Sharing the Wealth

thanks to Nick L. for posting this note earlier today.........


A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat and was very much in favor of the redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.

He responded by asking how she was doing in school. Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?"

She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus, college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over." 

Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the Republican Party."

SC Collegiate Entrepreneur Award 2005

While attending Clemson University, I started my own successful business tuning and upgrading performance vehicles, starting with the Mazda RX-7. More information about the business can be found on my About Me page on my site, but in regards to the SCCEA 2005 First Place win, here's the picture and a link to the PDF file:

me receiving my award

From left to right: Hunter Howard, President, S.C. Chamber of Commerce, Vincie Albritton, Marketing Director for the Office of Technology Transfer, Clemson University Research Foundation, Judge in 2005 SCCEA Competition, Kim Dawson, Associate Director, Spiro Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Mike Garcia, First Place Winner, 2005 SCCEA Competition, Nuby Fowler, Regional Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration, Elliott Cooper, District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration

CLEMSON ENTREPRENEURS TAKE TOP HONORS IN COLLEGIATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION (PDF file - pgs 10, 11)
Clemson University students have taken the top two awards in the 2005 South Carolina Collegiate Entrepreneurship Award (SCCEA) competition, sponsored by the Spiro Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Mike Garcia, a senior business management major from McLean, Virginia, received the $2,000 cash prize for his company, P.S.I. Motorsports, a compact sports car modification company... Garcia [was] recognized at the U.S. Small Business Administration's Small Business Week luncheon in Columbia on April 21. In his acceptance speech before an audience of over 250 people, Mike Garcia told an inspiring story of the encouragement he had received from his parents when he was accepted at Clemson University and their concern when he decided to start a business while in school. With the success of his business and his graduation from Clemson set for May, the SC Collegiate Entrepreneurship Award adds to the list of reasons for Garcia's parents to be proud.