EPISODE 217 – Chilian Tax

Summary: There's a reason I spelled Chilean the way I did in the episode title. Let me back up though for a moment. Perhaps you saw this on the news as well, but US Olympic athletes are taxed on the medals and prize money they win while repping our country in the big games. Thanks for making us look good by busting ass all year and winning the gold, now please make an $8,000 check payable to Uncle Sam. A bill is in the works in Congress... when they return from vacation that is... to make Olympians tax exempt. It astounds us that this wasn't already the law. At this point you're probably thinking, "Am I listening to Who Asked You? or Meet The Press?" We talked a lot about taxes last week too. But, the absurdity that is the United States Tax Code fuels a good, continuous, ribbing from the crew. So, after talking about what Phelps and friends will dole out for their hard work, we transition into what Chili's suggests we dole out for good waiters. It seems 'tipping' is turning more and more into 'taxing' these days. Gratuity conversations have paid out a number of times on this show because, like taxes, it's getting ridiculous! On a recent visit to Chili's we discovered they are now calculating the tip for you on your receipt. You're not obligated to pay the amount, but they've taken it upon themselves to do the math for you assuming your server deserves it. Unfortunately for them, the suggested tip they calculated was lower than what I was planning to leave. It's a bit insulting to be told what you should leave your waiter. What if he or she blew? What if they were really awesome? Americans are lazy enough, it won't hurt us to do a little arithmetic in our heads. I could've called this episode any number of stupid titles, "Tip-Tax-Toe" or "Taxing Situation" or "Tip Over," but in the end I decided to squarely plant blame on Chili's. The meat of the show starts off with the 2012 Azeroth census. It finds there are about a million less wizards and other whimsical creatures roaming World of Warcraft. The game's makers don't seem too concerned though. They say most of them will probably be back with the next expansion release, or when they get bored with Diablo III. In other WoW news, the movie is still moving forward. It's got a new screenwriter. Sam Raimi is out as director and a search is on for someone else. We IMDb Denzel Washington and breakdown the good and bad of his career with the announcement that he'll be starring in a new feature film version of the 80s series THE EQUALIZER. And we breakdown the results to a study about air travel. They aren't surprising. It looked at what annoys passengers the most on an airplane. Farts and B.O. make the list, as well as the oft being seated next to a fat person. But neither of those are the number-one gripe. Tune-in to hear the top-five. Finally, there are a number of things we'd drive over with a monster truck or giant tractor. In Vermont, a farmer decided he'd get back at police for a drug possession arrest by running over their fleet of cop cars. Once again, we're back on the subject of taxes. It's our tax dollars, or in this case, the residents of Montpelier, Vermont's tax dollars, that paid for those cars. In the end, it's just more money out of their's and the farmer's pockets. That's the way I see it anyway. The fellas have a slightly different take. What would you crush with a tractor if given the chance? You'll hear our hit list. It's just the 'tip' of the iceberg. Damn it, that shoulda been the title! New episodes return Sunday, August 19th LIVE in ErrorFM.com. As always, they'll be up on this site, Mondays at 3pm/PT for your downloading pleasure. Join us then! SHOW LINKS: Auction: Matthew Broderick's Leather Jacket from "Ferris Bueller" World of Warcraft Legendary Entertainment Pre-Order "World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria" Star Wars: The Old Republic Star Trek: Online Read about "The Equalizer" on IMDb Buy "The Equalizer (Season 1" on DVD Dreamworks Studios