The Perfect Milestone Post

Featured Instigator Kevin Downing steals post #100 on the blog. In and of itself, this is a milestone that may someday rank alongside the great moments in American history, such as the signing of the Declaration of Independance, Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and the time Dylan McKay interrupted Donna Martin's debutante party on 90210.

But Kevin finds the perfect post, from the blog of James Maule, a law professor at Villanova University, who hit upon the perfect way to introduce tax law to his students on his blog Mauled Again in a post dated July 18th (you'll need to scroll down):

Tax is complicated. But it's not the most complicated thing.

Friends who have studied nuclear physics claim tax is more complicated.
Einstein said something to that effect, too. Puts my friends in good
company.

Yesterday I watched a cricket match, and my cousin (many times removed)
explained the basics and some of the more advanced rules. Baseball it isn't
(though some of the terminology is the same).

Whoever invented cricket died, and then reincarnated as the inventor of
income tax.

Perhaps if I begin the basic tax class with a cricket rules lesson, the
students will be thrilled to ease up with a study of the Internal Revenue Code,
its regulations, and all the law associated with it.

As Kevin noted, he thought I would "find it interesting due to your occupation, your heritage, your choice of undergrad school, and of course, your love of cricket." Not to mention my love of blogging. As for my love of cricket, who can't love a sport where people use terms like "golden duck" and "wicket maiden"?

Apparently, this tale appearred in the Wall Street Journal today, although I'm not looking for it at present. Better yet, thanks to feedback from an Aussie reader, Maule today noted some differences from cricket, but it ends with this statement:

Oh, yeah, I said "guy" as though I'm assuming that it was a male who invented
cricket and the income tax. Well, it WAS men (not just one) who were
responsible. I don't know what cricket would have been had it been invented by
women, as I'm still trying to figure out what it is. As for the income tax, who
knows? I think it would have been different, but probably no less complicated.

Not that I'm disputing historical fact, but the tax code has only become more complex over the last few decades... as more and more women became part of the legislative bodies that enact the Code, not to mention as more and more women presumably became employees of the Treasury Department and the IRS, which administer the Code.

Clearly, the two things are completely unrelated.