“Vote Obama. I need the money.” Redistribution of wealth

I just received the following email on “redistribution” from a friend.

“On my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read ‘Vote Obama, I need the money.’ I laughed. Once in the restaurant my server had on a ‘Obama 08’ tie.  Again I laughed—just imagine the coincidence. When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need–the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight. I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful. At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized that the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not have to earn himself, while the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he worked hard for even though the actual recipient needed the money more. I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept rather than in practice.


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