Thursday, September 10, 2009
The elderly couple had been frugal savers throughout their lives. Now in their 80's, they lived in comfort and happiness.
While they had lovingly maintained their home, their age now prevented them from painting the sturdy garage that sat behind their house. And the garage needed painting....badly.
They were pleased when the young man rang their doorbell and asked if he and his friends might be paid to paint the garage. The young man looked presentable and spoke to the couple with respect. Even though the couple had recently seen the young man hanging out with some of the more "unsavory" teenagers in the neighborhood, in the light of day, he seemed so responsible.
"How much will it cost?" The older gentlemen asked of the eager youngster.
"We only charge $7/hour per person. That's even below the minimum wage." responded the young man.
"And how many hours do you think it might take?" asked the old man.
"All told, we don't think it will take more than 10 hours, but we can't guarantee you anything." offered the boy.
"And what painting experience do you have" queried the man.
The boy's demeanor changed ever so slightly, when he said, "Well, we've never painted before, but we talked with lots of people who paint, and they think we'd be great!"
With some trepidation, the man offered a solution, "Let's do this. Why don't you and your friends paint the back side of the garage. We can see how good of painters you are, and see how long it takes. And I'll pay you each $7/hour to complete just that task."
'NO!" the boy shouted...stunning the old man. "Your garage needs painting NOW!!! And we are the one's to do it. We must paint the entire garage. You are just being senile to suggest anything else!!!"
The man slowly closed the door.
Out of reflex, the retiree returned to his comfortable easy chair in the living room. He turned on the TV. President Obama was addressing Congress and the nation on health reform. Like the garage, the old man thought health care, too, was in need of repair. Then the man heard Obama say "....we will eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. Put simply, our health care problem is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close",
Medicare was like the back side of garage. Both need repairing. And each provided a unique proving ground; one for a young painter - the other for a young president. But neither would touch the opportunity without being given the entire project.
For the second time that day, the man was sad.
While they had lovingly maintained their home, their age now prevented them from painting the sturdy garage that sat behind their house. And the garage needed painting....badly.
They were pleased when the young man rang their doorbell and asked if he and his friends might be paid to paint the garage. The young man looked presentable and spoke to the couple with respect. Even though the couple had recently seen the young man hanging out with some of the more "unsavory" teenagers in the neighborhood, in the light of day, he seemed so responsible.
"How much will it cost?" The older gentlemen asked of the eager youngster.
"We only charge $7/hour per person. That's even below the minimum wage." responded the young man.
"And how many hours do you think it might take?" asked the old man.
"All told, we don't think it will take more than 10 hours, but we can't guarantee you anything." offered the boy.
"And what painting experience do you have" queried the man.
The boy's demeanor changed ever so slightly, when he said, "Well, we've never painted before, but we talked with lots of people who paint, and they think we'd be great!"
With some trepidation, the man offered a solution, "Let's do this. Why don't you and your friends paint the back side of the garage. We can see how good of painters you are, and see how long it takes. And I'll pay you each $7/hour to complete just that task."
'NO!" the boy shouted...stunning the old man. "Your garage needs painting NOW!!! And we are the one's to do it. We must paint the entire garage. You are just being senile to suggest anything else!!!"
The man slowly closed the door.
Out of reflex, the retiree returned to his comfortable easy chair in the living room. He turned on the TV. President Obama was addressing Congress and the nation on health reform. Like the garage, the old man thought health care, too, was in need of repair. Then the man heard Obama say "....we will eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. Put simply, our health care problem is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close",
Medicare was like the back side of garage. Both need repairing. And each provided a unique proving ground; one for a young painter - the other for a young president. But neither would touch the opportunity without being given the entire project.
For the second time that day, the man was sad.
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