Posted on 04/01/2004 8:21:59 AM PST by Gopher Broke
Budget Parable: The Tale of the Thrifty Wife
BILL JANIS
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Thursday, April 1, 2004
A husband and wife sat down on a Saturday afternoon for their monthly meeting to discuss the family finances. The wife, the bookkeeper of the family, was thrifty, prudent, and frugal. She began to outline, in brief and business-like fashion, the family's balance sheet - noting her husband's salary, the interest earned on their savings, the dividends from their modest family investments, and her fees collected for helping prepare tax returns for friends and neighbors.
As she began to outline, as was her custom, the status of their recurring expenses, her husband interrupted her abruptly and announced: "We need to buy a new car!"
As was her wont, the thrifty housewife answered patiently: "But why, pray tell, my husband? Your car still seems serviceable enough."
"My car, dear wife, is already five years old. It leaks oil. All four tires are bald in the tread. The time is long past due that I should have a new one!"
"But, husband, we simply cannot afford to make such a major purchase now. We have a mortgage to pay, and we still have not paid off the note on my car. The roof needs repairing before the weather turns, and the driveway must be resurfaced to fill the potholes. There are groceries to buy, and the children are growing out of their shoes and clothing as quickly as we hand them down and buy new ones. Besides, we must save and set aside what little we can for their college educations, not to mention our retirement.
"And I have not worked outside the home since our children were born, they came so frequently and in such great numbers, so we must make do on your salary alone. And these past three years have seen hard times. With the recession, many of our neighbors, and your co-workers for that matter, have lost their jobs at the plant. Who knows if you might not lose your job as well? How, pray tell, dear husband, can we afford this?"
"BUT, WIFE, there will never be a better time to buy a new car. Interest rates at historically low levels. Ninety days, no interest - same as cash. In fact, we'll get you a new car as well. With all the kids, you need a mini-van. You can't beat their trade-in values."
"Husband," she sighed, "we do not need, nor can we afford, a new car for you. If we can't afford one new car, we most certainly cannot buy two."
"But, honey," he implored, "we need a car and a minivan. Can't you see it is for the children's sake? You need to have the courage to invest in our family's future."
"Husband, I am thinking of our future and our long-term finances. We do not have a printing press for money in the basement. Where will we find the new money for such a major purchase? We would need to do without some more pressing necessity. We cannot turn to our parents again for help - they are poorer still than we. It is never wise to spend more money than we can expect to earn in a year, but in these times it would be reckless and irresponsible."
"WIFE, WE ARE as wealthy as any family in the neighborhood, and wealthier than some. Every man in this neighborhood is proud to drive to work each day in a brand-new, shiny car. But because of your stingy, closed-fisted manner, I must drive to work in a five-year-old sedan. It is an embarrassment. I need a new car, and I will have one - or else."
"But, husband, " she answered, somewhat alarmed, "are we not equal partners in this marriage? If we cannot both agree that it is prudent to make such a major financial commitment at this time, then would it not be better to delay this decision, and focus our limited resources on our current, pressing needs, until we know if the economy will improve and our finances will support this? Your foreman said that orders at the plant are increasing, and soon you may get a pay raise. We will delay the driveway repairs (it will serve us another winter yet) and instead buy four new tires and a tune-up for your car today! Perhaps next year we can afford a shiny new car for you."
"Hear me, wife," he concluded, "I am the breadwinner in this house. If I cannot buy a new car this year, I will not sign the mortgage check this month." And he slammed the door as he stormed out of the kitchen.
. . .
The headstrong husband, whose wants exceed his needs, is the Virginia Senate. The thrifty wife, who recognizes that the family's needs already exceed their resources, is the House of Delegates. The parents, who find themselves ever impoverished and put-upon time and again by their spendthrift children, are the taxpayers - for our government is born of the people. The plant foreman is the embattled economy, emerging unsteadily from the jaws of recession but poised to expand rapidly and grow, if left unmolested. There is no character for Governor Mark Warner, for regrettably to date he has contented himself to sit on the sidelines and play no useful part in resolving this unfolding family crisis.
Bill Janis represents the 56th district - the counties of Goochland, Henrico (part), and Louisa - in Virginia's House of Delegates.
Oh I don't know... at this point I'd include him as the car dealer who is convincing the headstrong husband that the shiny new toy he's about to purchase is a real bargain, rather than a lemon...
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