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For some reason, half way through this great story I suddenly found myself contrasting it with that less great story that did the rounds last July 4: the Sun-Ti
by dtf 16y ago
For some reason, half way through this great story I suddenly found myself contrasting it with that less great story that did the rounds last July 4: the Sun-Times' Terry Savage's "There is no free lemonade" (original article expired probably with good reason, but here's a copy I found: http://bit.ly/eqIMNe http://bit.ly/eqIMNe) wherein author recounts her horror at finding a lemonade stand manned by two girls giving away their product for free. Despite attempts to instill an entrepreneurial spirit into the fledgling tycoons - on that day of all days - they still refuse to charge for it, whereupon she drives away disgusted and thirsty.
Is $15 for a gas can unreasonable when there is quite clearly a market? In theory a $20 labour and parts charge handed to the poor Mexican family should make both parties happy and the economy stronger (barring somewhat awkward questions of tax, right to work etc). In practice the removal of money from a human transaction created an intangible wealth, a bonding of strangers and a transfer of values that has travelled far beyond that stretch of tarmac.
- mohawk 16y agoSorry i completely misread your post, old content deleted.
- emehrkay 16y agoBest thing about "No Free Lemonade" is that she yelled from the backseat of the car to the kids about fiscal responsibility. She was being fucking chauffeured.
- WingForward 16y agoI wouldn't call it"chauffeured" when it's her brother driving and her sister-in-law in the front seat.
- emehrkay 16y agoShe made no mention of chipping in for gas or the up-keep of the vehicle. Sounds like she enjoys the pleasures of a "free ride" as much as the kids enjoyed handing them out.
- tambler 16y agoThank you for intimating that wealth should be measured in more than currency. Too often discussions of the economy focus only on measures like GDP, roughly, how much money is flying around. Clearly, measuring our wealth and the health of the economy involves much more than this. What terrifies me is that, where capitilism has all but become the religion, people act like being selfish is somehow doing the right thing.
- PakG1 16y agoWe should remember that the core measurement of economics is utility, not money. Money's just an easy way to measure utility for most means, but not by any means complete.