Dave Ramsey: Butt Scratchin' & Bass Fishin'

My post on June 12, was highlighting Dave Ramsey as a part of a four person panel on Larry King, discussing the state of our economy. If you happened to watch that particular show, and stuck with it through the panel discussions, you would have then seen Ben Stein in a discussion with a Harvard instructor (I forget who exactly) continuing the discussion of our current economy.

Now, I enjoyed Ben Stein's take in his documentary Expelled, but I am not a fan on his view of taxing the rich. If I recall correctly, he essentially argued that "the rich" should be taxed more in order to give to those who are less fortunate. I agree that the rich have an obligation to give, but only from the basis of my own views of Christianity. I don't think they should be obligated by government influence. I would be interested in hearing more about Stein's thoughts on this subject considering he is Jewish, because when it comes to giving to the poor or stimulating the economy, I wonder if the difference of opinion lies as a result of our religious background. Any Jewish readers care to comment? I sincerely would like to know. It may just be a personal opinion of Stein which is interesting considering he is wealthy too. If he think we should give more simply from a numbers game based on a flat percentage, then I can agree with him, but if the rich get a bigger percentage, I don't think it is right. For example, If everyone pays taxes at 10% then it makes sense that the rich give more money. That's how the numbers work, but I didn't get the impression that was what Stein was arguing.

Anyway, I say all of this because Dave Ramsey went on a rant during his radio show the other day addressing this issue of taxing the rich. I for one agree with Dave's take - don't! I am not wealthy compared to other Americans, namely Dave or Ben, but I don't think it is the government's job to determine who gives more or less depending on how much they make. Having said all of that, here is the transcript of a story Dave wrote that addresses this issue. He read it on the show. I liked it. What are your thoughts?

"Butt Scratching and Bass Fishing"

You can also read a good thread about people's reactions at MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com*


* Full disclosure: I work for Dave.

Ben Stein's Expelled

Yesterday, Dave treated the company to a showing of Ben Stein's documentary Expelled. It was a treat. Ben Stein has a great sense of humor.

In terms of a documentary, I thought it was very well done and was really enjoyable to watch. Plus, the point of the documentary, I thought, was even better. Ben Stein actually sets out to open the door (or tear down the walls) to discussing the issue of intelligent design as a legitimate argument in response to Darwinism. What I found most interesting about the documentary is that Stein does not argue in favor of intelligent design, but simply provides arguments that it has just as much of a place in science as Darwinism when it comes to discussion. In fact, he doesn't even try to make intelligent design an idea that belongs to Jews, Christians, or other faiths. He simply lays it out there as an idea that has just as much merit as Darwinism.

I know many people of faith, will be upset Stein did not push the envelope further and argue the existence of God in this film. However, I think the fact that he didn't gives his message more weight in the realm of scientific study and academia.

Here's a teaser from the film. If you've seen the film, what did you think?