Friday, October 29, 2004
Grade school economics
Yesterday my daughter-in-law was praising dear granddaughter on the pictures sheI haven't had to do this as much with the Littlest Scholar, who at the age of six had a snow fort and simulated a war between those who wanted to raise taxes and those who did not in the fort. And then mused, "Those people outside the fort? They're the French."
drew in class. Evidently, the pictures were in response to her second grade teacher�s question of �What should the government give us money for?�. The pictures included books, food, a house, a car, and a horse.
In as kind a grandfatherly voice as possible, I asked my granddaughter, �Annika, do you think the government should give us all money for houses, cars and horses?�
�Yes�, came the response.
I replied, �I think people should pay for their own things�.
�Well, maybe for the poor people� she wisely hedged. (Never said she was a dummy!)
�So, poor people should have houses, cars, and horses? Where do you think the government gets the money for the things they give the poor? That�s the money they take out of daddy�s paycheck, mommy�s paycheck, papa and nana�s paychecks. If the government didn�t take so much from us, maybe we could afford a house, another car, or a motorcycle�. (Forget the horse, too much upkeep for papa)
At this point my wife and daughter-in-law both stopped the economics lesson.
�She�s too young to understand this� they said.
Well, obviously someone thinks she�s smart enough to learn that the government is the source of all things grade school children need and want in life!
I swear I had nothing to do with it!