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“You Can’t Be Taxed Before 18” and Other Lies My Child Believes
The other night while driving to see Thor: Ragnarok, my daughter and I ended up having a conversation about money. It’s open enrollment at work and since my daughter is 14, we discuss my income and costs much more openly. She wondered how much I make and where all of the money goes. Since I’m pretty open about this, I asked her why she was asking and reminded her that it is rude to ask people how much they make.
Given that her question was in good faith, I told her that I would answer it and we could talk about it on the 30-minute drive to her father’s town.
We talked about income. We talked about how much I have to work in order to make enough money to cover the mortgage. I discussed how surprised I was when working my first summer job to see my first paycheck. I have a feeling that most conservatives, if not all, have that moment when working their first job. We excitedly calculate our wages, we keep a record of what we should be paid, we anticipate that first check … and then we do a double-take when we realize that The Man has taken our hard-earned money! My family jokes about this as the first real exposure to the real world.
My mom tells the story of her students, many of whom are juvenile miscreants, coming back to her to help them calculate their first paycheck. “What is this SSDI? I didn’t say they could take that!” She kindly explains how taxes work and how they are now helping support their fellow students’ babies and how their fellow students probably really appreciate it.
For conservatives, I think this shock makes a permanent mark. The indignant knee-jerk response is impressed upon our gray matter and hidden somewhere in there. We remember the hard work and the value of our money.
Circling back to my daughter, we talked about whether or not I would allow her to have a job before 18. I told her the ongoing mantra of my family: your job right now is to be a student, if you can handle that, we’ll see about doing more. The most important thing you can do right now is to be a good student, to learn, and to prepare yourself for college. We moved on from there to talking about taxes and if it would be worth it for her to spend hours that she could be doing martial arts, mentoring other kids, readying, studying, or socializing to receive a paycheck that would be half the size after taxes. “What?! I thought you didn’t pay taxes until you were 18!” she exclaimed over the radio. I laughed so hard, I started crying.
“Where did you get that idea?” I asked, in between gasps of laughter.
“Well, 18 is when you’re an adult, that’s when you can vote so … that’s when you pay taxes? I dunno!”
My response was an echo of what my parents said to me with that first paycheck. “Oh honey … no.”
Somehow, somewhere, my daughter got this silly idea that life is fair. We spent the rest of the ride discussing what would happen if she inherited money, property taxes, how we are taxed on the money we make when we make it, then when we use it, then when we give it to someone else, and again when we die. She was positively shocked that these things happened. “But that’s not fair! It was already taxed! What are they spending that money on, anyway?!”
After a period of silence, she looked at me gravely.
“…so that’s why Grandma is always so mad at the news?”
I think a light went on. Let’s just hope that it stays on.
Published in Humor
In Canada they are, (or at least did when I went) its called “Consumer Education” and while it doesnt specifically focus on taxes, its in grade 7 or 8 and focuses on understanding consumer credit, employment standards, and tax forms. Basically all the stuff a kid should know entering the work force.
I went to a private Catholic high school. In our senior religion class, we had a semester of “Christian Life”. It was basically a bunch of practical information. We were given a wage, had to go through finances and make a monthly budget. We have to great meal plans, look at local grocery ads, cut things out, demonstrate that we understood the value of money. I think that this helped a number of kids.
Even moreso, I took “Math for Liberal Arts” my senior year, rather than go on to Trigonometry. That class taught set theory, statistics, how to lie with statistics, and financial transaction math (compounding interests, calculating the value of mortgages, etc.).
I think all seniors should have to take that class. Life would be very different if they understood taxes, mortgages, and how credit cards actually work.
I think this is part of what “home economics” used to cover. Another educational point that has been lost in the drive for college!
“The Government”
That’s what my family members from the former USSR would tell me when they emigrated after the Fall.
I had to explain them “every time you say “the government” instead say “I”….
When I went to school, Home Ec was scheduled against shop. So girls went to home ec, and boys went to shop. (there was 1 girl who took shop class – what a fantastic girl – I dont think I ever spoke 2 words to her, but I was in awe.)
More recently – my nephew who went to jr high school maybe 20 years ago – took both.
Ichabod?
Yea, typo.
It took the whole sleepy hollow myth, and expanded it to make the headless horseman one of the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse. With Ichabod and Lt Mills being cast into the roles of ‘witnesses’ of the final days, from the book of revelations.
At my daughter’s Middle School, it was one quarter of home ec, one quarter of wood shop, a quarter of exploratory languages and a quarter of an elective. It was only in 6th grade.
I don’t think it was enough time to learn anything too practical. Back when I was in junior high, I took a semester of each, but woodshop and metalshop were divided. We also had to take typing. Now, my daughter can probably type faster than me!
Yea, Shop classes were more general, we had wood working projects – building the bird houses, napkin holders, etc that are cliche, we also had metal working projects working with molten lead to mold fishing weights. and a engine repair project where we took apart a small 2 stroke engine and reassembled it. There was also instruction on drafting, and reading mechanical or schematic drawings. We had to draw our wood working projects, and where graded in part, how close our construction came to the drawing.
We also had to take typing, but that was in high school, and was a prerequisite for taking computer classes. (the school had recently got a dozen Apple ii computers, and later the art department would get an Amiga 1500) .
If I remember rightly, in my junior high school, we had six sections of x weeks each all three years: cooking/home ec., sewing, drafting, wood shop, and two sections of art, one was more visual/design and the other more craft based. I still use a gym bag I made for the sewing class, although after about forty years, it is not in great shape.
I was looking for mine the other day… I think the projects all stayed the same. Birdhouse, bookshelf, spice rack, pillow, gym bag.
The projects all gave you practical skills. Nowadays, the youngins’ would throw away a perfectly good shirt if the seam opened up or a button fell off. It’s crazy.
^ the “ah ha!” moment for my little girl. The flash nearly blinded me from half a continent away.
Excellent. I’m surprised she didn’t have other choice words about it!
I think it was more disillusionment than anger. Why would a benevolent government take money from a student?
After that, I made a point of signing her up for an absentee ballot.
That was her first mistake. I don’t think my daughter has that illusion. But maybe? We do want our children to respect their elected officials and police officers.
In the 80’s in PA we took both Shop and Home Ec, but Home Ec was just like shop class. It could easily have been called sewing shop and cooking shop. While it could have been a more rounded educational experience, it was the most productive shop class I took. My friends and I didn’t learn anything in shop class that we hadn’t learned from our dads and uncles a few years earlier. The tools were nicer though.
It’s become fashionable for men to cook now, but I’m perplexed by how few guys know how to sew. I always thought of it as another way to build something – like nailing or welding, but for flexible materials. Not sure why it’s thought of as girly. The guys in my Army unit made fun of me when I said I was headed to the base sewing shop one Saturday morning, but when I came back with a custom made tactical vest and poncho liner with a sleeping bag zipper they all wanted one.
We do, but not necessarily any more than they should respect everybody else.
No idea. Being a tailor used to be an honorable trade.
Yeah, the sewing machine in my house is mine. The wife won’t touch it.
It still is. How many designers are men?
I’ve done my time at the sewing machine. I should probably do more, because the last time I totally tangled everything in the works under the foot. If I don’t learn sometime, I’ll be banned from using mechanical items that could put an eye out!
My oldest was seven when the Veggie Tales Easter Carol came out. It’s a reworking of A Christmas Carol only Easter: the evil zucchini owns a plastic egg/chocolate bunny factory and wants to knock down a church – sitting on land he owns – to expand. Bob and Larry save the day through sabotage, if I remember right, and the evil capitalist has a change of heart. It was pretty bad.
We were driving somewhere when from the back of the minivan came, why did he want to knock down the church? I replied, he wanted something else on that piece of land that was his. She said, but everyone else wanted the church to stay. I said, as long as the factory wasn’t going to hurt anyone else, had every right to do it.
There was a pause and then she said, what if they voted on it? I *did* have the presence of mind to say, no matter the outcome a vote like that would be the wrong thing to do and if they voted to not let him do it, it would be stealing.
If you can’t trust Veggie Tales, who *can* you trust – amirite?!? Sad!
There is a buyout of Social Security recipients. Since so many people don’t understand how Social Security works, when you get to be 63 to 65, it seemingly makes sense to go on Social Security early. (Right now, many Baby Boomers wait until they hit 66 & two months to get their retirement in full.)
First I’ll to say this: Most of us realize the contract we were offered with Social S has been modified on govmnt’s end, & that saves the government plenty. I was told back when I was 19 & started to pay into Soc Security that I’d be eligible for full retirement benefits for Soc Security at 65. That age limit was raised for me & everyone else. I had to wait til I was 66. People born after me will wait til 66 plus two months. Eventually everyone will work til they are 70! Think of how much $$ that saves!
If an individual does their homework, they realize that by getting Soc S early, they will not lock in important facets of the program. If you wait it out, & are married, then your spouse who made more $$ than you did dies, you can opt out of your payments – take the spouse’s higher payments instead. But if you do early Soc S, you lose that ability — which matters.
For some people, retiring early makes sense. Working an extra year or two might allow the average worker an extra $ 40 to $ 60 a month over their lifetime, but if they’re ill and don’t think they will be around that much longer, it is wiser to get the benefits early.
Social Security workers tell us applicants that we should all retire early. They sweeten the pot – saying they can make sure the money comes within 3 weeks. They also pretend there are no advantages for waiting it out. (One big advantage is that if you know you will be working until you are 70, yet you are eligible to retire with full benefits at 66 & four months, with full benefits, you cannot be taxed on your Soc S benefits EVER, no matter how much you make, or so it has been explained to me.)
If you are waiting it out, they set it up so you don’t get the money for some several months!
You are in good company. Babe Ruth, certainly no sissy, was an excellent tailor. He was taught the skill at the orphanage where he spent a lot of his childhood. For the rest of his life, he was fond of re-doing the collars and what not, when the clothing he purchased did not meet his standards. He never apologized to anyone who caught him sewing. (And I find it extraordinary that he seems to be gifted at both tasks that require good far sightedness, as well as tasks that require near sightedness.)
I was in the fabric store one day, when I overheard a young guy explaining to his friend why he was buying a sewing machine. He said, “Dude! This is a power tool for making clothes.”
Definitely the quote of the day.
That should be framed and in every home ec room in the US.