• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

  • About
  • Podcasts

The plan sounded fair at the time, but why did I pay for everything?

By David McElroy · November 27, 2012

I was out getting my mail one day not long ago when I noticed several of my neighbors in the street talking. I stepped across the street to be neighborly and see what the neighborhood gossip might be.

“Hey, let me tell you about the new idea we’ve been talking about,” said Karl. He’s sort of the intellectual in our neighborhood. I’m not sure what he does, but he spends a lot of time at the library working on a book. “We’ve decided that we need a neighborhood swimming pool for our street. I figure we can have it ready to go by the time it’s warm enough in the spring.”

“Sounds great, Karl,” I said, “but wouldn’t that be pretty expensive?”

“None of us can afford it alone,” Karl said, “but if we put our resources together, it shouldn’t be so bad.”

The other folks all seemed to think it was a good idea, so I told him I might be interested if the price was right. They told me they’d let me know what they figured out, and I went back home.

A few days later, there was a knock at my door. It was Karl and a couple of his friends.

“I have great news,” Karl said. “We took a vote and decided to move ahead with the community swimming pool project. We’ll be letting you know how much you owe as soon as we have the figures all put together. Isn’t that great?”

I admit that I’d liked the pool idea, but I was a little miffed that they had decided without me, so I asked why I wasn’t involved in the vote.

“We were sitting over at my place talking about it and there were six of us there,” Karl said. “Since there are just 10 houses in the neighborhood and all six of us agreed it was a good idea, that was clear right there. Six out of 10 were already in favor, so majority rules and we’re going to do it. You’ll love the plan we have picked out.”

I thought about it for a minute and it didn’t sit well with me, but Karl was right. Everybody knows that majority rule is the only fair way to decide anything. It really wasn’t the greatest time to pitch in on a project like this, but since I was only one of 10, I could find a way to foot 10 percent of the bill. So I didn’t object any further.

About a week later, I noticed Karl and some of the neighbors marking off the spot for the pool with somebody I didn’t know, so I stepped over to see how it was coming.

“The doors to the clubhouse will open here to give better access to the area for the loungers,” the stranger was saying. “I can arrange it so everybody in the pool will be able to see the big-screen TV from that area so they can watch and soak up the rays at the same time.”

I was introduced to Billy Bob, who I was told was the contractor selected for the job.

I told Karl and Billy Bob that I was surprised to hear talk of a clubhouse and big television and such. I thought we were just building a nice little swimming pool.

“That’s what we were thinking at first, too, but Billy Bob here has shown us we were thinking too small,” Karl said. “It turns out that all the neighborhoods building pools these days include a clubhouse. We couldn’t afford to be seen as not keeping up with the latest trends, you know. Besides, that’s what the majority wanted. I figured you’d agree, but since the majority already agreed, did it really matter?”

I admitted that he was right. Everybody knows that majority rule is the only fair way. And I had liked the pool idea. I wasn’t happy about seeing the cost rising, but I was still only one of 10 houses, so I could deal with paying a tenth of the cost. I didn’t see how some of the other families were ever going to be able to afford it, though. Several people were unemployed because of the bad economy and a couple more had really low-paying jobs. But I figured if this is what everybody wanted, they’d all figure out how to pay their tenth of the cost, too.

Billy Bob said the project was going to cost about a million dollars, which was far more than I’d ever expected, but I figured I could swing the $100,000 somehow. I have the nicest house in the neighborhood and I do pretty well for myself, so if they could do it, I’d find a way, too.

Just two days later, Karl came to my door again.

“Hey, we’re ready to start work on the pool project, so I’m going around to collect the checks,” Karl said.

I’d been expecting it, so I was prepared. It hadn’t been easy to re-arrange my finances and find the $100,000, but I’d done it without borrowing. I was happy about that part. I told Karl I just needed to know the exact amount. Karl looked at the paperwork he was holding.

“Well, according to this, your portion comes to $700,000,” he said.

I thought I’d heard him wrong, so I asked him to repeat that. He did, but I still heard the same number. I told Karl that I was confused. Surely the pool’s cost hadn’t jumped to $7 million without me knowing about it. My one-tenth share of the $1 million budget should only be $100,000.

“Well, that’s just not the way it works, you know,” Karl said. “The cost is $1 million, but we use what’s called progressive taxation in figuring what everybody owes. Five of the households don’t have much income right now, so we’re not asking them to kick anything in. You make the most money and you live in the biggest house, so it’s only fair that you pay for most of it. I mean, you can afford it and we can’t. It’s only fair.”

My head was spinning. I wasn’t prepared for shelling out $700,000, but even more than that, I couldn’t understand why I was paying 70 percent of the cost, but I only had 10 percent of the say in what was done.

“You can’t expect the little guy to pay for things,” Karl said. “It’s only fair that we take from everybody according to what he has and what he earns. Everybody knows that. And since the top 10 percent pay 70 percent of the taxes in the country, it’s clearly fair.”

I pointed out that I didn’t have 70 percent of the decision-making, so that didn’t seem right.

“One man, one vote,” Karl said. “Everybody knows that’s the only fair way. When it comes to money, progressive taxation is fair. When it comes to power and voting, you can’t have any more say than anybody else. You wouldn’t want people to think you were greedy, would you?”

I told Karl that I definitely didn’t want anyone thinking I was greedy. He was right in everything he said. The tax system takes money according to how much you make — and punishes earning money — but power went to everyone equally, whether they paid anything or not. It must be fair and just. Everyone said so.

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need,” Karl said. “That’s all you need to remember. Hey, I like that. I think I’ll use that in my book.”

I realized that Karl was right. Majority rule was fair. And it was only fair that rich people like me paid our “fair share.” I’d have to borrow money so the free-loading neighbors could use the pool. I could see already that they were going to be using it more than I was, because I was going to have to work harder to pay, while most of them had little or nothing to do.

But the more I thought about it, I realized this was right in line with the political principles this country is all about. I couldn’t object or I’d be nothing but a greedy man who wanted to keep his own money.

Majority rule was the only right and moral way. Everybody said so. I’d always believed it. So surely this was fair. Right?

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

  • Redemption of ’Bama’s Jalen Hurts illustrates what sports teach us
  • UPDATE: Judge drops charges against Diane Tran; $100,000 raised
  • Do you believe you’re free? Slavery by any other name is still slavery

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Primary Sidebar

My Instagram

This was the Birmingham sunset at about 8 p.m. Fri This was the Birmingham sunset at about 8 p.m. Friday. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
I was in the back yard with my dog at 5:30 a.m. an I was in the back yard with my dog at 5:30 a.m. and it suddenly started getting beautifully pink and magenta in the sky beyond the trees. I didn’t have time to go get my “real” camera, but this is what my iPhone caught of the lovely little display around us. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunrise #birmingham #alabama
I tried to get Alex to pose for a portrait in the I tried to get Alex to pose for a portrait in the studio tonight, but I never figured out a way to get him to look at the camera. He was fascinated by the studio, though, and he purred the whole time. This was the place where I took the first photos of him on the night I captured him when he was a feral kitten. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
I apparently have way too much time on my hands. I I apparently have way too much time on my hands. I’ll let you know if any of the toy companies agree to pick this up as a featured toy for the upcoming Christmas season. Thanks, ChatGPT. 😺
Thunderstorms are just starting here, so I stopped Thunderstorms are just starting here, so I stopped on the way home — about a mile from my house — for some dramatic lightning photos. #nature #naturephotography #sky #lightning #night #thunderstorms #birmingham #alabama
This was the Friday evening sunset near my house a This was the Friday evening sunset near my house about half an hour ago. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
Lucy and I are taking her last walk of the day and Lucy and I are taking her last walk of the day and it’s just starting to rain lightly. The misting rain and low-lying fog that diffused the light from nearby street lamps give the night a magical feeling.
It seems as though the trees turned bare of their It seems as though the trees turned bare of their leaves almost overnight when I wasn’t paying attention. This is part of the neighborhood route that Lucy and I walk every night. #nature #naturephotography #sky #nightsky #iphone #birmingham #alabama
I love the way the sky looks over our heads tonigh I love the way the sky looks over our heads tonight as Lucy patrols the neighborhood for her final rounds of the day. #nature #naturephotography #sky #nightsky #clouds #iphone #birmingham #alabama
Follow on Instagram

Critter Instagram

Sam has actually gotten out of his bed for a few m Sam has actually gotten out of his bed for a few minutes early Friday afternoon, but I’m betting he’ll be back in the bed soon. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #blackcat #blackcats #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
Just after sunrise Friday morning, Alex and Sam ar Just after sunrise Friday morning, Alex and Sam are sharing the cat bed on my desk. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
Alex loves to chase a fabric mouse more than any o Alex loves to chase a fabric mouse more than any of the other games I play with him. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
Sam is curled up into a little circle on the cat b Sam is curled up into a little circle on the cat bed on my desk late Thursday night. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #blackcat #blackcats #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
For “throwback Thursday,” here’s Thomas from For “throwback Thursday,” here’s Thomas from almost two years ago. He was already an old man who was declining rapidly by this point and I lost him a couple of months later. He was still handsome and distinguished all the way to the end. Thomas had been a feral adult when I took him in, so it was a long journey for him to be as happy and relaxed as he was for his last few years. #tbt #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
Just before midnight, Sam has been watching cars d Just before midnight, Sam has been watching cars drive in front of the house and generally keeping an eye on the neighborhood. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #blackcat #blackcats #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
Although Oliver was alert and watching the neighbo Although Oliver was alert and watching the neighborhood when I got home, Alex was being his usual lazy self as he snoozed in the cat bed on top of my desk. He didn’t seem inclined to wake up to greet me this time. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
When I got back home a few minutes ago, Oliver was When I got back home a few minutes ago, Oliver was on Neighborhood Watch on the end of my desk right next to a window. He hadn’t been vigilant for the entire time I was gone, though, because I got notifications about an hour ago that all of my Internet-connected devices were offline. It turned out that one of the cats had unplugged the router, but I can’t tell which one of them is the guilty party. Nobody will admit to anything. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
Alex was still playing when I left the house Wedne Alex was still playing when I left the house Wednesday afternoon. As I walked out of the bedroom, he tried to swipe at my arm. He’s a sneaky boy. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
Follow on Instagram

Contact David

David likes email, but can’t reply to every message. I get a surprisingly large number of requests for relationship advice — seriously — but time doesn’t permit a response to all of them. (Sorry.)

Subscribe

Enter your address to receive notifications by email every time new articles are posted. Then click “Subscribe.”

Search

Donations

If you enjoy this site and want to help, click here. All donations are appreciated, no matter how large or small. (PayPal often doesn’t identify donors, so I might not be able to thank you directly.)




Archives

Secondary Sidebar

Briefly

Every time someone tries to tighten requirements around the use of absentee ballots, I hear screams from Democrats and others on the political left that such efforts are nothing but “suppression of black voters.” These protests have never made sense to me, especially because it’s never been a secret that absentee ballot fraud goes on all the time in certain areas. (Everybody knew it when I worked in politics.) The people who engage in such fraud are rarely caught — often because the local political establishment approves of the crime — but a Democrat who won a primary election in Clay County, Alabama, last year has pleaded guilty to this sort of cheating. Terry Andrew Heflin was running for a place on the Clay County Commission. He was caught ordering seven absentee ballots in the names of various voters and sending them to his post office box — after which he used the ballots to vote absentee for himself seven time. Did he have other people cast additional fraudulent ballots? We’ll never know. But in a primary in which he was able to win with only 141 votes, it wouldn’t take many fraudulent votes to change the election. The next time you hear “civil rights activists” claim that it’s just “voter suppression” to hurt blacks which is at the root of efforts to stop this fraud, remember Terry Heflin. If you care about fair and honest elections, ballot security and voter identity should matter to you.

A state legislator in Maine has been stripped of the ability to speak in the state Legislature — and her votes are not being counted on legislative issues — all because she made a truthful social media post. Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn, Maine) opposes allowing boys to compete against girls’ teams in school athletics and she’s become known for making an issue of it. On Feb. 17, she posted on Facebook about a recent example that she found outrageous. She posted side-by-side photos of a boy named John who competed last year in a state track event and won fifth place against other boys two years ago — and a photo of the same boy (now called Katie) who won first place in the same event this year against girls. Whether you find this outrageous or not, Libby is clearly being honest and truthful about the objective facts of an issue of public importance. But the state Legislature censured her. Democrats decreed that she could not speak in the House and that her votes would not count on legislation — until she apologized for the outrage of telling the truth. She refused and her constituents have been unrepresented in the state House since then. The people who promote this ideology are out of touch with reality and won’t rest until they force the rest of us to join them in this delusion. But even if you agree with “trans” ideology, you should be appalled at this heavy-handed attack on political speech.

The late Steve Jobs was at the center of our culture’s transition from analog to digital. He co-founded Apple Computer. He led the team that revolutionized personal computing with the first Macintosh. As CEO of Apple, he led the development of the iPhone and later the iPad. You would think the children of such a man would be surrounded by technology. But Jobs and his wife Laureen didn’t let their children use iPads. Their home had few screens of any kind. Even though Jobs spent most of his time developing and selling Macs and iPhones and iPads, he was home with his wife and children for dinner when he was in town. The family ate together at a simple wooden table in their kitchen — and there were no digital devices or focus on popular culture. Instead, he’s said to have guided his family toward deep discussions of art, philosophy and education — with no iPads to be found. If the man who guided the development of such products chose a different path for his own children, does that suggest that his digital experience taught him that children need human connection, not screens? And does it suggest the possibility that we might be better off if we made the same choice for our families?

For four years, Donald Trump’s supporters screamed that everything that went wrong was the fault of Joe Biden. They were sometimes right and they were sometimes delusional. (Anybody who knows me understands that I can’t stand Biden any more than I can stand Trump, just for different reasons.) But for two months, Trump has rampaged through U.S. political life — vandalizing pretty much everything in sight — and the vast majority of his supporters are silent at best. Many watch as he blows up the world economy and they make excuses for him. They’re in absolute denial, even about things that Trump is doing very intentionally. Anybody who understands economics and history knows that tariffs are a terrible idea from a pragmatic point of view. Anybody who values individual freedom knows that tariffs are massive taxes on individuals — and they’re a tool of political control over the ability of people to trade freely. Trump is the antithesis of everything which political conservatives stood for just a few years ago. It’s far past time for people who claim to be conservatives to reclaim the principles and values which they used to claim — and stop this mad man before he can accelerate the day when we experience economic and social collapse. Open your eyes to reality and reject this lying narcissist.

On a live awards show Sunday night, one man made a joke about a female celebrity. The husband of the celebrity was offended and hit the man who made the joke. Or maybe it was staged for entertainment. Who knows? Who cares? Social media is full of discussion — and even arguments — about this idiocy today. This baffles me. Let’s assume for a moment that the event happened as reported. People have been having such idiotic fights ever since there have been humans. Half the bars in the world see such brief dustups regularly. It simply doesn’t matter. The fact that so many people believe they need to talk about this — or even need to have opinions about it — is more evidence of the bizarre media brainwashing that convinces many to care passionately about brain-dead trivia. Your life will be happier and saner if you focus on yourself, your family and your friends, not on whatever scripted (or spontaneous) bilge that the media wants to pipe into your home.

Read More

Crass Capitalism

Before you buy anything from Amazon, please click on this link. I’ll get a tiny commission, but it won’t cost you a nickel extra. The cats and Lucy will thank you. And so will I.

© 2011–2025 · All Rights Reserved
Built by: 1955 DESIGN