When we met Moo, we thought she was 10 months old, and would top out at 45-50 lbs. This was about six months younger and 10 lbs. heavier than we'd intended, but once we met her, there was no question: this was (and is) our dog.
She'd had a kind of a tumultuous life up to that point. Rescued off the street at just three weeks, she was fostered out by the animal shelter, adopted by a family with not one, but two toddlers, and then re-fostered by a neighbor when they just couldn't keep up with a puppy. That neighbor worked at my mom's vet, so my mom saw the posting and knew we were looking to adopt a dog. The rest is Moo-story.
Perhaps because of that early life, or maybe it's just her personality, Moo is a paradoxically rambunctious but careful dog. We knew from her history that she was social with other big dogs, but didn't know about smaller ones. The first time we encountered a family with a couple of cocker spaniels out on a walk, we learned: she just ramped everything down. Her go-to move for small dogs was to roll over and let them conquer her. They've always been her best friends.
Presently, we examined her paperwork from the shelter more carefully, and learned she was SIX months, not 10, when we adopted her. She didn't stop at 50 lbs., or 60, or 65... her most recent weigh-in was 75.2 lbs. She is a BIG DOG.
Except, she's not.
I've come to realize that she is absolutely sure she's a small dog. She's never tried to jump on our bed, or take food off the table. She will sit on the couch... but just with her back legs, forepaws on the floor. She will do the same with a person's lap if it's on the couch. And when our little dog, a Shibahuahua weighing in at a scrappy 11.6 lbs., decides to lie down in the middle of Moo's crate, she just looks at us all sad, like, "Where do I go now? There's no more room for me. She took it all." It's not even in her repertoire to kick the dog that is literally 15% of her size out of her own crate.
Deep down, she just doesn't believe that she is the size she is, that she has the strength she does.
As a California native, I'm proud of our progressive environmental regulations and our diversity and inclusiveness and our thriving industries. I'm proud of being a world destination, and love showing off Los Angeles to anyone who visits me. I'd be proud of our awesome weather, but I guess that'd be a little weird, since no one does anything to make that happen.
But it baffles me that we seem to be a little big dog. Here we are, with an economy larger than France, with 12% of the US population, the two largest seaports in the country, and the busiest cargo airport in the country... but when someone gets in our crate, we just don't know what to DO about that.
It's time we realize how big we are, how strong we are, and how much we are worth... to the nation, and to the world. Only then do we have a shot at demonstrating that value to our allies or enemies. And that is what will let us stay strong, vibrant, and thriving.
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taxes. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 01, 2017
Monday, January 02, 2012
The case for progressive taxation
I commonly hear people talk about how it's unfair when taxes are used to "redistribute" wealth.
I might agree with them, except, it's NOT redistribution. It's creating the infrastructure and resources that enable people to succeed, both modestly and wildly.
Say you have a great idea and some real business talent. You start a company. You get a bank loan; the bank can lend you that money because of the deposits of its other customers, many of whom are individuals saving for college, retirement, or a rainy day. They can save because they make more than they spend... they're middle class.
You hire people. The people you hire are literate and numerate. They know how to operate a computer and how to follow written and verbal instructions. They know how to communicate with their boss and their colleagues clearly and productively.
You buy equipment, much of it expensive. You get a fire/life/safety alarm system that automatically rings the police department or fire department if anything goes wrong.
You contact distributors via phone and email to get them to stock your products.
You manufacture your goods and ship them, via rail, roads, air, or sea. Shipping costs figure into your prices.
You are successful, and you become rich. But you ONLY were able to do it because of public services and infrastructure, including police, fire, schools, roads, rails, airports, sea ports, and everything that provides stability to the middle and working class so that money keeps flowing in the economy.
"Your fair share" of the costs of operating those things is GREATER, because you got MORE benefit out of them. Rather than benefiting just from sending your own kids to public school, you benefited from all the parents of all your employees being able to educate their children for free. You own more capital, so the expenses we have that ensure your capital is secure (fire and police) disproportionately benefit you. You're making heavier use of the transportation infrastructure, and most of that use doesn't include user fees intended to pay the full costs of building or maintaining that infrastructure.
Sad thing is... the elites who succeeded wildly in business used to understand this. When did we forget that stability, infrastructure, and education are requirements for a successful first-world economy?
I might agree with them, except, it's NOT redistribution. It's creating the infrastructure and resources that enable people to succeed, both modestly and wildly.
Say you have a great idea and some real business talent. You start a company. You get a bank loan; the bank can lend you that money because of the deposits of its other customers, many of whom are individuals saving for college, retirement, or a rainy day. They can save because they make more than they spend... they're middle class.
You hire people. The people you hire are literate and numerate. They know how to operate a computer and how to follow written and verbal instructions. They know how to communicate with their boss and their colleagues clearly and productively.
You buy equipment, much of it expensive. You get a fire/life/safety alarm system that automatically rings the police department or fire department if anything goes wrong.
You contact distributors via phone and email to get them to stock your products.
You manufacture your goods and ship them, via rail, roads, air, or sea. Shipping costs figure into your prices.
You are successful, and you become rich. But you ONLY were able to do it because of public services and infrastructure, including police, fire, schools, roads, rails, airports, sea ports, and everything that provides stability to the middle and working class so that money keeps flowing in the economy.
"Your fair share" of the costs of operating those things is GREATER, because you got MORE benefit out of them. Rather than benefiting just from sending your own kids to public school, you benefited from all the parents of all your employees being able to educate their children for free. You own more capital, so the expenses we have that ensure your capital is secure (fire and police) disproportionately benefit you. You're making heavier use of the transportation infrastructure, and most of that use doesn't include user fees intended to pay the full costs of building or maintaining that infrastructure.
Sad thing is... the elites who succeeded wildly in business used to understand this. When did we forget that stability, infrastructure, and education are requirements for a successful first-world economy?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
If people treated grocery stores like government
“Greetings, ma’am, what seems to be the problem?”
“This grocery bill. Just LOOK at the total! That’s MUCH too high!”
“I’m sorry, was there an error with the register? What is the total supposed to be?”
“Well, it ought to be a LOT lower than that. I can’t afford to spend that much!”
“Okay, let’s get this taken care of… what do the prices add up to?”
“What? I don’t know. That’s YOUR job! I don’t have time to look at the individual items and total them up!”
“Okay…” [spends a moment with a pocket calculator] “The total seems to be correct, ma’am. Did we charge you for an item you didn’t select, perhaps?”
“I NEED all the items I bought! But they shouldn’t cost this much. Why does it cost so d*** much?!”
“Well, first – ”
“I mean, look at this: ‘Canteloupe, 2.1 lbs. @ $1.99/lb., $4.18!’ That’s highway robbery! I could grow 20 canteloupes in my backyard for that price!”
“Well, of course you could, ma’am. But there’s a lot of other costs that come into that price.”
“What kind of cr*p are you charging me for on top of my melon? All I asked for was a cantaloupe!”
“Right, but we also have to take into account the cost of picking it, packing it, transporting it to the market, the employees who work here, their benefits—”
“Did I SAY I wanted to give the employees benefits? No, I don’t think I DID. You’ll be taking THAT off the price now, won’t you?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t. Our company offers benefits to the employees as a matter of policy and is contractually obligated to continue.”
“Well, I don’t see why that’s MY problem. Why should I pay for it? I didn’t sign that contract!”
“No, of course not. And you’re free to shop elsewhere.”
“Oh, so that’s your answer, just go somewhere else! Well, I’ll tell you something, missy… I’ve been shopping here my whole life! My parents shopped here! My grandparents shopped here when it was a general store! So don’t you be telling me to just ‘shop somewhere else’ if I don’t like it! What, you probably just moved into this neighborhood to take advantage of our nice schools and pretty trees. You don’t know what this store means to me! Why, our family is so dedicated to this store, we bought stock in the company!”
“You… own stock in this store?”
“YES! So I guess that means I’m in charge, and you’ll be taking those “benefits” off my receipt now!”
“Well, as I said, I can’t do that. But YOU can vote in the next stockholder’s meeting, and might be able to change things, if enough of the other stockholders agree with you.”
“I vote in every stockholder’s meeting, but it never changes things! My uncle says ‘vote for this, it’s best for profits’ and then the value doesn’t go up. It’s ridiculous!”
“Well, you could look into the issues yourself and make your own decision…”
“I have a life of my own, you know. I don’t have time to be micromanaging everything for you.”
“So, ma’am, what would you like me to do today?”
“Give me everything I want. But make it cost less. And make it better, too. But don’t ask me to help.”
“This grocery bill. Just LOOK at the total! That’s MUCH too high!”
“I’m sorry, was there an error with the register? What is the total supposed to be?”
“Well, it ought to be a LOT lower than that. I can’t afford to spend that much!”
“Okay, let’s get this taken care of… what do the prices add up to?”
“What? I don’t know. That’s YOUR job! I don’t have time to look at the individual items and total them up!”
“Okay…” [spends a moment with a pocket calculator] “The total seems to be correct, ma’am. Did we charge you for an item you didn’t select, perhaps?”
“I NEED all the items I bought! But they shouldn’t cost this much. Why does it cost so d*** much?!”
“Well, first – ”
“I mean, look at this: ‘Canteloupe, 2.1 lbs. @ $1.99/lb., $4.18!’ That’s highway robbery! I could grow 20 canteloupes in my backyard for that price!”
“Well, of course you could, ma’am. But there’s a lot of other costs that come into that price.”
“What kind of cr*p are you charging me for on top of my melon? All I asked for was a cantaloupe!”
“Right, but we also have to take into account the cost of picking it, packing it, transporting it to the market, the employees who work here, their benefits—”
“Did I SAY I wanted to give the employees benefits? No, I don’t think I DID. You’ll be taking THAT off the price now, won’t you?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t. Our company offers benefits to the employees as a matter of policy and is contractually obligated to continue.”
“Well, I don’t see why that’s MY problem. Why should I pay for it? I didn’t sign that contract!”
“No, of course not. And you’re free to shop elsewhere.”
“Oh, so that’s your answer, just go somewhere else! Well, I’ll tell you something, missy… I’ve been shopping here my whole life! My parents shopped here! My grandparents shopped here when it was a general store! So don’t you be telling me to just ‘shop somewhere else’ if I don’t like it! What, you probably just moved into this neighborhood to take advantage of our nice schools and pretty trees. You don’t know what this store means to me! Why, our family is so dedicated to this store, we bought stock in the company!”
“You… own stock in this store?”
“YES! So I guess that means I’m in charge, and you’ll be taking those “benefits” off my receipt now!”
“Well, as I said, I can’t do that. But YOU can vote in the next stockholder’s meeting, and might be able to change things, if enough of the other stockholders agree with you.”
“I vote in every stockholder’s meeting, but it never changes things! My uncle says ‘vote for this, it’s best for profits’ and then the value doesn’t go up. It’s ridiculous!”
“Well, you could look into the issues yourself and make your own decision…”
“I have a life of my own, you know. I don’t have time to be micromanaging everything for you.”
“So, ma’am, what would you like me to do today?”
“Give me everything I want. But make it cost less. And make it better, too. But don’t ask me to help.”
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