The Modern Red Hen by Ronald Reagan

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The Modern Red Hen or The Incredible Bread Machine radio message was given by Ronald Reagan in 1976. Reagan gave the story a modern economic spin. It is as relevant today as it was in 1976.

A modern day little red hen may not sound like or appear to be a quotable authority on economics but then some authorities arenโ€™t worth quoting. Iโ€™ll be right back.

About a year ago I imposed a little poetry on you. It was called โ€œThe Incredible Bread Machineโ€ and made a lot of sense with reference to matters economic. You didnโ€™t object too much so having gotten away with it once Iโ€™m going to try again. This is a little treatise on basic economics called โ€œThe Modern little Red Hen.โ€

Once upon a time there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered some grains of wheat. She called her neighbors and said โ€˜If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?โ€™

โ€œNot I, โ€œsaid the cow.

โ€œNot I,โ€ said the duck.

โ€œNot I,โ€ said the pig.

โ€œNot I,โ€ said the goose.

โ€œThen I will,โ€ said the little red hen. And she did. The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. โ€œWho will help me reap my wheat?โ€ asked the little red hen.

โ€œNot I,โ€ said the duck.

โ€œOut of my classification,โ€ said the pig.

โ€œIโ€™d lose my seniority,โ€ said the cow.

โ€œIโ€™d lose my unemployment compensation,โ€ said the goose.

โ€œThen I will,โ€ said the little red hen, and she did.

At last the time came to bake the bread. โ€œWho will help me bake bread?โ€ asked the little red hen.

โ€œThat would be overtime for me,โ€ said the cow.

โ€œIโ€™d lose my welfare benefits,โ€ said the duck.

โ€œIโ€™m a dropout and never learned how,โ€ said the pig.

โ€œIf Iโ€™m to be the only helper, thatโ€™s discrimination,โ€ said the goose.

โ€œThen I will,โ€ said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for the neighbors to see.

They all wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, โ€œNo, I can eat the five loaves myself.โ€

โ€œExcess profits,โ€ cried the cow.

โ€œCapitalist leech,โ€ screamed the duck.

โ€œI demand equal rights,โ€ yelled the goose.

And the pig just grunted.

And they painted โ€œunfairโ€ picket signs and marched round and around the little red hen shouting obscenities.

When the government agent came, he said to the little red hen, โ€œYou must not be greedy.โ€

โ€œBut I earned the bread,โ€ said the little red hen.

โ€œExactly,โ€ said the agent. โ€œThatโ€™s the wonderful free enterprise system. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations productive workers must divide their products with the idle.โ€

And they lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, โ€œI am grateful, I am grateful.โ€ But her neighbors wondered why she never again baked any more bread.

The Thinking Conservative
The Thinking Conservativehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/
The goal of THE THINKING CONSERVATIVE is to help us educate ourselves on conservative topics of importance to our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. We do this by sharing conservative opinions on all kinds of subjects, from all types of people, and all kinds of media, in a way that will challenge our perceptions and help us to make educated choices.

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