The Little Red Hen - Modern Version

[iluvwmn]

The Little Red Hen - Modern Version

Once upon a time, on a farm in Texas, there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered quite a few grains of wheat.

She called all of her neighbors together and said, "If we plant is wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?"

"Not I," said the cow.
"Not I," said the duck.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen. And so she did. The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain.

"Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the duck.
"Out of my classification," said the pig.
"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.
"I'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.
"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen, and so she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread.

"Who will help me bake the bread! ?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.
"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.
"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.
"If I'm to only be the 'helper', that's discrimination," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen. She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see.

They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, "No, I shall eat all five loaves."

"Excess profits!" cried the cow.
"Capitalist leech!" screamed the duck.
"I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose.
The pig just grunted in disdain.

And they all painted "Unfair!" picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then a government agent came, he said to the little red hen, "You must not be so greedy."

"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.

"Exactly," said the agent. "That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle."

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, for now I truly understand,"

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the "party" and got her bread free.

And all the Democrats smiled. 'Fairness' had been established. Individual initiative had died, but nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared.....as long as there was free bread that "the rich" were paying for.

Bill Clinton is getting $12 million for his memoirs.
Hillary got $8 million for hers.

That's $20 million for memories from two people, who for eight years repeatedly testified, under oath, that they couldn't remember anything.

IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY, OR WHAT?




*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"We have cats the way other people have mice."

-James Thurber

[Chopper_Dave]

[SAINT_X]

... deregualtion, rampant crony capitalism, a war of choice that has made billions for the well connected and well..need I even mention the energy companies raping of the country? I don't need to make up a phony parable....just switch off Fox "media" and look around you. Look at what deregulation has done for your health care, energy costs, media neutrality, etc.... This is what you get when you think YOUR Govt is your enemy and you let Corporations buy it.

[wil]

Originally Posted by SAINT_X

... deregualtion, rampant crony capitalism, a war of choice that has made billions for the well connected and well..need I even mention the energy companies raping of the country? I don't need to make up a phony parable....just switch off Fox "media" and look around you. Look at what deregulation has done for your health care, energy costs, media neutrality, etc.... This is what you get when you think YOUR Govt is your enemy and you let Corporations buy it.

Would you rather have the gov't run everything? They have done a bang-up job with social security. And the way they handled things when hurricane Katrina hit was truly the definition of efficiency. :sarcasm: Yeah... I want those guys running my health care.

[SAINT_X]

....you forget, it was the Bush/ Norquist " strangled in the bathtub" version of FEMA/govt assistance that failed the Katrina victims. There's a reason that was our worst disaster response since the burning of the capital by the British in 1812...there essentially was no FEMA. Ironically, it had gone through extensive privatization...check it out, public record.
And Social Security? That is a great, great program that has helped the lives of untold millions.

Why does a person want to give all the power to people who have a proven allegiance to a profit line over their countrymen? I mean, was Abe Lincoln just blowing smoke when he spoke at the hallowed ground at Gettysburg of that being the latest killing field in the struggle that "govt of,by, and for the people shall not perish from the earth"?

If you want to embrace the fight for real freedom...how can it be more clear that the real fight is to rid our Democratic Republic of incredibly powerful forces, agents of greed that render it unresponsive to the plight of the people for which it was created and sanctified in blood.

[Chopper_Dave]

Yes, Let's Keep Blaming The Federal Government For The Katrina Response. I Have Lived On The Gulf Coast Most Of My Life And Been In New Orleans For Countless Hurricanes. I Was There On A Ship Doing A Break-out When Katrina Was On It's Way. The City And State Made No More Of A Real Effort To Evacuate For That Storm Than They Did For Any Previous One In The Past. I Can't See How That Was The Feds Fault When Local Government Made No Preparations For Handling A Situation Like That.
Now Then, In Comparison, I Was In Houston When Rita Was On The Way... Other Than A Few Small Glitches The Evacuation Effected By Local Government, It Went Like Clock Work Because It Was Based On Plans That Had Been Established For Years.
It's Still Amazing How Almost Every City And Town On The Gulf Coast Had, And Have, A Hurricane Evacuation Plan But New Orleans.
Go Figure... Must Be The Feds Fault.

[SAINT_X]

... those are clever pictures. Funny how they suggest blaming the victim....

As far as evacuation....I think you're wrong:

Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[wil]

Oh... according to Wikipedia the evacuation was a complete success. Way to go GW Bush.

[Chopper_Dave]

Originally Posted by SAINT_X

... those are clever pictures. Funny how they suggest blaming the victim....

HOW IN GOD'S NAME DO THEY SUGGEST BLAMING THE VICTIM?

Originally Posted by SAINT_X

As far as evacuation....I think you're wrong:

Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

OH YEAH..., I PUT MY COMPLETE TRUST IN THE INTERNET... BESIDES, WHAT DO I KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE I WAS THERE... OH, WAIT A MINUTE... I WAS THERE.

[SAINT_X]

...maybe the photoshopped SEND CRACK in giant letters behind the black people holding US flags ( for extra impact I'm sure ). Yeah...that just kind of suggests blaming the victim a little bit.

This is ridiculous....just because you were in the area doesn't make you an expert on the cause and effect relationships surrounding Katrina....please....I have the ability to think critically.

[ItalianStallion]

thats the thing between our views...i think that new orleans should have done sumtin to prepare for the evacuation i live in south florida n go thru hurricanes 4-5 times a year..major ones that is.. n we dont get stranded n show up on tv lookin for aid..y? because we prepare..our people n local gvt provide adeqUTE info n planning to allow us to get us thru the cane...new orleans did none of this..everyone knew a category 5 hurricane is goin str8 towards new orleans n all they did was sit n keep drinking..they interviewed sum1 on burbon street n when asked whats he doin to prepare he said nutin...these stuff always happens..that lacklustered attitude is why i dont rly feel bad for them..i dont blame them for the hurricane i blame them for not bein prepared..when a hurricane comes no matta what category we prepare but spendind hundreds of dollars on supplies...thats money we dont have to piss away but we do it because when shit goes down u need to take care of urself..bottom line these people did not do nething for themselves n they jus twaited for sum1 to throw them a bone...id rather look out for myself than have sum1 helpin me...sry thats just me

[tidalwave]

IMO, the diversion of the thread toward deregulation, FEMA, Social Security, etc. misses a major point of the original post. I think that real-world Hen would be a bootstrapping entrepreneur (as opposed to a giant corporation) who took the initiatives and the inherent risks with the goal of building a thriving business.

This isn't to say that every small businessperson is bombarded with cries of 'capitalist leech', but it speaks to the increasingly burdened environment of start-up companies. The reality is that there are plenty of entities that may sink a ship that are external to the core business operation. Excessive* taxation, regulation, and liability exposure to name a few.

I can personally attest to the fact that many would-be or former entrepreneurs have folded or never made the leap due to such factors. This might be analogous to the Hen "joining the party and getting her bread for free."

My point is that amongst the impassioned arguments against the evil, greedy corporate types, a misguided approach is often the result that leads to an environment hostile to business.

*Disclaimer: I'm not saying that all taxation and regulation is bad. I also acknowledge that unchecked greed is a problem. Just sayin.

[ItalianStallion]

one of my finance teachers said one day in class...college finance that is...it went sumtin like this...how do we kno if stocks will be good? we look at the business n see what they have in store for the next couple of year...because the point of buyin stock is for it to rise n evenutally we sell it for a higher price makin a profit..duh...we want a big return n thats what these gvts try to do give us all a big return...my point is he said that he has stocks in microsoft because its safe n constantly improving things...but what if one day bill gates was like u kno what i think i have enough money i dont wanna come out wit a new ipod...new computers or ne typle of new technology...our generation n society would not improve...does this relate to nething in here..prob not..but just sumtin to think bout...witout bill gates we might never have had so mny things that we use today...if he was just happy wit 1 billion dollars n didnt want nemore n just stopped society would not be as great as it is today...if u guys can form sum sort of connection wit this go for it..im just too tired but wanted to give u sumtin to think bout

[iluvwmn]

Damn...I forgot about this thread. I saw rep points for it and thought someone had jacked my username.