Stop Pulling the Wagon

                                           ONE OF MY FAVORITE MATH PUZZLES

THREE MEN RENT A ROOM FOR A MEETING IN A CONVENTION CENTER FOR THE MORNING.

THE DESK CLERK TELLS THEM THE ROOM WILL BE $30.00.

THEY EACH GIVE HIM A $10.00 BILL.

AFTER THEY GO TO THE ROOM THE MANAGER FINDS OUT HE OVERCHARGED THEM AND THAT THE ROOM IS REALLY ONLY $25.00.

THE MANAGER GIVES THE BELLBOY $5.00 TO GIVE TO THE MEN AS A REFUND.

WHEN HE GETS TO THE ROOM THE MEN DECIDE THEY CAN’T DIVIDE $5.00 EQUALLY SO THEY GIVE THE BELLBOY $2.00 AND EACH OF THEM KEEPS $1.00.

SINCE THEY EACH ORIGINALLY PAID $10.00 AND NOW HAVE $1.00 BACK THE ROOM REALLY ONLY COST THEM $9.00 EACH.

LETS SEE.  $9.00 X 3 EQUALS $27.00 WHICH IS WHAT THE NET COST OF THE ROOM IS TO THE MEN. 

THEY GAVE THE BELLBOY $2.00. 

$27.00 PLUS $2.00 EQUALS $29.00.  SINCE THEY ORIGINALLY PAID $30.00 FOR THE ROOM, WHERE DID THE OTHER $1.00 GO?

JUST FOR FUN……….                                BOB

4-4-2010  POSTSCRIPT:  I have received quite a bit of feedback both verbal and by email about this “puzzle”.  I really just posted it for fun but it does serve a purpose  to demonstrate how our government does math.  For example, they will create a program or entitlement with an anual escalator clause to increase funding by 10% a year and when there is a an outcry against deficit spending they will “cut” the increase to “only” 5% over the previous year and then proudly announce they have cut spending.  Or, they will come up with  “fuzzy” numbers of projected costs and “expected” savings, such as in the new Health Care program, that neither we nor they can ever figure out exactly what it is going to cost.  As my Dad used to say to me:  “Figures Lie and Liars Figure!”      …………Bob

                                            TRUE FREEDOM REQUIRES SELF DISCIPLINE

What we are practicing as a nation is a system where our leaders can obtain and retain power by promising to give selected groups what they have taken from you and your neighbor in the form of taxes.   Should I say stolen, since it is usually taken without your or their consent?   And these same leaders also “pay” with more dollars borrowed from strangers (example: China).  Dollars that will have to be re-paid with other dollars not yet earned by our children and grandchildren who will live under slavery’s yoke of debt.  

Do we really want our progeny not yet born to arrive in this world as slaves? 

Debt is a form of slavery.   Slavery takes away our freedom, dignity and self esteem.

On an individual basis debt can be tragic both to the individual and family.  

For a nation to be in debt, except in time of external threat (example: World War II),  it can be catastrophic and in my view it is a criminal act on the part of those who rule the nation.  They are enslaving us.

They are spending money we do not have and so must be “borrowed”.  They are doing it in the name of “fairness” and “income redistribution”.  No matter which side of the equation you are on, can anyone explain to me what is “fair” about one half the population paying 97% of all income taxes?

These leaders think they are playing Robin Hood by taking from those that “have” and giving to those who “have not”.  They don’t seem to consider that the overwhelming majority of the “have nots” do not have because they lack the will to work hard, save and discipline themselves.  Most of those who “have” got that way through hard work, saving  and self discipline.  (I am not asserting that we should not care for those who are truly needy through no fault of their own.)

To paraphrase our founders Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton: “America will remain free until  its citizens figure out they can vote themselves funds from the public treasury”.

Have we reached that point as a nation where we have sacrificed our freedom and become slaves to debt through lack of discipline?  Are we on the edge of  becoming “The Late Great United States Of America”?      -Bob

I ONCE HEARD THAT IF YOU ARE UNDER THIRTY AND NOT A LIBERAL, YOU DON’T HAVE A HEART AND IF YOU ARE OVER THIRTY AND NOT A CONSERVATIVE, YOU DON’T HAVE A BRAIN.  

IN “WIZARD OF OZ” TERMS, ONE WOULD BE THE TIN MAN AND THE OTHER WOULD BE THE SCARCROW.

It is my view that neither Liberals or Conservatives are inherently and intentionally evil.  In my later years of life I have even considered myself to be something of a “Closet” Liberal.  I keep wishing that Liberal ideas would work but I have been around long enough to know that they do not.

BIG GOVERNMENT IS NOT NECESSARILY EVIL,  IT IS JUST BY NATURE HORRIBLY INEFFICENT!  THE MOST EFFECTIVE FORM OF GOVERNMENT IS LOCAL, ACCOUNTABLE AND CONCENTRATES ON DOING JUST A FEW THINGS WELL AND DOING THOSE WITHIN VERY SPECIFIC PARAMETERS AND ON A LIMITED BUDGET. 

I am thinking that we may be on the “cusp” of a very Un-Civil War as a Nation.  Not a war of guns and battles (I hope) but a War that would see our culture degenerate into “Unarmed Camps” of non-negotiable demands that are at polar opposition to one another.

THE TRUTH IS THAT NOT EVERTHING CAN BE NEGOTIATED.  I REMEMBER THAT MY FATHER TAUGHT ME THAT YOU CANNOT BE A LITTLE BIT DIS-HONEST ANYMORE THAN YOU CAN BE A LITTLE BIT PREGNANT. 

As just one example, how does a person who believes that life is sacred and begins at conception negotiate with another person who believes that it is all about a womans right to choose and its not a baby till after its born?  There is no middle ground here.  And this is only one example. 

Its sort of like being at war with an enemy who has only one non-negotiable demand.  That you and yours be dead.  Whats to negotiate? 

TRUTH IS TRUTH.  SOME THINGS ARE SIMPLY RIGHT OR WRONG.  NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE FIXED.  SO WHAT DO WE DO?          – Bob 

In military jargon “Flying Below The Radar” means operating within enemy airspace at such a low altitude that your enemies Radar will not “see” you. 

When shopping at our favorite supermarket I have on more than one occasion commented to  my wife and daughter that I would not ever want to see myself or members of our family on the cover of National Enquirer or any of the other “Checkout Stand Periodicals”.  I want to live my life below the “Tabloid” Radar.

I have never thought of myself as paranoid but I am saddened to say, that as time goes by, and as I see what is happening in the halls of our Government, I have reached the conclusion that I want to stay below the Governments Radar. 

GOVERNMENT, especially “BIG GOVERNMENT”, IS NOT MY FRIEND!  They demonstrate almost daily that they cannot be trusted.  Government is on a path to try to regulate and control every aspect of our lives.  What I want is for the Government to leave me alone and let me live my life with my family and friends.

So…… “What Can I Do To Live Below The Governments Radar” and  ” Spend Less Time Pulling The Government Wagon” ? 

Keep a low profile, don’t seek fame.  Obey the law.   Don’t give the Government any excuse or reason to come looking for me.  Pay my taxes on time but pay as little taxes as I legally can.    Do more of my business with cash  (it is still legal tender).  Keep in mind that the Government is on the threshold of tracking everything I purchase with my ATM/Debit/Credit Cards, including those  “Club”/”Member” discount cards.  Be careful of what I put in writing.  Be careful in making promises and even more careful to keep them.   Live modestly; too much “flash” draws attention.  Live within our means.  Avoid unnecessary use of credit.  Save money.  Have a “stash” of cash that only I and those I love and trust know about.  Whenever possible take care of my needs within my own family or circle of close friends.  Don’t trust Government.  Don’t make threats.  Don’t confront Government, just avoid them whenever possible.   

If the above sounds a little paranoid I guess I must plead “guilty” where Government is concerned.

There are lots of ways to “Live Below The Radar”.    Something worth thinking  about.            -Bob

THANK YOU PRESIDENT OBAMA!  THANK YOU SPEAKER PELOSI!  THANK YOU SENATOR REID!

The three of you have done more to disrupt the Liberal Agenda than anything I could have hoped for in my wildest dreams.  

 I believe that in twelve months you have set Liberalism back a decade, maybe more. 

I was wrong.  I thought you were working against everything I believe.  Instead, you have awakened my fellow Americans to just how precious freedom and personal responsibilty are and just how dangerous Big Liberal Government can be. 

So, Press On!  Just keep doing what you are doing.    Make more “Back Room Deals“.   Buy more votes from Congress men/women and Senators who are willing to prostitute their votes.   Keep ignoring what the people of this country want.   Don’t listen to the voters, what do they know?   

I used to feel anger against what you were doing.  Not any more.   Life is good!        -Bob

My mother-in-law gave me the above ticket telling me that my father-in-law had carried it in his wallet for many years. 

In my mind it takes me back 40+ years in time to the mid/late 1960’s during the Presidency of Lyndon Johnson.  I was a young man, filled with idealism,  and his promise of a “Great Society” and a “War on Poverty” seemed like a good idea.  

The intended consequence of the Great Society was to  eliminate “Social Injustice” and “Poverty”  permanently.  I envisioned an America where there would never again be “Poor” people. 

In the four decades since that time our nation has “invested” (spent) Trillions of (taxpayer) Dollars on this plan. 

Have we eliminated Social Injustice or Poverty?  Or, has the unintended consequence been to  create a Welfare State which has become a tool to destroy many American families?  Have we not created an opportunity for millions to behave irresponsibly without personal accountability while taxpayers pick up “the tab”?

 Have we learned anything from the Great Society!  Or, have we, as a people, sold our Freedom and become slaves to the empty promise that “Big Government” will take care of us?

I don’t often quote the Bible on this site but I’m going to make an exception here because what it says applies so appropriately to this subject.  In 2 Timonthy 4:3 (NIV) the Apostle Paul says: For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  

Substitute the words “sound doctrine” with the word “truth” and the word  “teachers” with the word “politicians” and read it again. 

If you do not like quotes from the Bible how about this slogan I had on a favorite tee-shirt many years ago.  “I HAVE GIVEN UP MY QUEST FOR REALITY AND AM NOW SEEKING A GOOD FANTASY”

My fear is that we may have reached, or are perilously close to, the time that one of our Nations Founders predicted.  That Democracy would only last until the people figured out they could vote themselves largess from the public treasury. (not an exact quote but close)  Are we there yet?   

Bob Bandy