I recently found a story making the rounds that purported to show why socialism doesn't work, so I tracked it back to Snopes, where it was found to be simply a legend, not fact:
College Socialism Experiment
Now, I'd like to recreate the second story...
A young woman was about to finish her
first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered
herself to be a very conservative Republican, on her way up the
social ladder and beholden to no one.
She was deeply ashamed that her father
was a rather staunch Democrat, a feeling she openly expressed. Based
on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat
with a professor, she felt that her father was foolishly allowing
himself to be taken advantage of by lazy people, usually, but of
course not always (God forbid anyone would call her racist!) people
of color.
One day she was challenging her father
on his support of higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more
government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity
proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so
to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather
haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough
to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course
load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out
and party like some of the other students who had wealthier families
and careers guaranteed to be waiting for them. She didn't even have
time for her boyfriend, Tory, and didn't really have many college
friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked,
"How is your boyfriend, Tory, doing?" She frowned and
replied, "I haven't seen Tory much this semester. I think he's
going to have to drop out. His family is burdened by medical bills
because, you know, one of his brothers is severely autistic and the
other was born with cerebral palsy because his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. The doctor should have done a Caesarian, but he put the decision on the mother without telling her how critical the baby was, so he was born with severe brain damage. They
never were able to prove that the doctor was completely at fault,
and... well, it's been really hard on his family. His father got
turned down for financial aid, after the banks stopped
loaning money, and can't co-sign for him. He's got three years of
student loans hanging over him... He's really smart, but he's
suffering from some depression because of all this and his grade
point is suffering. It's down to 2.0… He won't be able to keep
his scholarship. It doesn't look good for him..."
Her wise father asked his daughter,
"Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a
1.0 off your GPA and give it to Tory? Then he can keep his
scholarship and stay in school, too. You'll both have a 3.0 GPA.
That's not so bad, is it, considering how much you love him?"
His daughter bit her lip and bowed her
head. "I worked so hard for that 4.0..." Then she looked
up at her father and her eyes shone with love. "... but, you
know, it would be worth it to see Tory's smile! I wish I really
could do that. I probably should spend more time with him and
make some friends, actually. Life isn't just about money and career,
after all..."
Her father slowly smiled, winked and
said gently, "I don't think I've ever been more proud to see
your grade point drop. Welcome to the Democratic party."
The part of this story that is true is
the description of Tory. That's his real name. He's my son.
Unfortunately, the happy ending is a fiction. We can't share GPAs, even if he had someone in his life who loved him enough to help that way, and had the resources. He did have to drop
out, and now he's stuck with three years of student loans, no degree,
and no job.
This happened to him in January, 2009 -- remember the banks stopped loaning money in October, 2008, under Bush's watch?
Sorry to be a kill joy. This is the
truth, in corporate America, where money rules and love …
Love? What's that, again?
A
young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many
others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat,
and was very much in favor of the redistribution of wealth.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a
feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had
participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that
her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep
what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes
on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The
self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the
truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she
was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and
let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was
taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which
left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She
didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many
college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing ?"
She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy
classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so
popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to
all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes
because she's too hung over."
Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's
office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your
friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and
certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired
back, "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades!
I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done
next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail
off!"
The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, " Welcome to the Republican party."
Read more at
http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/socialism.asp#wh3GbtJIcaOZV6p9.99
A
young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many
others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat,
and was very much in favor of the redistribution of wealth.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a
feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had
participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that
her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep
what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes
on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The
self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the
truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she
was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and
let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was
taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which
left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She
didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many
college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing ?"
She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy
classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so
popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to
all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes
because she's too hung over."
Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's
office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your
friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and
certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired
back, "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades!
I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done
next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail
off!"
The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, " Welcome to the Republican party."
Read more at
http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/socialism.asp#wh3GbtJIcaOZV6p9.99
CLASSROOM SOCIALISM
Is this man truly a genius?
An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had
never failed a single student before but had recently failed an entire
class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no
one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.
The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class
on Obama's plan". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive
the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an “A”....
(substituting grades for dollars - something closer to home and more
readily understood by all).
After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a “B”.
The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied
little were happy.
As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had
studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a
free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a “D”!
No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around, the new average was an “F”.
As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame
and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study
for the benefit of anyone else.
To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that
socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great,
the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward
away, no one will try or want to succeed.
Human nature will always cause socialism's style of government to fail
because the world has producers and non-producers (makers and takers).
It could not be any simpler than that.
Read more at
http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/socialism.asp#zcqWQWRTT6KicIjg.99
CLASSROOM SOCIALISM
Is this man truly a genius?
An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had
never failed a single student before but had recently failed an entire
class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no
one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.
The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class
on Obama's plan". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive
the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an “A”....
(substituting grades for dollars - something closer to home and more
readily understood by all).
After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a “B”.
The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied
little were happy.
As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had
studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a
free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a “D”!
No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around, the new average was an “F”.
As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame
and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study
for the benefit of anyone else.
To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that
socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great,
the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward
away, no one will try or want to succeed.
Human nature will always cause socialism's style of government to fail
because the world has producers and non-producers (makers and takers).
It could not be any simpler than that.
Read more at
http://www.snopes.com/college/exam/socialism.asp#zcqWQWRTT6KicIjg.99
