Monday, December 13, 2010

The true meaning of a tax cut

While eating dinner alone with my 7th grade daughter (my wife and other daughter were out) last night we had a conversation that went something like this:

Courtney: Daddy (as she bats her eyes), can I ask you a question?
RockStar: Sure.
C: What do you know about the Bush tax cut?
RS (with look of skepticism): Why are you asking THAT?
C: Because I asked Mommy and she wouldn't answer me so I told her that you would definitely know about it. (employing the suck up gambit)
RS: Why did you ask Mommy about the Bush tax cut? (back on point)
C: Well, I sort of had a homework assignment on it. (a-ha)
RS: Sort of? What was the assignment? When is it due?
C: I had to read an article in the newspaper and do the 5Ws.
RS: The 5Ws?
C: You know, WhoWhatWhenWhereAndWhy. I got the who, President Bush but want to know the rest.
RS: What did the article say?
C: I sort of haven’t picked one yet. (sort of yet again)
RS: When are you going to pick one let alone read it?
C: After dinner but I thought I could ask you and get a jump on it.
RS: OK, the short story is that there was a tax cut that made most people pay less in taxes. It was done so people would have more money to spend and would buy more stuff. If more people buy stuff, then the grownups who can’t find jobs might find some new jobs easier. The tax cut is supposed to expire so unless the government does something most people will pay more in taxes next year. Then they would have less money. There is a bit of disagreement of which is the right way to go between the Republicans and Democrats. They have to decide soon.
C: Paying more in taxes isn’t good.
RS: No, I don't think so.
C: You didn’t have a job for a while but you got one.
RS: Yes, I was lucky. It is still a big problem for a lot of people. Some people think that the rich people don’t need to play less in taxes just because they are rich. They believe that the rich aren’t spending the money since they already have everything. They real question is what is rich.
C: Families without jobs aren’t rich. Are we rich?
RS: What do you think?
C: No, we just have a regular house, not a mansion.
RS: Yup.
C: But you do have a lot of bicycles.
RS: I DON’T HAVE A LOT OF BICYCLES.
C: Mommy says you do.
RS: (note to self, I guess the S-Works Roubaix or Pinarello won't be under the tree. Again. ) Why else do you think we are not rich?
C: Rich people drive Ferraris.
RS: We don’t have a Ferrari.
C: I want a yellow Ferrari. That would be cool.
RS: First of all, you are 12 years old. And second, when you grow up and if you can consider a Ferrari, it must be red.
C: Like in Ferris Bueller?
RS: Yes.
C: I still like the yellow ones.
RS: When is this homework due?
C: Tomorrow. I think I know everything about it now. I’ll tell Mommy I was right that you knew about the tax cut.
RS: Find an article.
C: I don’t think I need one anymore.
RS: Find an article.
C: Ok.

I wonder what the 5Ws wound up being. My daughter asked my wife to checked her homework instead of me.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

cute discussion.

TRI714 said...

hillarious. All except the out of job thing. I rode that train for 5 months in 2008. First time I had not been employed in 24 years. It sucked! Everything including the bikes. Priceless.

Ewa said...

Aren't you just dying to check that homework anyway?
As for Ferrari, I think a nice, warm yellow would be really cool. I can just see you giving it to her with a big bow in a few years for Christmas. Oh, wait, that was a Lexus commercial.

Unknown said...

The Ferrari must be red!

"Paying more taxes isn't good."

- After that statement I'd vote for your 12-yr old!

Heather said...

More importantly than learning about taxes she learned a valuable lesson about the proper ferrari color!!

Mine informed me today weren't poor as we didn't spend half our income buying food. I looked at my 235 lb fifteen year old and thought, "Wanna bet?"

Carolina John said...

She's not going to find the right article. crazy liberal bias

Aka Alice said...

Absolutely priceless...

Anonymous said...

Yellow is a great color for a car from the standpoint that yellow cars are involved in fewer accidents percentage wise because they are more visible.

Get her the Yellow Ferrari and you can drive it around until she's 16.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

HAHAHAHA!!! We have a regular house not a mansion, but you have alot of bikes!!!!!!!!!

I literally spit out some my water with that one!!!

The fact she knows Ferris Bueller at the age of 12 is impressive, that is our generation movie

Big Clyde said...

This should just be your blog from now on. Wisdom that comes from you to her and her to you.

Loved how balanced you were about the economics and her quick insights.