Problem by Analogy

Know what the single biggest problem with arguing by analogy? Someone can easily use your analogy right back against you. Another lesser problem is when the analogy is just too good.

Take this little snippet from a FoxNews.com article about the OMB’s review of the proposed Obama budget:

Imagine earning $50,000 a year and spending $100,000. That’s a lot of money owed to somebody.

Now imagine the government spending $3.6 trillion and borrowing nearly half of it. Again, big debt to pay.

Your Czar instantly knew what was coming, and there is was, four paragraphs below the above:

[OMB Director Peter] Orszag said the increases are “driven in large part by the economic crisis inherited by this administration.”

So it must be Bush’s fault.

Let us therefore extend that FoxNews writeup and apply domestic analogues to Mr. Orszag’s retort.

Imagine earning $50,000 a year. Now imagine finding out your spouse’s credit was $50,000 in debt at the time of your marriage. Further imagine that, days after the wedding, you go out and purchase a new kitchen set, replacement furniture for the living room, flat panel plasmas for the entire wedding party, a Maui junket to help out your cousin the travel agent, and a couple of new cars for you and her, using her credit card to the tune of $300,000 more.

And when the credit card company politely coughs and wants to know when you are planning to pay, imagine saying “Hey, that isn’t my fault, that’s my wife’s fault! It was her card that was in deep debt when I got it.”

Think that’ll work?