Curator's note: One of the first FWD:s I put on this site when I took over from Mike was this one: http://myrightwingdad.blogspot.com/2009/02/fwd-letter-from-granddad.html. It's interesting to see how they change as they go 'round the 'round the nation. This is a new version of Granddad's letter, making the Obama supporting young woman appear less likable and Granddad, therefore, more reasonable.
John is 63 years old and owns his own business. He is a life-long
Republican and sees his dream of retiring next year is now all but
gone.
With the stock market crashing and all the new taxes coming his way,
John knows he will be working for a good number more years.
John has a Granddaughter. Ashley is a recent college grad.
She drives a late model car, wears all the latest fashions, and also likes
going out and eating out a lot.. Ashley campaigned hard for Obama, and
after he won the election she made sure her Grandfather (and all other
Republican family members) received more than an earful on how the
world is going to be a much better place now that Obama won the
election.
Ashley recently found herself short of cash and cannot pay her bills,
again.
As she has done many other times in the past, she e-mailed her
Grandfather asking for some financial help. Here is his reply:
"Sweetheart, I am replying to your request for more money. Ashley, you
know I love you dearly and am sympathetic to your financial plight.
Unfortunately, times have changed. With the election of President
Obama, your Grandmother and I have had to set forth a bold new
economic plan of our own....the 'Ashley Economic Plan'. Let me
explain. Your grandmother and I are highly productive, wage-earning
tax payers. As you know, we have lived a comfortable life and in
return have forgone many things like fancy vacations, luxury cars,
etc. We have worked hard and were looking forward to retiring
soon. But this plan has changed. Your president is significantly
raising our personal and business taxes.
He says it is so he can give our hard earned money to other people. Do
you know what this means, Ashley? It means less income for us. Less
income means we must cut back on many business and personal
expenditures.
One example is, we were forced to let go of our receptionist today.
You know her. She always gave you candy when you visited my office.
Did you know she worked for us for the past 18 years? I can't afford
her anymore.
That is a taste of the business side. Some personal economic affects of
Obama's new taxation policies include none other than you.
You know very well that over the years your grandmother and I have
given you thousands of dollars in cash, tuition assistance, food,
housing, clothing, gifts, etc., etc. By your vote, you have chosen
another family over ours for help. Judging from your Email requesting
more money, I recommend you call 202-456-1111. That is the direct
telephone number for the White House. You yourself repeatedly told me
I was foolish to vote Republican. You said Mr. Obama is going to be
the people's president and is going to help every American live a better life.
Based upon everything you have told me and things we heard from him as
he campaigned, I am sure Mr. Obama will be happy to send a check or transfer money into your checking account.
Have him call me for the transaction and account numbers, which by now
I know by heart.
Perhaps you now can understand what I have been saying for all my
life: those who vote for the president should consider what the impact
of an election will be on the nation as a whole, and not just be
concerned with what they can get for themselves (welfare, etc.). What
Obama voters don't seem to realize is all of the "government's" money
he is 'redistributing' to illegal aliens and non-taxpaying Americans
(deemed "less fortunate") comes from tax money collected from income
tax-paying families. Remember how you told me, "Only the richest of
the rich will be affected"? Guess what, honey? Because of our business, your Grandmother and I are now considered to be the richest of the rich. On paper, it might look that way. But in the real world, we are far from it.
But, as you said while campaigning for Obama, some people will have to
carry more of the burden so all of America can prosper. You understand
what that means, right? It means that raising taxes on productive
people results in them having less money. Less money for everything,
including granddaughters.
Congratulations on your choice for "change". For future reference, I
encourage you to attempt to add up the total value of the gifts and
money you've received from us over the years, and compare it to what
you expect to get over the next four years from Mr. Obama.
Remember, we love you dearly... but from now on you'll need to call
the number referenced above when you need help.
Good luck, sweetheart.
Love, Grampa
Fw: Grandad's Letter
6/26/2009 01:56:00 PM
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Key Words:
BARACK OBAMA,
PRESIDENT,
TAXES
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11 comments:
So let me get this straight: Grandpa has a business which nets (NET, not gross) over 250K a year. Good on him. Now because of Obama he has to pay an additional 40 dollars in taxes for every 1000 dollars in profit (again, NET profit) And because of that, he's had to fire his secretary? A woman whose salary counts as part of business expenses? Amazing Grandpa stayed in business all these years, since he apparently knows nothing about accounting or tax law.
It wasn't the shrinking economy or the tanking stock market which did this poor guy's business in. It wasn't the rising cost of healthcare or energy. It was a 40 dollar tax on every 1000 dollars over 250K. Times must really be tough.
Of course this letter is obviously false and most likely written by a working class, non-business owning Republican who somehow is able to overlook the tax break Obama just gave him and his co-workers. Nice touches
1. the crashing stock market happened under W's reign of error but represents a steady erosion of financial regulations since FDR (enabled/enacted mainly by the GOP but Dems are responsible, too).
2. teabaggers whining about how high their taxes are now, need to get a grip. Their tax rates remain much lower than under St. Regan & Bush the elder.
3. everything comes down to choices & priorities as to how money is spent, even by good old "Grandpa."
my right wing family fumes about having to keep working "forever" bc of BHO (which is nuts), but a lot of it comes down to their personal lifestyle CHOICES. this forward paints the granddaughter as being a self-centered spendthrift who wastes money (a common whine from these conservatives: it's all the younger generation's fault).
Yet I watch my siblings go on (literally) EIGHT expensive vacations per year, plus live in GIANT homes which are furnished with very expensive antiques and so on.
EIGHT VACATIONS!!!!! Most to Europe (eg, not cheap).
And then they WHINE incessantly about how NOBama is ROBBING them.
Boo de effen hoooooooo!
Their cosmic disconnects and lack of personal honesty are really hard to take.
And yet again: BHO is giving away all of "their" money to "illegals." Well we just had a recent RWF that debunked that myth. They need to come up w/some new "arguments" for their tired old selfishness....
It doesn't even occur to gramps that anyone might have voted for Obama for any reason other than more money in her own pocket.
Now I have a better understanding of why Republicans don't 'get' Democrats.
Imaginary tales of woe and liberal straw men are just what I need to change my ridiculous liberal opinion.
(I bet the writer of this e-mail is about half a rung away from worshipping Regan like a god, and no doubt gives relatives "more than an earful" about what a political genius he was. But that's different somehow)
Yes, obviously a fake, but probably has some truth running through it. Either way, gramps is an asshole.
ZOMG, I was just listening to right-wing nitwit Glen Meakem (Pennsylvania internet millionaire and political aspirant), whose latest radio show features a gleeful dramatic reading of this Letter from Grandad. He characterizes it as an important object lesson in the Evils of Government, and though he admits it was an email forward from a reader and that "it might be a story someone wrote," that it doesn't matter because "it says it so carefully." (It's at about the 45:30 mark if you don't think you can take a full hour of his warmongering, free market fundamentalist dreck.)
First Anon - yup, for making as much money as he does, he's kind of an idiot. He never paid a dollar of taxes on any of the money he paid to his secretary; he just fired a nice write-off.
But let's try to find how much Gramps makes, anyway. Let's say the receptionist, between salary and payroll taxes, costs him $40K a year. Using the $40 hike for every $1000 of pure profit, he's have to be clearing 1.25 MILLION dollars a year in order for the Obama tax hike to cost him a receptionist's wages. If you can't retire "in a few years" pulling down that kind of coin, you're doing it wrong. Grampa is not everyman working middle class - he's filthy rich.
Now, let's talk about Ashley. She's not only a financial idiot, she also clearly got a free ride through college and has apparently leaned on relatives before when she got in trouble. I'm sure people like that "campaigned hard" for Obama, but I think that kind of college-age spoiled brat is much, MUCH more likely to have belonged to the Campus Republican club than worked for Obama.
Interesting how these forwards just get longer and longer as they get passed around. No sense of honing an argument here.
to Katz: stick around. The right wing forwards usually are incredibly long and include all kinds of rants, whines and baloney.
Succint they are not, nor are they particularly honest or fact-based.
Wow, it was awesome to see the older letter compared to this one. I did look for the "letter to grandpa" but must have missed it.
I was the one who submitted this (from my parent).
It was really hurtful to see how spoiled/bratty Ashley was painted because my pursuit of a degree is being funded by my parents. (That's where our similarities end if she's as prissy as the letter painted her to be! Eesh.)
A lot of the emails posted here are vile and hurtful in their words and symbols, but when you read it in the context of who is sending/receiving the email, it really shows the bitterness, spitefulness, and passive-aggression.
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