Difference between revisions of "985: Percentage Points"

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*{{w|Time Cube}} Guy is Gene Ray, also known as Otis E. Ray. He has a website known as Time Cube where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls Time Cube. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong, in addition to claiming that religion is evil, specifically Christianity, and that the idea of family is poisoning children.
 
*{{w|Time Cube}} Guy is Gene Ray, also known as Otis E. Ray. He has a website known as Time Cube where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls Time Cube. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong, in addition to claiming that religion is evil, specifically Christianity, and that the idea of family is poisoning children.
 
*College Scholarships to Sexually Active Teens: Many people think adolescents should not engage in sexual activity, let alone encouraged to do so by college scholarships. This is the opposite of {{w|Abstinence-only sex education|abstinence programs}}, which encourage teens not to be sexually active until marriage.
 
*College Scholarships to Sexually Active Teens: Many people think adolescents should not engage in sexual activity, let alone encouraged to do so by college scholarships. This is the opposite of {{w|Abstinence-only sex education|abstinence programs}}, which encourage teens not to be sexually active until marriage.
*Illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen: {{w|Illegal immigration to the United States|Illegal immigration}} is a highly controversial topic in the United States. One argument against illegal immigration is that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens. Proponents of immigration assert that this is not the case, since more people in the overall economy creates jobs. Neither group would be in favor of illegal immigrants murdering citizens even though it would not result in a net gain or loss in population.
+
*Illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen: {{w|Illegal immigration to the United States|Illegal immigration}} is a highly controversial topic in the United States. One argument against illegal immigration is that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens. Proponents of immigration assert that this is not the case, since more people in the overall economy creates jobs and brings in more sales tax revenue. Neither group would be in favor of illegal immigrants murdering citizens even though it would not result in a net gain or loss in population.
*Graduated income tax based on penis size: Many men are sensitive about their penis size and would probably consider the measurement of their penises for tax assessment purposes an enormous embarrassment and invasion of privacy. Even the fact that those with relatively smaller penises would be levied less tax than those with larger penises would probably not be sufficient for them to accept this policy, and even if they did, those with larger penises would probably consider this policy to be unfair.
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*Graduated income tax based on penis size: Many men are sensitive about their penis size and would probably consider the measurement of their penises for tax assessment purposes an enormous embarrassment and invasion of privacy. Even the scenario in which those with relatively smaller penises would be levied less tax than those with larger penises would probably not be sufficient for them to accept this policy, and even if they did, those with larger penises would probably consider this policy to be unfair. And the alternative - a scenario in which ''larger'' penises pay less taxes - would be both unfair and incredibly demeaning.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==

Revision as of 05:05, 10 August 2014

Percentage Points
Grayton also proposed making college scholarships available exclusively to sexually active teens, amnesty for illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen, and a graduated income tax based on penis size. He has been endorsed by Tracy Morgan, John Wilkes Booth's ghost, and the Time Cube guy.
Title text: Grayton also proposed making college scholarships available exclusively to sexually active teens, amnesty for illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen, and a graduated income tax based on penis size. He has been endorsed by Tracy Morgan, John Wilkes Booth's ghost, and the Time Cube guy.

Explanation

Senator Grayton is a fictional character, made up for this comic, which is unusual for xkcd, which typically uses real-world references.

The issues that Grayton supports:

  • Tax Breaks to Drunk Drivers: Grayton proposes giving those who have been convicted of a DUI or DWI (i.e. Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Intoxicated) money back on their taxes, when those infractions are typically severely penalized, as drunk driving has resulted in numerous deaths.
  • Predator Drones and the War on Christmas: The War on Christmas is not a real war; it is simply the perception by some Christians that non-Christians are trying to replace traditional Christmas imagery with more inclusive and generic holiday customs. No politicians have explicitly announced their support of the "War on Christmas," and the idea that one would not only do so, but would also want to use drones —ostensibly to harm or possibly kill people— in the effort is an absurd exaggeration of a relatively harmless culture war.

The caption's issue with "percentage" versus "percentage points" is that if Grayton's 20% approval rating drops by 19%, that means that his support has only dropped 3.8 percentage points since 19% of 20% is only 3.8%. That would mean that even after all his outrageous statements, his support dropped only from 20% to 16.2%. However, if the news reports that his 20% approval rating dropped 19 percentage points, that means his support has dropped to 1%, which appears to be more accurate given Grayton's egregious policy decisions and the description of his campaign as having "imploded."

References in the title text:

  • Tracy Morgan is an actor who plays himself in the TV Show 30 Rock. He has been reprimanded for controversial comments on homosexuals and Sarah Palin (in separate incidents).
  • John Wilkes Booth is the person who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. He was a Confederate sympathizer and supported slavery.
  • Time Cube Guy is Gene Ray, also known as Otis E. Ray. He has a website known as Time Cube where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls Time Cube. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong, in addition to claiming that religion is evil, specifically Christianity, and that the idea of family is poisoning children.
  • College Scholarships to Sexually Active Teens: Many people think adolescents should not engage in sexual activity, let alone encouraged to do so by college scholarships. This is the opposite of abstinence programs, which encourage teens not to be sexually active until marriage.
  • Illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen: Illegal immigration is a highly controversial topic in the United States. One argument against illegal immigration is that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens. Proponents of immigration assert that this is not the case, since more people in the overall economy creates jobs and brings in more sales tax revenue. Neither group would be in favor of illegal immigrants murdering citizens even though it would not result in a net gain or loss in population.
  • Graduated income tax based on penis size: Many men are sensitive about their penis size and would probably consider the measurement of their penises for tax assessment purposes an enormous embarrassment and invasion of privacy. Even the scenario in which those with relatively smaller penises would be levied less tax than those with larger penises would probably not be sufficient for them to accept this policy, and even if they did, those with larger penises would probably consider this policy to be unfair. And the alternative - a scenario in which larger penises pay less taxes - would be both unfair and incredibly demeaning.

Transcript

[An average news anchor reading news copy of below average intelligence appears on a TV, with Cueball watching it in utter disgust.]
News Anchor: Senator Grayton's campaign has imploded following the candidate's promise to give tax breaks to drunk drivers and to authorize the use of unmanned Predator drones in the War On Christmas. Grayton had been polling at 20%, but his support has since plunged by 19%.
I hate the ambiguity created when people don't distinguish between percentages and percentage points.


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Discussion

Our study shows that only 5% of people know the difference between percentages and percentage points. This is 50% lower than in 2009. --DiEvAl (talk) 06:30, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

Actually, penis size based tax is a brilliant idea. You only have to tax proportional to size, and, now comes the utterly clever part, let the male citizen self-declare his penis size. Voila, tax flow will always be higher than planned. 108.162.230.89 17:58, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

I am glad that under this system my tax burden would be unashamedly miniscule! Which is probably something no one wanted to know! -Pennpenn 162.158.2.221 06:15, 15 June 2015 (UTC)
  You've overlooked the fact that there is no reference to whether the measurement would be plus or minus and where the measurement would be taken. The tax could be on those with small (or no) penises. And to do it that way would make sure the tax included both those with and those without a penis.

Perhaps age could be a factor and of course shrinkage must be taken into consideration. Jakee308 (talk) 11:21, 16 June 2015 (UTC)

I was actually 108.162.230.89's idea, not what's in the comic. That concept was self declaring, so no measurement, and proportional, so "larger size = higher tax". -Pennpenn 162.158.2.221 23:54, 18 June 2015 (UTC)