5 Favorite Lines from the State of the Union 2012

#5 "I will not back down from protecting our kids from mercury poisoning..."

What an obstructionist!  He talks about bipartisanship all the time, but then he says things like this.  You know, Mr. Obama, if you would back down just a little bit on poisoning our kids with mercury, Washington D.C. would be a lot more efficient.  Okay, if you're not willing to compromise on this issue, how about helping Republicans achieve their goals of dirty water and unhealthy food?  Any wiggle room here?  Your refusal to compromise on matters where  legitimate arguments exist on both sides is a sign of your rigid ideology.  You should go back and read your inauguration speech. 

#4 "We also know that when students don’t walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. When students are not allowed to drop out, they do better."

I'd like to see some hard numbers on this.  Can we get a fact-checker on this right away?  Is it possible to walk away from one's education and still walk the stage to get a diploma?  You might suggest that a GED is an option, but they actually just send those in the mail...you don't get to walk the stage.  I happen to know that from experience.  That's right...I am Garrett Hall, J.D., B.A., GED.

#3 "It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom. No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts"

You heard him, right?  From top to bottom.  No handouts!  President Obama is in favor of entitlement reform!  It's about time, because we cannot keep up with this entitlement society.  And no copouts?  I'm sure he is including himself in this.  No more blaming Bush, ATMs, Republicans, earthquakes, bloggers, etc.  And since we are including you in this picture, I certainly hope the American people don't bail you out this November!

#2 "We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill — because milk was somehow classified as an oil. With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk. (Laughter and applause.)"

My main issue here is the "Laughter and applause" caption.  I didn't hear laughter or applause.  I heard some uncomfortable moaning, restless stirring and uneasy laughter by the President.  "Laughter and applause" is incredibly generous and just downright untrue.  The President should stick with Nancy Reagan and Special Olympics jokes...he pulls them off much better.

#1 "When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich. It’s because they understand that when I get a tax break I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference — like a senior on a fixed income, or a student trying to get through school, or a family trying to make ends meet."

A tax break the country can't afford?  Is the Country writing checks for tax breaks?  I wasn't aware that all income went through the US Gov't and then they graciously gave us our percentage back.  I didn't know it was their property that they are kindly gifting to us.

This is an example of the backward way Obama and his minions think about income.  They think they are entitled to it and it belongs to them.  They also think they should decide how the majority of it is used.  Besides, students trying to get through school or families trying to make ends meet don't lose anything when someone gets a tax break.  That money never belonged to them and the Gov't never saw it.  Now, overspending and waste in the Gov't may burden Americans, because the Gov't isn't really producing.  It doesn't retain capital to invest...it simply spends it on something else.  So, let's view untaxed income for what it is...personal property.

So, yeah, great speech.  I like what you've done with it...it was much better the third time.

Bar Stool Economics

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 pay $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



Thanks to Adam Poyfair for sending this to me.