Not just this guy's; lots of people have fallen for this and forwarded it, applying wishful thinking instead of mathematics -- which is how we got into this mess in the first place.
Yeh, see I wouldn't have proposed such a thing without doing the math myself. Having seen others do so, that saves me the task (not that a calculator takes much effort). I may not be good at math, but even I thought it seemed rather surreal that each person would get almost $500k. Also taxable at that level would be more like 50% of income, would it not? It would be in Canada. Middle class gets taxed 33% and that's if you're earning around $50k.
The whole article was bungled, though it's a nice idea. Also it would help the economy in a different way.. by letting people SPEND MONEY. Perish the thought, you know?
"Also it would help the economy in a different way.. by letting people SPEND MONEY. Perish the thought, you know?"
The guys always wanting to cut taxes and privatize retirement have also discouraged more than the teaching of evolution in our public schools. They have left us, as a nation, gullible and unable to manage our money.
We need those tax dollars spent in ways that will make us less gullible and more able to manage our money, or we'll just be funneling those dollars into the off-shore accounts of those guys always wanting to cut taxes, etc.
Truly. Once I reached adulthood I came to realise the importance of budgeting that you're not taught at any point. I think a course on budgeting and such should be a mandatory course in high schools (so far as I am aware, I don't think there are even optional courses in high school). I mean everyone can benefit from such knowledge whether they like math or not. I'm not much for math myself, but it's really important to know how to manage your money. I mean, it wouldn't just stop at budgeting but would get into information about credit and debts and interest rates.. all the initial stuff most people would need or want to know (and all the questions I see raised by people over and over again).
Think we ought to petition our local school boards for such a thing?
"Think we ought to petition our local school boards for such a thing?"
Why not?
I think that budgeting used to be part of Home Economics, but there's been a shift away from applied or vocational classes to college prep. I think that conservatives and liberals collaborated on this shift. Our schools now reflect the values of bureaucracy, as though civilization could be sustained and our culture improved by bureaucrats alone; we fill our classrooms with desks and desk jockeys. Meanwhile, most people grow up without knowing where their food comes from -- or how much fossil fuel it took to get their tables -- and we treat farm workers like "dirt". (For more info, check out my interview with Lisa Bradley at bearleyport.livejournal.com)
Okay, if such a thing was taught in Home Ec, I missed it entirely. As a female, I made it an intentional decision to not take any home ec in high school. Besides, my mother had taught me all about cooking, baking, sewing... I didn't really learn anything new in home ec in grade 7 and 8, save for using a sewing machine (she's never owned one).
Maybe I should write off a few letters. Best scenerio they tell me they either have it already, or have one planned out. Worst case scenerio they toss my letter in the recycling bin (or e-mail in the trash.. depending on which method I use).
"As a female, I made it an intentional decision to not take any home ec in high school."
I'm a stay-at-home dad. My wife has done most of the renovations on our house. Home economics and shop aren't sexist, though their teachers might be; and there is -- or should be -- more to home _economics_ than cooking, baking, sewing...
Well, I managed to find someone to write a class on "Personal Prosperity for Wizards" at the Grey School. It touches on balancing a budget, saving money, and other practical skills as well as money magic.
I had a very little bit of budget-teaching in home economics. My mother teaches checkbook balancing and some related skills in her math classes. (I still kinda suck at it, though.) But it's rare, and getting rarer. Schools mainly teach information rather than stuff used in everyday life.
We all use information always, but they don't teach us how to discriminate useful information from BS. If they did, none of us would take those standardized tests seriously.
Well, drat. I was looking at the list of things that could be done with the stated amount of money, not the numbers themselves (numbers not being my strong suit). If I were actually in charge of something like a budget -- which I try to avoid -- I'd make sure to have a mathematician or bookkeeper or some other numeric expert available to make sure the number parts actually added up properly.
I do know that the bottom line is supposed to have black numbers in it, not red ones. This may be one of those things that puts my math ability, which I consider pathetic, above that of about 2/3 of Americans (according to test scores when I entered college).
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ysabetwordsmith
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-05 05:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-05 06:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-05 06:21 pm (UTC)The whole article was bungled, though it's a nice idea. Also it would help the economy in a different way.. by letting people SPEND MONEY. Perish the thought, you know?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-05 09:51 pm (UTC)The guys always wanting to cut taxes and privatize retirement have also discouraged more than the teaching of evolution in our public schools. They have left us, as a nation, gullible and unable to manage our money.
We need those tax dollars spent in ways that will make us less gullible and more able to manage our money, or we'll just be funneling those dollars into the off-shore accounts of those guys always wanting to cut taxes, etc.
Good point!
Date: 2008-10-05 09:54 pm (UTC)Of course, that makes everyone hate you.
Re: Good point!
Date: 2008-10-05 10:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-06 06:40 pm (UTC)Think we ought to petition our local school boards for such a thing?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-06 07:52 pm (UTC)Why not?
I think that budgeting used to be part of Home Economics, but there's been a shift away from applied or vocational classes to college prep. I think that conservatives and liberals collaborated on this shift. Our schools now reflect the values of bureaucracy, as though civilization could be sustained and our culture improved by bureaucrats alone; we fill our classrooms with desks and desk jockeys. Meanwhile, most people grow up without knowing where their food comes from -- or how much fossil fuel it took to get their tables -- and we treat farm workers like "dirt". (For more info, check out my interview with Lisa Bradley at bearleyport.livejournal.com)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-06 08:36 pm (UTC)Maybe I should write off a few letters. Best scenerio they tell me they either have it already, or have one planned out. Worst case scenerio they toss my letter in the recycling bin (or e-mail in the trash.. depending on which method I use).
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-07 12:08 am (UTC)I'm a stay-at-home dad. My wife has done most of the renovations on our house. Home economics and shop aren't sexist, though their teachers might be; and there is -- or should be -- more to home _economics_ than cooking, baking, sewing...
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-06 09:13 pm (UTC)I had a very little bit of budget-teaching in home economics. My mother teaches checkbook balancing and some related skills in her math classes. (I still kinda suck at it, though.) But it's rare, and getting rarer. Schools mainly teach information rather than stuff used in everyday life.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-07 12:17 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-05 07:17 pm (UTC)I do know that the bottom line is supposed to have black numbers in it, not red ones. This may be one of those things that puts my math ability, which I consider pathetic, above that of about 2/3 of Americans (according to test scores when I entered college).