Opinion: How to talk about the economy with your family at

New Post Public Reply Private Reply Replies (0) Message Board

Nov 25, 2019 at 12:56 PM 306

Quote:

Opinion: How to talk about the economy with your family at Thanksgiving

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-talk...=bigcharts

By Rex Nutting

Published: Nov 25, 2019 12:41 p.m. ET

Find common ground with a discussion of who deserves a slice and who doesn’t

If Thanksgiving dinner were distributed the way that wealth is in America, one person would get half of the meal, while half the guests would a sliver to share.

If your uncle corners you at Thanksgiving dinner and starts talking about how the U.S. economy is best it’s ever been, what should you do?

If you’re feeling generous (as you should on Thanksgiving), you’ll politely change the subject. You won’t change his mind, nor he yours. You could talk about football, or flowers, or the hideous dress your niece is wearing. Anything but politics. Or economics, which is the same thing.

If you’re feeling a little pugnacious, you should tell him that the economy is on (more or less) the same trajectory it was on when President Donald Trump was inaugurated nearly three years ago, with decent growth in output, jobs, and incomes.

You might print out and hand your uncle this column I wrote recently that goes through the data that proves that the economy is no better than it was before.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-didnt...2019-11-12

The normal state of the economy is modest growth, which is what we’ve had. Trump deserves some credit for helping the economy to keep chugging along, but he hasn’t transformed it as he promised he would. Or as Trump and your uncle claim he did.

Common ground

But if you want to find some common ground with him, why not take the opportunity to turn Thanksgiving dinner into a discussion of a topic that many Trump supporters agree is a big problem: How the system is stacked against regular folk like the ones who are gathered around your holiday table.

You could talk about how all of us work hard, but most of the bounty we produce ends up in the hands of a very few.

What would Thanksgiving dinner be like if the food were distributed the way wealth is in America?

Imagine for a minute that you are standing at the head of the table, about to carve the turkey. Nineteen of your relatives are watching with hungry eyes and drooling lips as you slice down the breast bone and take half of the turkey and plop it on your plate.

That’s your fair share, according to our economic system. One-twentieth of the people has half of the wealth.

You proceed to take half of the sweet potatoes, half of the green beans, half of the stuffing, half of the cranberry sauce, and half of the wine. Life is good! Thank you, Lord!

Later, you’ll take half of the pumpkin pie your grandmother baked with love, and half of the pecan pie your brother-in-law baked with joy.

Your relatives object loudly: “Why do you get half? We grew the veggies, we raised the turkey, we cooked the meal, we baked the pies, and we set the table! You didn’t do a thing except go upstairs to talk to your broker!”

“Why do I deserve half?” you reply. “Because I own the farmland where the turkey was raised and where the veggies were grown. Because I own the factory where this carving knife was made, and because I hired the scientist who tweaked the genes of the turkey to make it extra plump.”

“And most of all because I came up with the slogan: ‘Prime Free One-Day Delivery.’”

Be thankful I don’t take it all

You tell them not to worry so much. There’s still half of an extra-plump turkey left on the platter!

So you carve off the remaining breast and put it on your brother’s plate. He manages your farms, your factories, and your free one-day delivery. “He gets one-sixth of the bird as the second richest person at the table,” you say.

Then you put the remaining thigh on your aunt’s plate, the drumstick on grandpa’s plate, and the wing on your cousin’s. And so on, as you cut off the remaining meat and parcel out ever-smaller morsels around the table.

Most of what’s edible is gone after you’ve served just half the crowd.

Over at the other table, the other 10 relatives will have to share a few bites: A little skin here, a little meat there, some gristle, and some fat. And your uncle gets to gnaw on the wishbone while you put three-quarters of what was on your plate into Tupperware for a late-night snack.

That’s what Thanksgiving dinner would be like if it were played by the rules of capitalism.

Ask your uncle if it seems fair to him that you got half the turkey and he got the gristle. Or maybe he prefers the socialist way that most families approach Thanksgiving and every other day of the year: Everybody eats, or no one does.

Food for thought.

Newer

Older

Scroll down for more posts ▼

Top 10 Most Recent News Articles

Veteran Suicide Prevention: The Urgency Behind CVN's Push

Veteran suicide is a crisis staring us square in the face, with rates 60% higher than the general population. It's a grim reminder that the mental toll on those who've served is a deep chasm hard to bridge. Cohen Veterans Network (CVN) is stepping up to the plate with a new campaign dubbed 'Ask Anyway: Conversations to Save a Life'. This isn't just any awareness...

Sports CIOs Tackle Venue Tech Ownership Challenges

Untangling the Mess Behind Game Day Ever wonder why getting to your seat at a sports event feels seamless? It's like magic with your ticket appearing as a barcode on your phone, the concession stand knowing your order from last week's game, and sponsor ads personalized just for you. This is no easy feat. Behind the scenes, though, it's akin to a game of Twister. The...

Hexaware Appoints New CEO Amid AI Growth Surge

Hexaware's Leadership Change: A Strategic Move Back in the day, leadership transitions in tech were like shooting craps—full of risk with no certainty. Today, Hexaware’s latest appointment isn’t just a roll of the dice. Appointing Vivek Jetley as CEO Designate is calculated, a strategic bid to ride the AI wave reshaping enterprise tech services. Meet the New Boss...

AB 2529: New Bill Awaits Governor's Decision

Legislative Milestone or Just Another Step? Hidden Hills, California is causing a bit of a ripple in the state's legislative waters with Assembly Bill 2529. Now that the bill has sailed through the California Legislature with impressive bipartisan support—it passed the State Senate 39-0 and the Assembly 62-4—it's sitting pretty on the Governor's desk. The question...

IMBC Kicks Off Fall Enrollment for Healthcare Training

Diving into Hands-On Healthcare Training Opportunities Alright, let's talk straight about what's on the docket at the Institute of Medical and Business Careers (IMBC). They've just thrown open the doors for fall enrollment at their Erie and Pittsburgh campuses, focusing on getting folks trained up quick for the healthcare trenches. We're talking about roles that are...

MEGA SHOW 2026: Asia's Premier Sourcing Powerhouse

MEGA SHOW 2026: Where Asian Sourcing Dreams Come True Anything worthwhile demands a veteran’s eye and a seasoned gut feeling. Swapping tales of the pavement or sifting through digital noise has me biting into MEGA SHOW Hong Kong 2026, an annual heavyweight event that stands as a prime stop on the autumn calendar for industry movers and shakers. We've circled back to the...

Essen Health Achieves Top Savings Rate in 2024

Leading the Pack with Impressive Savings When it comes to healthcare innovation and cost efficiency, Essen Health Care's Atlas IPA is firing on all cylinders. In the cutthroat world of healthcare savings, where every penny counts, they’ve managed to crank out a 21% net savings rate. This isn’t just a small-town record, folks. We're talking about leading the nation...

Revolutionizing SQL Server Management with Kubernetes

Navigating the SQL Server and Kubernetes Combo Well, if anyone tells you managing SQL Servers is a breeze, hand them a screwdriver and watch things turn. Combine that with Kubernetes, and you might just see some heads spinning. Dive into the world of SQL Server management on containers with the help of this webinar from MSSQLTips, DH2i, and Microsoft. It promises to...

Skyven's Heat Pump Sets New Steam Efficiency Benchmark

The Efficiency Game-Changer in Industrial Steam Swinging in like a seasoned market shake-up is Skyven Technologies, raising eyebrows—and interest—by nailing a coefficient of performance (COP) of 8.0 for their Arcturus heat pump. You don't have to be a market wizard to know that's a big leap from the initial COP of 6.5. It's more than just numbers on a page; this...

Epson & The Photo Managers Highlight Memories in Sept.

A Focus on Memory Preservation I remember a time when you kept memories in photo albums, dusty boxes in basements. Now, folks aim to digitize those moments before they're lost forever. With September here, Epson and The Photo Managers are telling us it's time for action. And hey, the campaign’s got a catchy name, 'One Photo, One Story.' Simple, yet it urges us all to...