This column is a true story -- every word of it. And I think it very appropriate to consider around the Fourth of July, Independence Day spirit.Via Reddit.
Last week, I was in a car with my brother and his fiancee, driving through their upscale neighborhood on a hot summer day. At the corner, we all noticed three little girls sitting at a homemade lemonade stand...
Then my brother asked how much each item cost.
“Oh, no,” they replied in unison, “they’re all free!”
“No!” I exclaimed from the back seat. “That’s not the spirit of giving. You can only really give when you give something you own. They’re giving away their parents’ things — the lemonade, cups, candy. It’s not theirs to give.”
“You must charge something for the lemonade,” I explained. “That’s the whole point of a lemonade stand. You figure out your costs — how much the lemonade costs, and the cups — and then you charge a little more than what it costs you, so you can make money. Then you can buy more stuff, and make more lemonade, and sell it and make more money...”
No wonder America is getting it all wrong when it comes to government, and taxes, and policy. We all act as if the “lemonade” or benefits we’re “giving away” is free...
If we can’t teach our kids the basics of running a lemonade stand, how can we ever teach Congress the basics of economics?..
If that’s what America’s children think — that there’s a free lunch waiting — then our country has larger problems ahead. The Declaration of Independence promised “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It didn’t promise anything free. Something to think about this July 4th holiday weekend.
15 July 2010
Little girls criticized for giving away "free lemonade"
Excerpts from a column by Terry Savage at the Chicago Sun-Times:
The flipside of this problem is something that America is facing today: under-priced goods that lower our standards.
ReplyDeleteAs a domestically-made garment manufacturer, I am frequently faced with people who suffer from sticker shock, citing that they "could always get it cheaper at Wal*Mart."
"No," I reply, "you can always get cheaply manufactured Chinese goods at Wal*Mart. You'll never find my garment there. We produce locally and hire small businesses to assist us. This is why our prices are higher than you have become accustomed to."
Most people don't get it. The don't get the cost to our economy by continuing to support the manufacturers and distributers of cheap goods that are produced offshore in less than desirable conditions. Some have gone so far as to justify their purchase by saying that "it is far better in a sweatshop than on the farm."
Is it? Really? And this is your excuse? Really?
I think its admirable and beneficial that these girls have a giving spirit. Whats wrong with America today has nothing to do with a couple of girls giving away some free lemonade. America's problem is that our entire economy is based on growth. In a world of scarcity, where we are quickly reaching the extent of our scarce resources, no growth can occur. Entitlements are a red herring at best, and a complete misunderstanding of our current crisis.
ReplyDeleteRrr. We are paying the cost already. We either pay the financial and moral cost of maintaining a lower-class workforce without access to day-to-day healthcare (and utilizing taxpayer-funded emergency healthcare), or we invest preemptively in them and reap the benefits of a healthier, happier workforce that doesn't require additional taxpayer money for emergency healthcare.
ReplyDeleteI think he's overreacted. By all means make that point, but leave the girls alone. For all he knows, they'd already discussed the "free" issue with their parents anyway.
ReplyDeleteno matter what, they are giving their time for free. Time they could be spending elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe idiot quotient in America is peaking, I fear
ReplyDeleteThis another reason is why economics should not be treated like religion
ReplyDeleteThey'll be welfare queens in a couple of years with that leftie attitude!
ReplyDeleteThey should capitalize on their age and cuteness factor, overcharge using watered down artificial ingredients and invest their profits in multinational corporations- the American way!