# how to interpret this email? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780 "2010-03-25T18:50:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ultraman100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b77776/32.png) [@ultraman100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultraman100)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/1 "2010-03-25T18:50:30Z")
I told my dad I’d be seeking a second degree in science (first being an arts degree). He seemed pleased, and responded with something similar to: “I’m counting on you and others to support my social security and medicare in the future.” How do you interpret this? Is he suggesting he will want me to support him financially indirectly (as any other taxpayer who’s taxes build social security and medicare) or directly (as in cash in hand)? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/2 "2010-03-25T18:54:38Z")
Maybe he means that with a science degree, you’ll get a “real job,” instead of pushing fries with an arts degree. Maybe he’s not like that, but a lot of people are. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/3 "2010-03-25T18:55:01Z")
“…you and others…” would suggest indirectly. But an odd response nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/4 "2010-03-25T19:06:12Z")
Apparently he’s pleased at the thought of you getting a well paying job and contributing to the tax base. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/5 "2010-03-25T19:07:51Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Apparently he’s pleased at the thought of you getting a well paying job and contributing to the tax base. That’s how I took it. As well as a not so subtle dig at your arts degree. ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/6 "2010-03-25T19:17:08Z")
“You’ll make a lot of money. You’ll pay a lot of taxes. I will benefit from those taxes.” ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/7 "2010-03-25T19:38:46Z")
Have you considered asking him? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/8 "2010-03-25T19:45:26Z")
He definitely means “You getting a science degree means that you can get a real job, as opposed to your arts degree which is worthless. That means you’ll be boosting the tax base, which benefits me.” He’s mixing in a dig at your worthless degree with a dig at how old he’s getting. I think the thing you’re missing is that science=paycheck while arts=poverty. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/9 "2010-03-25T19:56:40Z")
Make money. Pay taxes. Helps him. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/10 "2010-03-25T20:02:01Z")
[moderating] This isn’t really a GQ with a definitive answer, so I moved the thread to IMHO. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/11 "2010-03-25T20:28:59Z")
Given recent events I’d guess that he’s trying to make a political point. ---
**Author:** ![Jelly\_Roll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Jelly\_Roll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelly_Roll)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/12 "2010-03-25T20:32:42Z")
Nearly every morning as I’m going off to work my dad tells me to go to work and pay into Social Security so he can keep living the dream (he’s retired). It’s was only marginally amusing the first time he said it; I’ve heard it every work day for the past year and it’s just downright annoying now. I think our dads must think alike. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/13 "2010-03-25T20:43:04Z")
Tell him you’re planning to move back home while you’re in school. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/14 "2010-03-25T21:26:57Z")
Just a joke. My parents have been making that joke for years. It’s dorky, but they’re parents. It’s what they do. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/15 "2010-03-25T21:43:29Z")
Reply “Oh god no. I’m planning to put you in a home as quickly as possible.” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/16 "2010-03-25T22:01:31Z")
How do you get from this (bolding mine): “I’m counting on you and others to support **my social security and medicare** in the future.” To this?: Is he suggesting he will want me to support him…directly (as in cash in hand)? Where in his statement is there even the slightest wisp of a hint about supporting him directly? It’s a droll backwards compliment on pursuing a course that will likely provide you with a good income. Instead of “Congratulations! Now you’ll be able to make a good living” he’s saying “Congratulations! Now you’ll be able to pay enough taxes to help ensure my government benefits will continue.” ---
**Author:** ![ultraman100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b77776/32.png) [@ultraman100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultraman100)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/17 "2010-03-25T22:24:33Z")
Thanks for your replies. Here is a follow up question: What is the norm for upper middle class kids in terms of supporting their parents. What do you think is a good target figure to set aside for supporting upper middle class parents. Is anything even expected? Are the parents expected to only live off the savings/interest they built up over the course of their careers, plus ss and medicare? What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/18 "2010-03-25T22:58:04Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > He definitely means “You getting a science degree means that you can get a real job, as opposed to your arts degree which is worthless. That means you’ll be boosting the tax base, which benefits me.” > > He’s mixing in a dig at your worthless degree with a dig at how old he’s getting. I think the thing you’re missing is that science=paycheck while arts=poverty. I wouldn’t put it quite so harshly—just that, especially in the present economy, the chances of getting a high-paying, secure job with a science degree (or better yet, a science degree _and_ an arts degree) are significantly better than they are with an arts degree alone. For the record, I agree with **Gary T** ’s interpretation. > [@ultraman100](#): > > What is the norm for upper middle class kids in terms of supporting their parents. What do you think is a good target figure to set aside for supporting upper middle class parents. Is anything even expected? Are the parents expected to only live off the savings/interest they built up over the course of their careers, plus ss and medicare? What do you think? Most typically, upper middle class parents will have set aside/invested enough money to retire comfortably, either on their own or through a retirement/pension plan from the company they worked for. Planning for their retirement is their own responsibility, not their kids’. (Which is not to say the kids wouldn’t or shouldn’t help out if their elderly parents were in need.) ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/19 "2010-03-26T00:17:42Z")
> [@ultraman100](#): > > I told my dad I’d be seeking a second degree in science (first being an arts degree). He seemed pleased, and responded with something similar to: > > “I’m counting on you and others to support my social security and medicare in the future.” > How do you interpret this? Is he suggesting he will want me to support him financially indirectly (as any other taxpayer who’s taxes build social security and medicare) or directly (as in cash in hand)? I think you should interpret it as a situation in which you need to ask your dad what he meant. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-interpret-this-email/533780/20 "2010-03-26T02:30:04Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:10, topic:533780”] [moderating] This isn’t really a GQ with a definitive answer, so I moved the thread to IMHO. [/moderating] [/QUOTE] Yes it is. The question is what did his dad mean, and the definitive answer would be from asking his dad, as has been suggested.