E-mail Jeff at jeff.quick@wandtv.com
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Baseball underway. It would have been better if Cards won and Cubs lost but that just didn't happen. Opening day start is...Cards 0-1 and the stinkin' Cubs 1-0. There's a lot of baseball left.
LUNCH TIME ECONOMICS
Suppose, that every day ten men go out to eat a buffet lunch and the total bill 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 ate lunch together 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 lunch by $20. Lunch 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. 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 eat. 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 now paid $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 $50 instead of $59 (15% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat 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 $9!' 'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got nine times more than I!' 'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $9 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 man and beat him up.
The next day the tenth man didn't show up to eat, so the nine sat down and ate 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! But none of the nine ever realized that the portion the 10th man paid went from 59% of the total bill to 63% of the total 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 eating overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
* For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible!
Keeping Your Cool When Flying
Those who fly, which are quite a few of us, have all experienced some sort of problem or delay while doing so. You show up to the airport an hour early, parking is tough to find, and by the time you stand in line to check your bags it is only 25 minutes until your flight is scheduled to depart. Now that you are finally there at the counter and you know you have enough time to make your flight, you are given some disturbing news. "Sir/Ma'am, you must arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your flight in order to check bags or you will not be able to fly".
Sounds like a very ridiculous rule, but most all airlines do have it. So, now they are going to put you on another flight that leaves in two+ hours and makes 50 different stops before you make it to your destination, and before you know it you have a 15 hour travel day ahead of you. Even worse, once you do make it through security after taking off your shoes, belt, pants, and shirt for inspection...you then find out your original flight was delayed for an additional 15 min.
This information would have been useful because you were technically there more than 30 minutes prior to takeoff and could have boarded the first flight as planned. So, as your leaving security wearing only your tie, underwear and socks...fired up and headed for the ticket counter, remember...Keep your Cool! You will not receive any assistance if you are out of control and yelling and making demands. Here are some tips for flying that may get some results.
1) Keep your Cool.
2) Talk to the right person (if the agent looks 15 years old, ask for the supervisor)
3) Make sure you printed your boarding pass the night before for your original flight.
4) Show the boarding pass to the agent and calmly explain your situation.
5) Don't make outrageous demands for compensation...Be reasonable.
6) No need in saying "I'm never flying this airline again" they don't care.
7) Being Calm and Polite will get better results. People don't want to help a lunatic.
Other Preparations...
1) Show up as early as possible. This is sometimes difficult.
2) Check in for your flight the night before via the Internet.
3) Know the rules of security before packing your suitcase, by logging on to http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm
Cards vs. Cubs
I know all the Cub fans think they have this season in the bag. Well, let me just say anything can and probably will happen. There is still a lot of baseball left. The Redbirds still have two 3-game sets against the Cubbies. Cub fans might be a little upset and nervous if the Cards go and sweep both series. So, it ain't over yet McGavin!
As for the bet with JC, we can do a few things here. We can simply make the bet based on which team makes it to the playoffs, however, we could see both teams there. Therefore we would then need to push the bet back to the playoffs. We can also have individual bets for each series.
Here is my proposal...
Cubs vs. Cards - Sep. 9-11 - Loser in the best of 3 wears the other teams tie on TV and states "Go Cards" or "Go Cubs" during the show or LWS.
Cards vs. Cubs - Sep. 19-21 - Loser in the best of 3 replaces the team logo on their blog for 1 week with a photo of him wearing a Shirt and Hat from the other team.
Best Record for the Season - JC can propose this bet
Playoffs - If both teams face-off in the playoffs we will decide the bet then.
Go Cards!!!
Cardinals Talk and Contest
I have not been on the blog in a very long time but now we are in the final stretch in the race to the playoffs. The Cards are not out by any means with having two of their star pitchers returning to the lineup. As JC mentioned in his blog...we are in a bit of a Cards vs. Cubs rivalry. Before we get to the bet there are a few things that need mentioning. First, all of us Cards fans want first place and I believe it is going to happen, however, the NL Central stands a good chance of getting the Wild Card with the East and West NL leaders having a worse record than the top 3 NL Central teams. With that being said, it is very likely for the Cards and Cubs to face off in the playoffs, which would be amazing. That is where the bet would come into play.
The bet will involve the loser of JC or Myself being embarrassed on TV somehow...i.e. wearing some of the other teams apparel. We are accepting ideas from everyone for the stakes of the bet so please send JC or myself your inputs.
One other issue I have is...I can't stand the Cubs song they play after the games when the Cubs win. I only learned of this song recently when JC was singing it in the studio and now it is on his blog. To my knowledge the Cards do not have such a victory song but maybe I'm wrong. At any rate, we are putting up the Cards decor on the blog as you can see. Currently I have a 2006 World Series dedication video. I would love to have such a song to sing about the Cardinals like the Cubs do.
The Contest
So, for all the musicians out there here is the task...Make a video with a catchy original song for the Cardinals and I will put it on the blog. If we can get enough interest in doing this we can also have a public vote to see which song would be the winner. Who knows, the winner may get enough play time that the song could become the official Cards song...or at least it would be on this website. So spread the word to all of your friends and family and lets see if we can get a song. Please send me an email and let me know if you are planning on creating a video and song.
Go Cards
