Friday, March 06, 2009

The Stupid Tax.

While the Dow describes the trajectory of a depressed stockbroker from a fifteenth-floor window, some industries are still booming.

For instance, people are lining up to get jobs collecting the Innumeracy Tax.

11 comments:

joe said...

"Innumeracy Tax"

hehe.

You're awesome

WV: "catort", feline personal injury lawsuit
also, a quick response after your pet insults you

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

Yeah, casinos are a growth industry. Just watch the little old men and the little old ladies sit at the quarter slots and gamble their Social Security checks away in hopes of hitting it big.

WV: reboups. What the stock market does every few days -- "Look, it's rebounding...oops."

Anonymous said...

Meh. Gambling doesn't do anything for me, but if you're doing it for recreational purposes I don't see much difference between dropping a quarter in a slot machine or spending a quarter every time you squeeze the trigger.

Hey now, put down the bucket of tar. And the sack of feathers too. There's no need for that sort of thing, really.

Chas S. Clifton said...

When I was just out of college, I worked for a time repairing slot machines. (They were legal in Oregon in bars, Legion halls, etc., under some circumstances.)

After finishing, I would drink a Coke at the bar and watch people play the machines to be sure that they worked OK.

I quickly discovered that most players had no knowledge of practical statistics at all, starting with the delusion that a given machine was "due for a pay-out."

More interesting was the bar owners' psychology -- which ones wanted their machines set "loose," which ones wanted them "tight," and why.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

Big difference between gambling and pulling a trigger.

Pulling a trigger hones a useful skill. Gambling is just a waste of money.

Anonymous said...

"I don't see much difference between dropping a quarter in a slot machine or spending a quarter every time you squeeze the trigger. "

I see it like this:

Dropping quarters into a slot machine produces/requires no skill of measurable worth.

Pulling the that trigger and learning to put bullets where you want them to go produces/requires a skill of immeasurable worth.

Anonymous said...

It saves time to just hand your money to a stranger and say "damn".

I wonder if he's any relation to the composer Jerry Goldsmith?

Anonymous said...

In Bryan's defence, and I'm sure he needs it, I have known shooters for whom it worked out just about that way. Wot no "lead slug" jokes?

Tam said...

I certainly don't think it should be illegal to take money from people who confuse drawing to an inside straight with financial planning.

Besides, we need growth industries right now.

Anonymous said...

"people who confuse drawing to an inside straight with financial planning"

Tam, it's called Poker Lessons" or "watching people be stupid with their money".

Keep in mind that the casinos make money every day, the amount just varies.

I work on the machines that count all the cash people leave behind at the casinos. The benefit for me? EVERY time I set foot in a casinos, I know I'M the only one thats guaranteed to make money!

Anonymous said...

Vegas hotel casinos provide 1.5 jobs per room. The way tips are shared, it has been worth it to pay an "entry fee" for a job.

Business is way down in Vegas casinos. A fair amount of singing, "Oh, thank Heaven for Chapter 11."

So you're standing at the Craps table. Dice in your hand, ready to toss out your first roll. Guess what? The odds are three percent against you, and you are just standing there. The odds are even worse for those around the table with their side bets.

It's legal. So's a state lottery. So's Social inSecurity.

And folks are mad at Madoff?

The American Dream: Cut a fat hog in the ass and work no more for never.

Art