Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for July 14, 2018

First lesson: never start too high when negotiating. Should have started with $10 and may ended up with $5.

My father did that to a cousin and me when we were little. Lol

Calvin said he would take the dollar, he didn’t say he would do the job!

He overestimated his bargaining position…

Not bad Dad, Vito Corleone would be proud of you.

Even to this day, I always do as I’m told. Guess that’s why I turned out the way I did.

Could have been worse; Calvin would’ve done ALL his chores for nothing.

Memories of a neighbourhood kid in the early seventies mowing my dad’s lawn and then demanding 30 dollars for it. My dad laughed him off the porch and gave him the going rate. After that the kid was known as “the thirty dollar idiot.”

Money up front, ‘cause you can’t trust family..

I would have waited to see what kind of job he did before forking over the money. That’s how my kids did chores. That way they have to do their best if they want to get paid.

I don’t think that I would ever call Calvin a smart kid.

That a dad’s way: using positive and negative incentives to make a point

Saw my 2 nephews last Sunday for dinner – they mentioned the story that when they were younger they cut the lawn for their grandparents. Gramma came out and asked if they wanted a drink which she brought out. When it came time for payment, she gave them $10 dollars each, and then took 1 Loonie away for the cost of the drink.

Trumped by Dad.

Looks like Dad read “The Art of The Deal.”

When I was a kid, me and two friends would go around the neighborhood and cut the grass, trim the edges and sweep up the cuttings for $3 (a buck each) and in the winter we’d shovel out their driveways and walkways for the same amount.

When I was about Calvin’s age a dollar bought 10 comic books.

Next thing you know, Dad’s taking the dollar back after he’s finished.

Shows you how times change. When we were kids, such chores were our part for staying rent-free in the home. If I had asked for a dollar, my father would have had a laughing fit before punishing me!

I used to ask my father for payment for menial tasks. He said that he paid me three times a day. In food.