What? I Couldn't Believe the Bill!
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (98984)
United States
April 8, 2025 9:38am CST
It was the strangest thing in the world to me every time it happened, but of course, sometimes strange things do happen. That's just life, right? You just go with it, I guess. Well, until it gets old, of course.
So, get this. My buddy invites me over to dinner quite often, and every time when the meal is done, he hands me a bill for $30. It's been this way for years. It's flabbergasting to me because every time I have him over, I don't charge him anything. He just gets a free meal.
"It's the cost of having dinner in my house," he told me once when I asked him about it. I mean, he DOES make some great food. Why should I complain, right?
"But, when you come over to my place for dinner, I don't charge you anything," I finally complained to him.
He told me, "Well, that's the way it is. You eat in my house I charge you for your food and I eat in your house, and I pay nothing."
I told him, "Wait a minute. This isn't fair. Look, from now on if you want dinner at my house, I'm going to need $15 from you."
He pounded his fists and threatened to burn my house down and start a war with me. "That's it!" he screamed. "If you're going to want $15 then I want $45 now. Either I keep getting free dinner or we're going to have issues!"
Enter ye olde record scratch here.
Folks, if you wanted to know what these tariffs are about and what the fighting is all about, maybe it's a dumb analogy, but it SURE does seem to fit here. We, the United States, are simply tired of offering a free meal when we have to pay for theirs.
Is it STILL not making sense to you what's going on here?
6 people like this
6 responses
@terri0824 (5133)
• United States
8 Apr
I get it...hopefully the one's that don't, will soon.
3 people like this
@vandana7 (101679)
• India
8 Apr
That is not how it is.... he has put it simplistically.
Most people want to move to the US. When they do, they spare America cost of feeding, clothing, sheltering, and educating them, and even health care costs as long as they are elsewhere.
Suddenly, America gets qualified folks....without pushing in a dime.
To an extent, I will forgive this...because India is overpopulated.
But hey, these people shouldn't be inheriting.... they get huge chunk of ancestral properties and parental properties as inheritance back home, which is remitted and we only get nominal tax on that out flowing money....
That is bleeding India right?
So while tariffs seem unfair, there is other unfairness that we have not curtailed so far, and we might as well do that soon.
All remittances from this country for educating our kids abroad helps America.
America gets ready made taxpayers..........who should be our taxpayers.
Americans may have more kids...but not every kid who is born becomes a taxpayer.
In contrast, almost every child who leaves India for the US for further studies becomes a taxpayer...
1 person likes this
@porwest (98984)
• United States
8 Apr
@vandana7 You should read the U.S. tax code when it comes to immigrants and taxes, especially how they are applied to Indians who become citizens. There are TONS of breaks, so to suggest that America gets Indian immigrants free of charge is false.
Ever wonder why so many hotels and gas stations are run by Indian immigrants? It's because they get major tax breaks when they come here, especially if they buy a business. And how do they get those businesses? One Indian family ending their term of tax breaks sells to a new immigrant Indian family and it goes on and on.
That being said, I have no complaint about Indian immigrants. They make a valuable contribution. I should add that immigration and tariffs have nothing to do with each other. But, at the same time, immigrants, by far, are NOT ready-made taxpayers at all. It takes years before they actually make a solid contribution to the tax base.
3 people like this
@1creekgirl (43313)
• United States
8 Apr
That's hilarious. It didn't take me long to see where that was going. Great example, Jim.
3 people like this
@vandana7 (101679)
• India
8 Apr
Let us talk ..serious talk...
India spends decent sum (read subsidizes) on educating its children..making them doctors....engineers....scientists....accountants....lawyers....
And they migrate....what do we get for subsidizing? BIG FAT ZERO
It does not stop there.
These children inherit from their parents. All that money is remitted only after collecting nominal taxes.
So Yeah...I am for 100 percent taxation of inheritances of migrating Indians from now on.
I am also for 100 percent taxation of anything for migration...we need our pound of flesh too.
Lets slug it out.
I am sure this is the story across the world.
1 person likes this
@porwest (98984)
• United States
10 Apr
That really is the main aim here. Trump wants to talk. He knows how to get unwilling people to the table, and the Liberation Day tariffs were a way to do that. It seems to have worked as there are now more than 75 countries wanting to talk. The fact that Trump keeps offering delays while people come to the table is indicative of the fact that he wants fairness more than he wants tariffs, and people ought to pay attention to that.
There's always a reason Trump does what he does, and by now people ought to be more aware of that before they panic and start calling for disaster and calamity to ensue.
1 person likes this
@porwest (98984)
• United States
10 Apr
I don't think I would go to the same friend the second time once the bill of 30 USD is handed over, nor invite him over. So this analogy is unrealistic. You have a saying "once bitten twice shy" or something like that, isn't it?
@vandana7 How is unrealistic? It's EXACTLY what the United States has done for DECADES.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (45967)
• Staten Island, New York
9 Apr
Trump knows what he is doing. This tariff thing is a bargaining chip.
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (63860)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
8 Apr
People just need something to complain about. You should know that by now
1 person likes this
