Sound of A Single Hand

“I think you are very wrong,” said John with all sincerity, “If we keep going the way we are our debt will pile up to the point at which it is untenable.”

“I do understand what you are trying to say,” insisted Paul, "But the alternative to this economic stimulus could have far worse consequences. Think about the recent rise in oil prices."

John looked at his younger brother and said, "What about them? They’re all Biden's fault anyway. Get him out of office and they will come down."

"It is truly amazing you think Trump had all the power to keep the prices down," countered Paul without hesitation, “Not to mention if he really had that much power it would make him a socialist and he would be responsible for numerous oil companies going out of business.”

“Now you are talking nonsense. He has done much to help our businesses.”

“Such as what?”

“You saw the economy rebound over thirty-three percent. How do you explain that?” demanded John, “It was all Trump.”

“I do agree to a point. His incompetence in handling the pandemic did cause the economy to seriously contract and the rebound was how much it expanded when restrictions were lifted. But thirty-three percent expansion was the same amount the economy had contracted when the restriction were imposed.

“But what I’m getting with the oil prices is that the price had dropped too far for companies to profit enough to stay afloat,” continued Paul, “In order to be profitable you must have a meaningful demand and this did not exist for these companies.”

“What is a meaningful demand Uncle Paul?” asked Tierney as she brought he dad another beer.

John thanked her and went on to ask, “Yeah, what is that?”

Paul leaned forward and asked, “Do you know what a breakeven point is?”

“Sure, it is when you have produced and sold enough of a product that you start seeing money added to your profits.”

“Yeah, that’s good enough,” agreed Paul, “Well, as I am sure you are aware in order for you to keep your business open and profitable you must hit that annual breakeven point which is just the cumulative of daily breakeven points and even sell beyond that point on a regular basis.”

“Sure, you just have to make up what you were short to see the profit,” agreed John.

“But let’s say there is a big demand for your product or service but only a certain amount can actually afford your product at the price you need to sell it to maintain the levels of revenue you require to meet your financial needs. This is what I call a meaningful demand. Not everyone can afford your product but those who can are the ones you need. But this is only a certain amount. Through social programs and stimulus checks more people who desire your services are able to at the price you need. When the economy contracted this meaningful demand dropped off sharply. Businesses needed this to help to recover.

Sure, you could lower your price to attract more consumers who can afford your product but that will decrease your profit margin. Not to mention as you increase your capacity to handle this level of demand you do increase some of your expenses as well. There is also the threat of overproduction and the market dropping out like the oil industry experienced. But extra money in the hands of the consumers can help buy companies time to make the necessary adjustments.”

John thought for a few moments then said, “But why does the economy need this boost? I say it is because of taxes. If the government didn’t tax them to tears these companies would be able to have the money to hire and pay people and more people would be able to buy the products and create more jobs. This to me would be a far better way of increasing that meaningful demand. Cut the tax rate on our job creators and they will be able to create jobs.”

“To me that sounds too good to be true and it isn’t. There is no guarantee they will use their extra cash to create jobs. What creates jobs is a demand for the products not someone just producing things. People who have money to invest are going to invest it where they feel it will do them the most good, not society. This is one of the reasons for taxes. To help you understand what I am saying just know that if I was to send billions in aid to a nation and distribute this aid among the people in a year’s time you very well might have a new economy developed around what the people need and desire. However, if instead, you gave the aid only to the rich and powerful of that nation, in a year’s time you would have an economy where the rich and powerful dictate to the people what they should want and need.”

“That idea of meaningful demand and who you give the money too may have merit but you can’t deny that as the government borrows ever more money they will have to earmark ever more tax revenues towards servicing that debt. There may even be a point when they need to borrow even more just to run the government or raise taxes leaving even less money to hire and pay people or for the business to grow.”

“Yes, I agree with parts of that but at the same time there is no guarantee that the owner of a business will expand their operation. Nor is there any guarantee that this money will be used for anything which does contribute to the job market. But getting the average person out there consuming will drive the demand for products, expansion, and jobs while at the same time helping to increase the tax revenue on state and federal levels.”

“Which would just go to paying our massive debt,” sighed John as he took another drink.

Paul stood up and walked about the room to stretch. He moved over to the window and watched the remaining embers of the day slowly fade into night. He stood there just looking at the diurnal transformation. He listened to the sounds of his brother taking another drink and of the bottle being placed back on the table top. He thought about getting another drink when he saw Tierney’s reflection in the window as she moved about the room.

“Tierney,” he suddenly called out, “What is your opinion on all of this?” he asked as turning around, “You have been in school for some time now and I’m sure you and your friends have had similar debates.”

“Sort of, I guess,” she replied.

“What do you mean by that?” demanded her father.

“Well, just look at you two. You are almost there but not quite,” she stated with a hint of strength.

“Now you are sounding as crazy as your uncle,” responded John shaking his head a little.

“I’m crazy? You are the two who have been thoroughly indoctrinated in the game.”

“What?” asked Paul.

“I’ll try to do what I can to help you two.”

“Please do,” joked her dad with a sarcastic smile.

“Yes, please educate us with all of your 21 years on this planet,” scoffed Paul reaching for his beer.

“I’m sure you two have heard the complaints that the problem with our government is it was created by rich, slave owning, white males.”

“Sure,” answered Paul with John nodding in agreement.

“But is any of that true? Did they create a government which only reflects the opinion of slave owning, rich, white, male, landowners?”

“That is true they were the rich and white…,” interrupted John.

“But not all such as Franklin, Mifflin, Hamilton, Adams, and others were slave owners,” countered Paul.

“That’s right,” concurred Tierney as she continued, “And in case you haven’t noticed women and African Americans as well as others have the ability to participate in government and vote. This occurred without having to rewrite the Constitution or restructuring the government. This occurred because our Founding Fathers knew they didn’t have all the answers and gave us a government that had the ability to learn and evolve. We have an accessible government. They had learned from all of the great minds of history. They learned from the Pirate Republic. They learned from their own experiences of coming together, presenting ideas, debating these ideas, and developing these ideas. They gave us a wonderful institution in the form of our Congress and State Houses.”

“Congress?” sneered John, “They are the biggest problem.”

“Are they?” pushed Tierney.

“Yeah, I have to agree with John on this one,” chimed in Paul.

“Are you sure the problem is with Congress and has nothing to do with the whole idea that it is not being used correctly?” posed Tierney.

“That’s it. You’re going for a drug test in the morning,”

Sighing at his attempt at a joke Tierney continued, “The problem as far as I see it is that instead of having a venue where ideas are shared and debated with the hopes of creating better ones such as equal rights and voting rights our government has been taken over by two gangs who have found that when they have the numbers they can impose their will on all. Instead of really working to find what is best for our nation we have one party gaining control and forcing its will on the country while at the same time doing what it can to stop the opposing party from gaining power. Instead of cooperation we have competition and it is destroying our nation. It’s not about what is the right answer, it is about whose idea is being used.”

“I think I see what she is saying,” announced Paul.

“The secret is all in the idea that 'United we stand, divided we fall,' or ‘E pluribus Unum’ or one out many. The answer is coming together.”

“But wouldn’t that mean we would all have to agree?” asked Paul.

“Not at all, cooperation just means we agree to come together with the intent of working through our issues in the pursuit of mutually beneficial solutions which even though they have been enacted can still be improved upon. What we have it two gangs in direct competition and are determined in having it their way no matter what it does to the nation. They get people like us pitted against one another and derive power and money from the divide they created. What they are doing is actually an incredibly lazy form of governance. They just follow and impose their party platform. It requires little real action or thinking. This is why cult leaders and dictators demand blind followership. So instead of having a nation which has the potential to challenge itself, learn, grow, and evolve releasing amazing levels of potential we are ripped apart and pitted against one another and have been reduced to a state we originally rebelled against.”

“But would you really want to work with me if all I can do is find holes in your ideas?” asked Paul.

“True some people will feel threatened and that’s all ego and no, I would welcome your input. Problem is people tend to be attached to their ideas and blind to what could be wrong. Perhaps it has a whole lot of wrong with it; perhaps it just needs a little tweak or fine tuning. There is a chance it might be the best idea we have. One way of looking at it is that I want to be a success with my life and by all means if you see something wrong with a choice of mine please tell me so I can fix or improve it.”

“I think I’m starting to get it as well,” smiled John.

“You both have a valid viewpoint on the situation and the solution is somewhere in there, but at the same time the reason for the problem is because we are divided and in competition…,”

“And when one side gains the upper hand they impose their will with quick fixes until the other side gains the upper hand and then they impose their quick fixes,” offered John.

“Exactly,” responded Tierney, “Our pursuit of greatness lies in our ability to come together, unite, and learn to cooperate to work together in order to find real solutions for the overall good of our nation.”

“Okay, I’ve changed my mind, you don’t have to do a drug test in the morning.”

“Thanks dad,” said Tierney as she leaned over and hugged him from behind his chair, “It was nice chatting but I have so reading to do.”

Paul looked at John when she left and said, “She told us.”