Seen on Facebook
Ursula Hennessey ·
Mar 4, 2011 at 7:45am
According to some "friends," this is a "perfect description" about how "America works" these days:
A dozen cookies are put down in front of a C.E.O., a union member and a Tea Partier. The C.E.O. takes 11. Then he says to the Tea Partier, "That union guy wants yours."
I ask you, Ricochet, what is the best response? (Other than pulling your hair out with frustration, of course.) What can be written that is witty but still cuts to the chase of the the absurdity?
(Apparently, this anecdote originated with Jennifer Brunner, a lawyer and former Ohio secretary of state, who wrote this on her Facebook page.)
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Dec '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
They have it exactly right, but have confused the players. The union member grabs 11 of the cookies, and tells the tea partier "That CEO wants yours."
Isn't projection the number one tool in the progressive tool box?
Jun '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
The CEO takes 11 and says he's sending the other one to Hu Wan Lee in Shenzhen
Sep '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
Typical lefty thinking. As if wealth (cookies) are simply "put down in front" of the masses out of nowhere, like manna from heaven.
How was the wealth (cookies) created? Without knowing this, the story is meaningless.
In terms of the current public union debate, you can share these numbers from Wisconsin...
$1 billion: Amount WI taxpayers spend on state government health insurance each year.
$64 million: Amount WI state employees pay toward their health insurance each year.
May '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
The CEO shakes crumbs from the 11 for his shareholders, then sends the 11 to the federal government.
Jun '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
It's a completely phony analogy, but the way Americans used to react to such a thing was, "how do I get into business school, so that I can become a CEO?"
Sep '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
I like Jerry's view. Not a coherent argument, but highlights the incoherence of the other argument. The politcal equivalent of "I'm rubber you're glue, what bounces off me sticks to you."
At the heart of the capitalist system (as opposed to the socialist system) is that it is better to grow the pie than worry about how the pie is sliced. That is there are not a limited number of cookies.
Jan '11
Re: Seen on Facebook
Clearly, if we borrow cookies from the Chinese government, we can all have a dozen cookies! Although, we need to set up something, a system of governance perhaps - to ensure that the cookies are: 1. Safe and fit for human consumption 2. Distributed equitably 3. Consumed appropriately. Unfortunately, although it originally looked like we were all going to have a dozen cookies each, we need to take away some cookies to fund that system of governance (that proportion required will grow over time), and we have to give the CEO his 13 because we're afraid s/he might leave for another job. The union guy knows he's getting a dozen from his contract, and whatever is left over, well, eat away to your heart's content! And if that's not enough, we'll borrow more cookies from the Chinese government next year.
Oct '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
A dozen cookies are put down in front of a C.E.O., a union member and a Tea Partier. The C.E.O. takes 11. Then he says to the Tea Partier, "That union guy wants yours."
Except in New York City where cookies have been banned due to their high trans-fat content.
Jul '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
I'm with MBF on this one.
Even Girl Scouts know that cookies are not just given away.
Dec '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
Mark Belling Fan is correct. It turns out the dozen cookies are what's left after the Federal government took three dozen cookies from the CEO's pantry.
That, on top of the fact that the union guy just polished off the eclairs and bear claws that his contract required the CEO to pay for.
Edited on Mar 4, 2011 at 8:31amNov '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
How about a Farmer and a Union Representative and a field of wheat? The Union Rep. takes most of the wheat and then tells the Farmer "It's for the children."
Edited on Mar 4, 2011 at 8:32amOct '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
If we see person 6 inches off the ground, how do we know if that was due to a jump or a fall?
Oct '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
A dozen cookies are put down in front of a C.E.O., a union member and a Tea Partier. The C.E.O. takes 11. Then he calls the Tea Partier a racist and gives the last cookie to the union guy. Then the C.E.O. takes off his mask to reveal that he's actually Barak Obama.
-------------------------
A serf works to earn 10 cookies. Barack Obama takes 8 and gives 4 to the unions so that the unions can give him cookies for his reelection campaign.
Jan '11
Re: Seen on Facebook
A dozen cookies are put down in front of an IRS official, a union member and a Tea Partier. The IRS guy takes 11. Then he says to the Tea Partier, "That union guy deserves yours. Go bake some more cookies, and hurry up about it."
May '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
Change the opening to "A dozen cookies are baked by a C.E.O." and 90% of the error is corrected.
Dec '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
It is total nonsense. The Tea Party is not much interested in how a private company's finances are distributed. The taxpayers make the cookies and the public employee unions keep getting more.
Dec '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
Bingo, the CEO made the cookies and the tea partier purchased one.
(Apparently, this anecdote originated with Jennifer Brunner, a lawyer and former Ohio secretary of state, who wrote this on her Facebook page.)
Lawyers don't really have a connection to the free market. It is not surprising that this view of economics is so pervasive in that profession.
May '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
AmishDude
Bingo, the CEO made the cookies and the tea partier purchased one.
(Apparently, this anecdote originated with Jennifer Brunner, a lawyer and former Ohio secretary of state, who wrote this on her Facebook page.)
Lawyers don't really have a connection to the free market. It is not surprising that this view of economics is so pervasive in that profession. · Mar 4 at 10:01am
Thanks.
Someone will ague that CEOs hire others to do the baking for them.So, let me rephrase this for the nitpickers.
The real issue is, where did those cookies come from? Unless they grew on trees growing wild on Federal property, those cookies are owned by someone. Others who want them need to buy them, or go bake their own. The analogy muddles the fundamental issue by conveniently ignoring that point.
Edited on Mar 4, 2011 at 10:08amSep '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
How the Cookie Crumbles
Episode One:
A parent brings in a dozen cookies for the teacher. The teacher eats 6 and saves the other six for retirement.
**There is no CEO involved since he is sending his kids to a private school along with Obama's kids where they can get a better education and rub elbows with connected elites.
When rats invade the storehouse and eat some of the retirement cookies, the teachers demand more cookies from the parents. But the rats have also gotten to the parent's storehouse, and there isn't enough flour to make all the cookies demanded. The teachers say the parents should get the flour from the CEO, from the government, from somewhere, doesn't matter.
The teachers then take over the local library where they talk loudly and display fingerpainted signs revealing poor spelling skills and a shallow knowledge of history.
The parents begin to think teachers are crass, magical thinkers who can't even craft a decent analogy. Parents question whether these people should be teaching their children at all.
Michelle Obama bans cookies from the school cafeteria in an effort to solve the problem.
to be continued next week
May '10
Re: Seen on Facebook
I'd just offer the technical economic argument. CEOs satisfy consumer demand by acquiring productive factors (land, labour, and capital goods), often with other people's money (bondholders, stockholders). After having employed his factors in a productive way and satisfied consumer demand, a CEO will earn revenue. Then he must reimburse those who aided him in is endeavor (wages to labourers, rent to real estate owners, interest and dividends to capitalists). Subtract these costs from the revenue and you have the profits. Now, governments and unions want to deduct further amounts from the profits of CEOs by force even though they either did not contribute to production or contributed but not enough to warrant the additional money deducted from the CEOs profits.