Teaching

My two little cousins have been staying with me for a few days. Yesterday we went to do some fun Christmas errands and I kept my radio station tuned to Rush and Medved. The oldest is 14 going on 30 and she asked what they were talking about so I tried to not be too super political and explain the travesty of a health care bill.

My favorite portion of the explanation was telling her that they were going to tax tanning salons to help pay for this crap. The look of horror on her face was classic. She goes to those places and her response was ... "Isn't that going to make it more expensive for me?"

BINGO! She got it. Taxes are just taxes on some anonymous business that doesn't affect anyone else. Those taxes get passed on to the consumer. And she understands that it isn't just tanning beds.

She wants to be a nurse and someday an anesthesiologist in plastic surgery. I told her that was pretty smart because she'd make a lot more money with elective health care (as long as the government doesn't add it to the list of entitlements) than general practice where her salary will be limited to what the government declares is "fair".

She's a smart cookie. Too bad she's already in huge debt and going to be taxed beyond her comprehension.