Wednesday, October 22, 2008

"Spread the Wealth" this Halloween

From a reader:
Larry,

Halloween is coming up, and with it comes a great opportunity for parents to show their kids how the world really works, with the added bonus of touching on current political and economic themes. When their kids get back from trick-or-treating, parents should take 30% or so off the top as “income taxes.” (I did this last year – the reaction on my kids’ faces was priceless. I didn’t have the heart to keep it, though.) Then, parents can take another 5% or so to bail out kids who’ve already eaten their candy, and another 5% or so to “spread the wealth” to kids who didn’t go trick or treating. Then, parents can take away anything that’s left that has transfats, and some more to sell to offset the carbon produced in the candymaking. When the kids complain, the parents can tell them that they can go out and collect some more –except that since the kids are already “rich” with candy, the marginal rate on any additional candy they bring home will go up from 30% to, say, 50%.