story:

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. She considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, but her father was a staunch Republican. One day she was challenging her father on his beliefs and his opposition to high taxes and welfare programs.


He stopped her and asked her, "How are you doing in school?"


She answered that she had a 4.0 GPA, but it was really tough. She had to study all the time and ever had time to go out and party. She didn't have time for a boyfriend and didn't really have many college friends because she was spending all her time studying. On top of that, the part-time job her father insisted she keep left absolutely no time for anything else.


He asked, "How is your friend Mary?"


She replied that Mary was barely getting by. She had a 2.0 GPA, never studied, but was very popular on campus, didn't have a job, and went to all the parties. She was always complaining about not having any money, but didn't want to work. Why, she often didn't show up for classes because she was hung over.


Dad then asked his daughter why she didn't go to the Dean's office and request that 1.0 be taken off her 4.0 and given it to her friend who only had a 2.0. That way they would both have a respectable 3.0 GPA. Then, she could also give her friend half the money she'd earned from her job so that her friend would no longer be broke.


The daughter angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair. I worked really hard for my grades and money, and Mary just loafs. Why should her laziness and irresponsibility be rewarded with half of what I've worked for?"


The father slowly smiled and said, "Welcome to the Republican Party

[Steve Ekstrand]

Now if the idiot Elephants could just leave religion as a personal matter that they fight to give freedom for the GOP would rule forever.

[Jeff Shyu]

i'm actually a registered democrat, but the older i get, the more republican i get.

it's true, if the republicans just left the personal choice crap off their agenda, i'd be a full fledged republican.

until such time, i'll just have to hide as a libertarian posing as a democrat..

[Kurt Rahn]

As apparently unpopular as Clinton was, I liked him because of this one thing: as he put it, he was a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. I disagree with a lot of the socially related crap the Dems do, but the NeoCons with their religious-driven crap make me much more angry.

[George Schilling]

The GOP held the presidency and both houses for six years. Exactly what religion or religious values did they force on the population? Doesn't Obama support religious based government spending? Religion and abortion are red herrings that the left uses to scare liberals into voting for dems. Apparently it works. And we ants pay the price.

[Larry Andrews]

And when an American can learn to have basic respect for other Americans - and not call for their murder - maybe then I'll consider voting in a way that they would approve of.

[George Schilling]

And when an American can learn to have basic respect for other Americans - and not call for their murder - maybe then I'll consider voting in a way that they would approve of.

Yep, the dems control the hot button "feel good" issues.

Obama might be changing that. On social issues, he wants it both ways, on the one hand calling for huge tax increases and new government welfare programs while taking the GOP position of personal responsibility. He's very uncomfortable in front of black groups who subscribe to the victimization mentality. He needs the black vote to win so he panders to the point of almost calling for reparations last week. His supporters either don't see or don't mind the contradictions.

[Kurt Rahn]

The GOP held the presidency and both houses for six years. Exactly what religion or religious values did they force on the population?

Ahhh, that's the distinction. I didn't say the GOP. Remember I'm a Republican too, George. Who got bush re-elected? It wasn't me or the usual GOP suspects. My mom (just right of Hitler) voted against Bush, and so did a lot of other long-time GOP'ers. It was a one-time surge of midwest religious zealots and the NeoCons that got him the (unfortunate) second term.

[Kurt Williams]

Sometimes politicians, journalists and others exclaim: "it's just a tax cut for the rich" and it is just accepted to be fact. But what does it really mean ? Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that everyday ten men go out for dinner 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) wold pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1,the sixth $3, the seventh $7, the eight $12, the ninth $18 and the tenth (the richest) would pay $59.

The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant 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, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20. Dinner 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 eat for free. The other six would divide the $20 windfall so everyone would get their fair share. They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everyones share, then the fifth and sixth man would each each end up being paid to eat their meal. So the restaurant 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 $5 instead of $7 28% savings, the eighth $9 instead of $12 25% savings, the ninth $14 instead of $18 22 savings and the tenth $49 instead of $59 16% savings. Each of the six was better off than before and the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, they began to compare their savings. Ionly got a $1 out of $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 me ! That's true shouted the seventh man. Why should he get back $10 when I got only $2 ? The wealthy get all the breaks ! Wait a minute the first four men yelled , we did'nt 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 did not show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they did not have enough money between all of them to pay even half the bill.
The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them to much , attack them for being wealthy and they may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start eating somewhere that the atmosphere is friendlier.

[John Coffey]

Of course the truth is that the congresspersons are too busy raising campaign money to read the laws they pass. The laws are written by staff tax nerds who can put pretty much any wording they want in there. I bet that if you actually read the entire vastness of the U.S. Tax Code, you'd find at least one sex scene ("'Yes, yes, YES!' moaned Vanessa as Lance, his taut body moist with moisture, again and again depreciated her adjusted gross rate of annualized fiscal debenture"). ~Dave Barry

[Jeff Shyu]

Of course the truth is that the congresspersons are too busy raising campaign money to read the laws they pass. The laws are written by staff tax nerds who can put pretty much any wording they want in there. I bet that if you actually read the entire vastness of the U.S. Tax Code, you'd find at least one sex scene ("'Yes, yes, YES!' moaned Vanessa as Lance, his taut body moist with moisture, again and again depreciated her adjusted gross rate of annualized fiscal debenture"). ~Dave Barry

[Larry Andrews]

And when an American can learn to have basic respect for other Americans - and not call for their murder - maybe then I'll consider voting in a way that they would approve of.

Yep, the dems control the hot button "feel good" issues.

No, George. This is what I was referring to.

Does the Orkin man gas the liberals? I'd pay for that.

But thanks for missing the obvious point that today's conservatives have adopted UnAmerican behaviors that no American should be proud of.

It's one thing to disagree with someone else that's on your team, it's fully another thing to call for their execution because of the disagreement. Where are we, 1937 Germany?

[Steve Ekstrand]

It was joke odd hermit mountain boy...

Truth is liberals aren't worth blowing money on. Even to have them exterminated.

[Kevin Price]

And we ants pay the price.

And that, boys and girls, is called Victim Mentality.

Seriously, the rich get taxed for the same reason that banks get robbed: because they have the money. They're the only ones who can possibly pick up the dinner tab, which is why the whole dinner thing is inapt.

Its also why its laughable that Hillary Clinton and Obama say things like "make the rich pay their fair share. . ." The rich already pay way, way more than what is fair. But guess what: its not all about what's fair, and it can't be! An honest candidate, who was not just pandering to the majority of votors, would admit that the top 1/3 of tax payers carry 90% of the tax load. That's just the way it is, so let's move on. . .

In return, that top 1/3 gets benefits not seen in most of the world: a generally well- educated workforce with generally good health, a relatively secure economy in which to do business, freedom to worship what and where you want, and the opportunity to start a company in your garage and wind up among the world's richest. Not to mention good military and law enforcement and judicial protection so that you're not worried that your country will be invaded or your property or business will get jacked out from under you. That, in large part, is why we have the strongest economy in the world, at least 3 times as large as the next runner up.

Oh sure, you can point out some singular example of where we're low here or bad there, but we live in the greatest society and economy, with the greatest individual freedoms in the world. Its not a dinner table and its not an anthill, its *slightly* more complicated than that.

"And we ants pay the price?" Okay, you feel like a victim of some grand conspiracy. We get it. But look at what your life would likely be in almost any other country in the world. You probably wouldn't have the ability to piss and moan on the internet. So that, by itself, is something.

[George Schilling]

And we ants pay the price.

And that, boys and girls, is called Victim Mentality.

Seriously, the rich get taxed for the same reason that banks get robbed: because they have the money. They're the only ones who can possibly pick up the dinner tab, which is why the whole dinner thing is inapt.

Its also why its laughable that Hillary Clinton and Obama say things like "make the rich pay their fair share. . ." The rich already pay way, way more than what is fair. But guess what: its not all about what's fair, and it can't be! An honest candidate, who was not just pandering to the majority of votors, would admit that the top 1/3 of tax payers carry 90% of the tax load. That's just the way it is, so let's move on. . .

In return, that top 1/3 gets benefits not seen in most of the world: a generally well- educated workforce with generally good health, a relatively secure economy in which to do business, freedom to worship what and where you want, and the opportunity to start a company in your garage and wind up among the world's richest. Not to mention good military and law enforcement and judicial protection so that you're not worried that your country will be invaded or your property or business will get jacked out from under you. That, in large part, is why we have the strongest economy in the world, at least 3 times as large as the next runner up.

Oh sure, you can point out some singular example of where we're low here or bad there, but we live in the greatest society and economy, with the greatest individual freedoms in the world. Its not a dinner table and its not an anthill, its *slightly* more complicated than that.

"And we ants pay the price?" Okay, you feel like a victim of some grand conspiracy. We get it. But look at what your life would likely be in almost any other country in the world. You probably wouldn't have the ability to piss and moan on the internet. So that, by itself, is something.

Nice rant Kevin, but victim mentality? Gimme me a break. I had an impoverished childhood, a single mom who worked as waitress, made about $40 week. We didn't accept handouts and never complained. But even as a product of poverty, I always felt that everyone should pay their fair share. I never let my circumstances get in the way of my success. People who suffer from victim mentality blame their lack of success on anything and everything but themselves. Take your victim mentality and shove it where the sun don't shine.

A well educated workforce, hmmmm. Gotta disagree with you there. I've tutored several students trying to get their bachelors degrees with skills I in learned in 7th grade. It's an accepted fact that people entering colleges today are dumber that ever. And those without college? Many can't put two words together to make a sentence. Gimme be a break.

The rich don't get taxed because they have money. There is no tax for having money. Warren Buffet once proclaimed that his secretary pays more income tax than he. The problem is we are making it harder for the have nots to be successful because we tax income. Talking about it does not make one a victim.

In my lifetime I have never asked for anyone to pay for my dinner. I may not have had steak all my life, but I never begrudged those that did. Today it's quite different. Values have changed. A large segment of society now feel entitled to the spoils of the of the ants despite their unwillingness to earn those spoils. Talking about this does not make one a victim.

The fact that most people accept these changing values I find very disheartening. These are not the values that make for a successful society IMHO. Talking about the direction the country is going certainly does not make one a victim.

That's just the way it is so lets move on? Are you serious? How about working together to stop the slide into the abyss. Hell, I've made mine. It's my children and grandchildren and beyond that I'm concerned about.