A Lot of Money for a Piece of Paper
Rob Long ·
June 27, 2010 at 4:10am
Ricochet member Trace Urdan shares this story:
Last Friday I picked up my son from baseball camp and we went to the Dept. of Health to get a copy of his birth certificate to prove his age for the All-Star team. After I filled out the form and gave the woman my debit card, my son said, "Why do we have to pay money to get a copy of my birth certificate?" I said, "Well, it costs money I guess to pay for the people that work here and to store the documents."He responded, "Isn't that what taxes are for?"Me: "I guess so, but it's not a lot of money. It's only $14."My Son: "It seems like a lot of money for a piece of paper Daddy."
So the Tea Party has one more member, in the Jr. Division. Signs of progress everywhere.
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Comments:
Jun '10
Re: A Lot of Money for a Piece of Paper
This is so ironic, my wife and I were ordering birth certificates for our 4 week old daughter this morning actually - 15 dollars a pop. My wife suggested we get two. I wondered what the hell for. She said, well, by the time we will need another one, the state government (the bankrupt state government rather) will probably have jacked up the price to help pay for their massive debt. I laughed, then cried, 30 bucks down the drain.
Still looking for that state tax return though.... taking their sweet time with that one.
May '10
Re: A Lot of Money for a Piece of Paper
People can get used to anything. One generation's outrage is the next generation's "just the way it is". Thankfully, human beings don't begin life with such low expectations. Kids are great motivators.
Re: A Lot of Money for a Piece of Paper
Very true! My daughter asked yesterday why we had to pay to drive on a road. (The tri-state area is riddled with tolls; yesterday, our day trip covering a total of about 80 miles cost us $30 just in tolls.) My husband, very sarcastically, answered: "Well, as you can see, we pay so they can take such great care of the roads and bridges." When I tried to explain it in a more kid-friendly way, I actually heard myself talking nonsense. Why DO we pay that much?
May '10
Re: A Lot of Money for a Piece of Paper
Ursula, you beat me to the punch in praising that line. And Aaron, thanks, because I intend to throw it around myself in the future and pretend that I came up with it.