Le Vieux Lapin also contributed the following, also from the September Funny Times:
I assume this is an Oprah reference, but beyond that??
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16 Comments
Oprah has a reputation for philanthropic gifts; on one famous occasion she gave a car to every person in the studio audience. However, as noted above, the question is how (or whether) turning “everyone gets a car” into “everyone gets an A” makes the situation “funny”, even if it isn’t 100% clear that the teacher is giving an A to everyone in the class.
No matter who paid for the automobiles (the stunt was a product placement coup for GM), they were clearly “gifts”. On the other hand, while many of the students in this comic might be pleased to get a “free” A, it’s quite likely that those who actually earned an A on that test might be rather annoyed that their accomplishments were effectively neutralized.
I think it’s notable that the teacher is distributing these scores by waving his hand without apparently touching any of them. I don’t know what it means, but it’s got to mean something.
He’s throwing the grade cards out into the class, not using telekinesis.
That said, this is a FERPA violation, since he’s telling the whole class what grade each kid got.
No matter who paid for the automobiles (the stunt was a product placement coup for GM), they were clearly “gifts”.
Actually, the IRS disagreed with you: because of their promotional nature, the cars were not deemed “gifts”, and thus everyone who received one now had to pay tax on 1/3 of the value of said car — those audience members weren’t that happy…
I think this is some kind of boomer joke decrying the “participation trophy” generation, where the teacher is afraid to give out anything but A’s so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings. The Oprah “you get a car! you get a car! everyone gets a car!” incident is a popular meme used to demonstrate this (see https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/28986512/Oprah—you-get-a-car ).
had to pay tax of ~1/3 of the value…
I see it as a statement on grade inflation, using Oprah’s meme of “and you get a…” to satirize it.
Correction noted!
(This would be more.)
The tax one would pay would depend on individual circumstances. The value of the prize (that appears to be what they were considered) was issued on a 1099-MISC to be included as ordinary income on the recipient’s tax return.
So it would depend on the tax bracket(s) the money fell into and any applicable state tax. At the time, many would have fallen into the 25% and/or 28% Federal brackets. So 1/3 is a good ballpark for many, especially as I think a lot of attendees were California residents with its rather high state tax.
About the Oprah car thing, it was not a random audience, and whoever happened to attend that day all got cars. It was a specially selected audience all of whom were in various hardships, and “deserved” cars.
Just sayin’
The bottom line is that the event occurred nearly two decades ago (this Friday will be the 20th anniversary), but people are still aware of what Oprah did, and are composing comics about it, and discussing the details online.
I’m sorry, I don’t agree he’s “throwing” the cards.
His left hand is firmly on the desk. His right hand is in a pointing position, not suitable for throwing. That hand gesture in no way resembles what it would look like having just thrown a card. The depicted motion path of the card does not intersect either of his hands. One card is just being caught by its student, while the next is already in the air.
I think TedD has explained it correctly, but I also think this is an editorial cartoon referencing some recent grade inflation scandal, probably local to wherever the Hoover Digest is published. I base this on the specificity of “9th grade math”.
Dvandom: Wow re FERPA. Not having been in school for, um, almost 50 years, I was unaware. I guess the old dividing the class into the Road Runners and the Sloths* based on reading speed wouldn’t fly any more, either!
*Yes, a callback to the previous day’s comic
larK Doesn’t surprise me that they decided it was income.
For purposes of United States income tax, prizes are income. See 26 U.S. Code Section 74.
Comics I Don't Understand 
Oprah has a reputation for philanthropic gifts; on one famous occasion she gave a car to every person in the studio audience. However, as noted above, the question is how (or whether) turning “everyone gets a car” into “everyone gets an A” makes the situation “funny”, even if it isn’t 100% clear that the teacher is giving an A to everyone in the class.
No matter who paid for the automobiles (the stunt was a product placement coup for GM), they were clearly “gifts”. On the other hand, while many of the students in this comic might be pleased to get a “free” A, it’s quite likely that those who actually earned an A on that test might be rather annoyed that their accomplishments were effectively neutralized.
I think it’s notable that the teacher is distributing these scores by waving his hand without apparently touching any of them. I don’t know what it means, but it’s got to mean something.
He’s throwing the grade cards out into the class, not using telekinesis.
That said, this is a FERPA violation, since he’s telling the whole class what grade each kid got.
No matter who paid for the automobiles (the stunt was a product placement coup for GM), they were clearly “gifts”.
Actually, the IRS disagreed with you: because of their promotional nature, the cars were not deemed “gifts”, and thus everyone who received one now had to pay tax on 1/3 of the value of said car — those audience members weren’t that happy…
I think this is some kind of boomer joke decrying the “participation trophy” generation, where the teacher is afraid to give out anything but A’s so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings. The Oprah “you get a car! you get a car! everyone gets a car!” incident is a popular meme used to demonstrate this (see https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/28986512/Oprah—you-get-a-car ).
had to pay tax of ~1/3 of the value…
I see it as a statement on grade inflation, using Oprah’s meme of “and you get a…” to satirize it.
Correction noted!
(This would be more.)
The tax one would pay would depend on individual circumstances. The value of the prize (that appears to be what they were considered) was issued on a 1099-MISC to be included as ordinary income on the recipient’s tax return.
So it would depend on the tax bracket(s) the money fell into and any applicable state tax. At the time, many would have fallen into the 25% and/or 28% Federal brackets. So 1/3 is a good ballpark for many, especially as I think a lot of attendees were California residents with its rather high state tax.
About the Oprah car thing, it was not a random audience, and whoever happened to attend that day all got cars. It was a specially selected audience all of whom were in various hardships, and “deserved” cars.
Just sayin’
The bottom line is that the event occurred nearly two decades ago (this Friday will be the 20th anniversary), but people are still aware of what Oprah did, and are composing comics about it, and discussing the details online.
I’m sorry, I don’t agree he’s “throwing” the cards.
His left hand is firmly on the desk. His right hand is in a pointing position, not suitable for throwing. That hand gesture in no way resembles what it would look like having just thrown a card. The depicted motion path of the card does not intersect either of his hands. One card is just being caught by its student, while the next is already in the air.
I think TedD has explained it correctly, but I also think this is an editorial cartoon referencing some recent grade inflation scandal, probably local to wherever the Hoover Digest is published. I base this on the specificity of “9th grade math”.
Dvandom: Wow re FERPA. Not having been in school for, um, almost 50 years, I was unaware. I guess the old dividing the class into the Road Runners and the Sloths* based on reading speed wouldn’t fly any more, either!
*Yes, a callback to the previous day’s comic
larK Doesn’t surprise me that they decided it was income.
For purposes of United States income tax, prizes are income. See 26 U.S. Code Section 74.