And one was wealthy; one was poor

WASHINGTON—Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is proposing an annual wealth tax, attempting to combat inequality and raise trillions of dollars with a significant new levy on the very richest Americans.

Ms. Warren’s proposal would impose a 2% annual tax on household wealth above $50 million and an additional 1% tax on wealth above $1 billion. The tax would affect about 75,000 households and raise $2.75 trillion over a decade, according to economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, who analyzed the plan for the Massachusetts senator.

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The stork dropped in to town one day;

two infants in two cribs did lay.

And one was wealthy; one was poor.

So one had less and one had more.

 Do not hasten to conclusion;

down the road there'll be confusion!

Poverty and wealth aren't easy

to define if you are breezy.

The wealthy babe grew up with cash;

enough so he could make a splash

by giving much to charity

and living pretty worry free.

In fact, the older that he grew

the less was money like a glue

that stuck to him through thick and thin.

(His bankers thought his gifts a sin.)

So when he reached a ripe old age

his wealth had not become a cage;

unlike that Bible rich guy, Dives,

our friend was happy (no ex-wives.)

Yet it did please the IRS

to cause this man complete distress;

they wanted all his wealth to tax,

but found he gave away such stacks

that there was little left to grab,

and so they sent the cops to nab

him for an unjust allegation --

he was charged with tax evasion!

And now he languishes in jail;

his spirits droop, his skin is pale.

He's stamping license plates all day,

and wonders how he went astray.

The other babe, in poverty,

grew up a welfare prodigy;

while on the dole he learned to shirk

and to avoid all honest work.

Beguiled by government largesse

he spent his time in playing chess,

and learned the game so well that he

soon gained complete proficiency.

He entered tournaments galore

and soon built up a mighty store

of prize money that made him rich.

(And still he never worked a stitch.)

Retired to a Swiss chalet

he whiles away each pleasant day

in teaching idle youth to play

the game of chess his winning way. 

So there you have my moral tale;

I hope it wasn't very stale.

When all is over, said, and done,

just which of these two really won?