Say Anything Blog

I can see where you were going with that, but not tipping your servers is pretty rude. Most of us work for about 2.50 an hour, plus tips.

Sure, he shouldn’t have been wearing a tie with a political endorsement on at all, but a living’s a living. Let’s take the upper hand and swing a few democrats right. It makes a good point, but didn’t do much to sway his opinion, I can guarantee it.

Ok.  Who made out in this scenario?
The guy who wrote the piece had his meal, so he got what HE wanted
The restaurant made its money, so they got what THEY wanted.
The random man who wasn’t actually asking for money.
Who didn’t make out?
The server who was working hard for both his boss AND the ‘gentleman’ at his table. 
This ‘experiment’ was just an exercise of the writer’s utter stupidity.  To honestly (and accurately!) “explore Obama’s redistribution of wealth” idea; the writer, after finishing (his apparently $65 lunch, since he was going to tip $10), should have told the owner of the restaurant that he was going to give 3% of the bill’s total to the homeless guy out front instead (assuming the restaurant nets over $250K, right?)  So, $65 for lunch = $1.95 to the not-actually-begging beggar…. 
I cannot, of course, speak for the owner of THAT restaurant, but if a customer of mine (especialy one that just spent that much for LUNCH) came up to me and said he was going to do this, I would smile pretty broadly and offer to match the contribution, or at least throw in a bowl of soup (since the customer’s always right, right?)
So: Business made out, wealthy people (I can’t tell you when was the last time I had a $65 meal, let alone lunch) weren’t effected, the poorest people got token assistance that WON’T help them in the long run, and the ‘working guy’ ended up paying for it.
Hand me $10 because you decided I ‘deserve’ it more than your waiter did, I’d think, “Wow, your waiter must have really done a BAD job!” and yes, I’d be appreciative of being the first person you saw, after surviving such a harrowing ordeal.  Although…. it’s funny, but I must have missed the part where the waiter actually did anything wrong (other than wearing an apparently offensive-to-the-writer article of clothing, of course.  How DARE he?!?!)

BTW:  You DID notice that the homeless man wasn’t begging for cash, he was asking for support for a candidate he approved of.  ‘Homeless’ doesn’t equal ‘undignified’. 
It is my conclusion, however, that the writer should get a pass on that, since he obviously doesn’t know a heck of a lot about dignity.

By wearing the OBAMA tie the waiter offended some of his customers.  He did not deserve any tip.

Moria, I’m sorry, but your extreme ignorance and bias tickles me to an extent as to which I don’t have enough time in my hard working day, to explain the flaws of your argument. My only question is why can’t you take an exaggerated example at its initial and only meaning. This isn’t Shakespeare, there’s not that much depth in its meaning. It’s just an example of how close Obama is to being a socialist. Taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor is a great moral feat, yet it is impractical in today’s society, as the USSR (communists) have proved. I don’t know about you, but I like it when our economy has a chance of prevailing, not when a faltering giant is slayed at the hands of morality. You may say I’m not a moral being, yet morals are often overridden for the sake of our own good, because it is part of human nature, the need to survive and improve our surroundings. So although I have gone on many a tangent, and provided an over analysis of my own, just realize this story, which probably isn’t even true in the first place, is just that; a story.

Anyone who has a problem with this story is an idiot. Read into the actual meaning of the story. Maybe you should go out and work really hard and treat yourself to a $65 dollar dinner too. Maybe then you wouldn’t be so bitter. Read the story of the grasshopper and the ant that’s circulating the web. I grew up with nothing, and worked my but off and now I regularly have $65 dollar dinners. Meanwhile, I run into my old friends from high school that are barely getting by because they thought it was more fun to get high and pump out 3 kids by the age of 21. I work hard for every dollar that I have and I regularly treat myself to great dinners. As a kid, my dad refused to accept welfare, always stating that it wasn’t a right but a shame. He worked his but off to provide for us. I have lived my whole life with that in my mind. Eventually, after I left home for the military, my dad started making great money and climbed into the middle class. I see people that live with a chip on their shoulders and treat welfare as an entitlement. I see civil rights groups say that the military tries to lure poor kids. Well I am sure glad that they lured this poor kid, because now I am a success, and I’ll be damned if I let someone take what I worked so hard for and redistribute it to the people that didn’t earn it.

Actually, the truth is that the consumer that is eating the food, if making over 250k a year would give a percentage to the government to redistribute.  What does that have to do with this restaurant? Nothing.  If the restaurant made more than 250k (over and above all it’s tax write offs and employee pay) would give a percentage to the government to redistribute.  And that is a very small additional percentage.  The waiter would not lose money, and the homeless man would not receive it directly, unless he was getting it through welfare (which I don’t believe is a homeless person perk).  This entire story is rediculous and simply ignorant.  Fat cats like the golden parachute bankers that walk away from bankrupting our planet, should pay.  As poor as I am I would have matched that 10 dollars too and put my money where my mouth is, LET ALONE if i made 250K a year or more.  An argument for not giving back into America to build up the lower class and level out the wealth is absurd and promoted by fear and greed.  Bottom up economics needs to be implemented, and it needs to happen soon. People are so fed up with the greedy non-trickle downers, who are turning this planet into a money obsessed %^&* hole, revolt is inevitable.  This “story” is EPIC FAIL.

I wouldn’t say the homeless guy deserved the money more.  He certainly NEEDED it more, but the waiter earned - and therefore deserved - it.

I was so inspired I decided to try my own experiment on the way it’s always been.(hey taxes are taxes, since when have we been able to decide how they are spent? If I missed something here, I’d like mine not to go to the Iraq invasion please, retroactive 2003, definatly skip the corporate welfare)
   
    At my lunch, my waitress had a MCcain button so I asked her about her life, she explained she had a masters in linguistics but had to work as a waitress and also cleaned hotel rooms to make ends meet and support her child. When it came time to leave, I explained I was going to redistribute the wealth, straight to the top, as usual, and give her tip to the the CEO of AIG, because I heard he takes flomax and will certainly trickle it back down to her, in an enriched golden shower. As evidenced by his fabulous wage, he certainly has the superior intelligence and resources to buy extra hours in the day in order to work that much harder than she does.He may even be enough of a wizard (like the boys at Fannie May) to create “money” out of thin air! He clearly deserves it more.,Besides, he’ s bit down on luck these days,(somehow that imaginary money disapeared?) and needs a little help financing that luxury retreat for his Best and Brightest.(hey, see, it’s trickling!) Why rock the Feudal system,? it’s been working so well for so many centuries.
Well, guess how my waitress responded? She beamed, and said “Thank the Lord, he shall provide!”
I thanked her for her Patriotism.

hey taxes are taxes, since when have we been able to decide how they are spent?

Oh, I don’t know - since America was founded.

We live in a representative republic in which the citizens decide the spending. That this representative republic likes to give the control of spending to entities twice and thrice removed is the fault of the citizens. They elect representatives who then create bureaucracies that spend in the citizen’s name (example: Department of Education, Energy, Labor, Commerce, and on and on). These bureaucracies, in turn, then sometimes create bureaucracies under them. Each new spending measure, however, must be approved and voted on by the citizens’ representatives.

You may not like the fact, but do recognize it - the citizens of this republic control the purse strings.

At my lunch, my waitress had a MCcain button so I asked her about her life, she explained she had a masters in linguistics…

Well, that’s her problem right there.

When it came time to leave, I explained I was going to redistribute the wealth, straight to the top, as usual, and give her tip to the the CEO of AIG, because I heard he takes flomax and will certainly trickle it back down to her, in an enriched golden shower.

That makes no sense.

If you’re going to have a story, it has to have some measure of truth in it. It doesn’t work well if it is hogwash. Exaggerating for effect is okay. Completely reworking the central premise and any point you’re trying to make falls apart.

He may even be enough of a wizard (like the boys at Fannie May) to create “money” out of thin air!

Oh! The government created and propped up entity.

So,...where are you going with this?

Besides, he’ s bit down on luck these days,(somehow that imaginary money disapeared?) and needs a little help financing that luxury retreat for his Best and Brightest.(hey, see, it’s trickling!)

Trickle-down is the pejorative given to free market economics, not government created entities.

Nice try, “Get a Gtip”, but ultimately, no cigar.

“Think More Clearly” - And that is a very small additional percentage.

That’s the problem with you redistributionists - your assuming nature.

You have to assume a hell of a lot to say that any higher tax is a “very small additional percentage”.

Maybe the restaurant has outstanding bills or debt to pay off. Do you know? No, you don’t. You just assume they don’t.

Maybe the restaurant is owned by someone who needs every bit of profit for some surgery the owner has to undergo. Do you know? No, you don’t. You just assume they don’t.

Maybe the restaurant is looking to hire additional help, and the restaurant business being what it is, profits are razor thin. Do you know if the “very small additional percentage” would mean that they couldn’t hire another cook or server? No, you don’t. You just assume they don’t.

Stop assuming so damn much. You don’t know what people need. You’re not all knowing.

Five homeless guys and
your wallet is gone.

Five homeless guys and
your wallet is gone.

Oh, shit.

You’ve been to the Democrat utopia of Detroit?

Hah.

There are a lot of <strike>filthy thieving crackheads</strike> Obama supporters there in Detroit. Your comment reminded me of the city and all of its ugliness.

Let them eat cake

Let them eat cake

Feudalists usually say that, so it’s not surprising to hear it out of your mouth.

You like saying it.

Rained real hard and it rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline

Telling one lie or even consistently lying about one subject…doesn’t make you a liar…

robert108 on May 18, 2009 at 03:23 pm

“You have absolutely no reason, none, to trust our word or our actions at this point.”

Titular gop Head Mr. Steele

Like clockwork, there’s bob with his irrelevant picture.

Childlike: “good job bobby, at least you tried.”

By the way, “Get a Gtip”, when you say, I explained I was going to redistribute the wealth, straight to the top, as usual…

It sounds like a Democrat who favors redistribution. Straight to the top, as usual…

The top is the government, which Democrats believe can spend the money better than free citizens. For all of the Democrat moaning and complaining about “trickle up” and “trickle down”, they sure do support it!

What is that about? Looks like cognitive dissonance.

If you’re going to use a columnists story Last Best Hope, you should attribute it to them. I’m tired of people using this story like it’s theirs.

It’s all political bullshit. Liberals (and Robert108) lie and spin and twist and obscure and distract and cheat to protect their guys and hurt the opposing team. It’s like wrestling. They distract the ref while their team mate hits you with a chair. There’s no rule they won’t break, no law they won’t skirt, no crime they won’t forgive as long as they can win.

NATIONAL VETERANS HOMELESSNESS STATISTICS

About one-third of the adult homeless population has served their country in the Armed Services. On any given day, as many as 250,000 veterans (male and female) are living on the streets or in shelters. Many other veterans are considered near homeless or at risk because of their poverty, lack of support from family and friends, and dismal living conditions in cheap hotels or in overcrowded or substandard housing.

Who should pay to take care of this problem? Do they deserve help? Did they “earn” it?
Do we want government to do it or the private sector?
My vote is the war profiteers should kick in big time….Exxon Mobile, Haliburton, etc. it seems only fair.
Maybe the government needs to manage the programs since nobody else seems to be getting the job done.