Memo from New York City, 22 October 2008
Last night on my way to dinner I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama, I need the money." I laughed. Once inside the restaurant, my waiter had on a "Obama '08" button. Again I laughed, as he had given away his political preference - just imagine the coincidence.
When the bill came I decided not to tip the sever and explained to him hat I was exploring the Obama "Wealth Redistribution" concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone whom I deemed more in need, meaning the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed off. So I went outside and gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the waiter inside as I had determined that he could use the money more than the waiter. The homeless guy was most grateful!
At the end of this rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized that the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was furious that I gave away the money he actually earned, even though the actual recipient needed the money more.
Seems like "spreading the wealth around" is easier to swallow in concept than in practical application...
