Re: You're the economics teacher
An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before and had recently passed yet another entire class. That class had agreed that FDR’s social security worked and that they could help each other all to be rich, a great equalizer.
The professor then said, “OK, we will have another experiment in this class on Obama’s (and every president since FDR’s) plan.” All grades would be calculated the same way but higher scoring students would receive less direct attention and would be required to help tutor those who scored poorly (substituting grades for dollars – something closer to home and more readily understood by all).
After the first test, the grades were passed out and the class average was a C. The students who got A’s were happy with their grades and the students who scored poorly were upset. As the second test rolled around, the students who scored best were asked to do more self-study as the professor spent an extra lesson reviewing material for the students who had scored poorly.
The second test average was a B! Everyone was happy. As the third test rolled around, the top performers were asked to help tutor their peers who were scoring poorly. The third test average was an A!
As the tests proceeded, the scores continued to increase as the students who had learned more quickly and had better previous professors were asked to help tutor those who learned more slowly and had been unlucky with their previous professors. As the top performers tutored their peers, they too benefited! The professor was able to proceed in his material as planned, for the preventative measures of the class kept the poor performers from holding the entire class back!
To their great delight, ALL PASSED and the professor told them that Social Security also succeeds as the government helps buoy a tide that lifts all ships. He explained that neglecting those who need assistance the most is detrimental and eventually hinders even the best performers. He was surprised that there might be some students selfish enough to neglect their peers when they had plenty of resources to help.
These are possibly the best 5 sentences you’ll ever read and all are applicable to this experiment:
1. You cannot neglect the poor into prosperity by pandering to the rich
2. What one person receives without working for may have a ripple effect (and at the least, is humane)
3. The government cannot aid people without proper resources
4. You cannot multiply wealth by hording it
5. When over half of the wealth is concentrated in the top 5% and that top 5% rejects unemployment benefits that create more economic value than tax cuts, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.
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