Tall Tales

With finals right around the corner, it's difficult to not constantly think about school and the projects I have to do before the end of the semester.

The smallest and tallest men in the world.

In my Principles of Economics class, for example, I recently gave a presentation on the height tax.  It is statistically proven that tall people (above the national height average) make more money than short people (below the national height average), as tall people are more likely to have developed to their full cognitive potential.  Essentially, tall people were more likely to be well nourished and educated as children, which allowed them to 1.) grow tall and strong, and 2.) develop a high IQ.  The height tax suggests the government tax tall people more than their shorter peers because tall people can't help that they innately make more money.  Their income is based on an involuntary condition - being tall - so a height tax would defer our system away from heavily taxing people who work extraordinarily hard for their high income.

As a tall person myself - six inches above the national female average - I had fun debating the pros and cons of such a proposition.  First of all, it does seem very alarming that with the height tax, I would be taxed more than my shorter coworkers who make the same income as me.  It seems a little unfair that I would be singled out for being tall, but then again the government already taxes according to other demographics such as personal disabilities, number of children, charitable contributions, and, of course, level of income.  Through the height tax, perhaps being short will become a personal disability?

That being said, I think it is much more important to consider why it is that tall people have such an economic advantage.  That's easy: their parents were able to provide them with proper nutrition and a good education.  The way to solve the height advantage is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to become a "tall person" by having access to healthy and intellectually stimulating conditions.  Until that happens, the height tax may always be a possibility.

Secondly, I've been working on a research proposal for my Mass Media Seminar course.  I have been investigating the effect of lying behavior portrayed on prime-time television on the behavior of children.  Children already develop with a healthy capability to lie, but watching television programs that feature characters being dishonest in order to get what they want may disrupt the honesty and lying guilt that children form as they grow into adults.

So that's little look at what's on my plate right now.  The great thing is that I had the chance to choose my own topic for each of these projects, so the research and work isn't so hard when I'm working on something I'm interested in.  I encourage you to use that opportunity to your full advantage in college.  Your work will never be dull and you'll learn so much along the way!