Morning Mathematical Monsters & Maniacs!
(Today’s post is sponsored by the letter “M”)
Hi, I’m Super Safi and you may remember me from such stats and strategy posts as Kwik-E-Mart Farming and the advanced losing-to-win Superheroes battle strategy.
Over the past 600+ episodes, The Simpsons has taken us on an amazing mathematical journey involving fractions, probability, Fermat’s last theorem, and hundreds of other aspects from the wonderful world off mathematics.
And what better way to start your week, then by discussing math Monday morning?
Are you getting your final paychecks of the year? Have you ever looked at paycheck in detail? You ever use your weekly paycheck to calculate your annual salary or hourly wage? This week we take a look at our favourite patriarchs paycheck to calculate his hourly wage and annual salary.
In Much Apu About Nothing (Season 07, Episode 23), when a bear wanders down Evergreen Terrace, Quimby proposes tax rises to fund a new bear patrol. The bear tax results in some classic Simpsons banter:
Homer: Woo-hoo! A perfect day. Zero bears and one big fat hairy paycheck. [opens it up and reads it] Hey! How come my pay is so low? “Bear patrol tax!” This is an outrage! It’s the biggest tax increase in history!
Lisa: Actually, Dad, it’s the smallest tax increase in history.
Homer: Let the bears pay the bear tax. I pay the Homer tax.
Lisa: That’s home-owner-tax.
Homer: Well, anyway, I’m still outraged.
So let’s look at Homer’s paycheck.
Net Pay
Net pay is the amount of money earned after taxes and other deductions. We can see that Homer’s net pay is $362.19, as seen at the bottom of his paycheck.
Net Pay = $362.19
Homer’s net pay is $362.19.
Gross Pay
Gross pay is the total amount of money earned prior to taxes and other deductions. We can calculate Homer’s gross pay by adding all the deductions to his net pay.
Gross Pay = Net Pay + Deductions
Gross Pay = Net Pay + Federal Tax + FICA + State Tax + Municipal Tax + Bear Patrol Tax
Gross Pay = $362.19 + $56.25 + $36.34 + $10.45 + $9.37 + $5.00
Gross Pay = $479.60
Homer’s gross pay is $479.60.
Hourly Wage
Hourly wage describes a rate an employer agrees to pay a worker per hour worked. As per Homer’s paycheck, he works 40 hours per week. We can use his gross pay and weekly hours to calculate his hourly wage.
Hourly Wage = Gross Pay ÷ Hours
Hourly Wage = $479.60 ÷ 40
Hourly Wage = $11.99
So Homer’s hourly wage is $11.99 per hour.
Annual Salary
Annual salary is the monetary compensation that an employee receives in exchange for working for a year. Using Homer’s weekly paycheck, we can calculate his annual salary for all 52 weeks in a year.
Annual Salary = Weekly Gross Pay x 52 weeks per year
Annual Salary = $479.60 x 52
Annual Salary = $24,939.20
So Homer’s annual salary for working in Sector 7G is $24,939.20.
This is just a shade less than the $25,000 Principal Skinner makes according to Nelson in Skinner’s Sense of Snow (Season 12, Episode 08):
Nelson: Hey, look at what Skinner makes – $25,000 a year!
Bart: [using calculator] Let’s see. He’s 40 years old, times 25 grand … whoa, he’s a millionaire!
Principal Skinner: I wasn’t a principal when I was one!
Nelson: Plus, in the summer, he paints houses!
Milhouse: He’s a billionaire!
Principal Skinner: If I were a billionaire, why would I be living with my mother?
Now that we’ve completed a look at Homer’s paycheck, why not show your love for math by spending some of your own paycheck on a Math Mayhem shirt or hoodie.
If you love math or enjoy reading these posts, don’t forget to stop by the Addicts Shop and check out all the paraphernalia, including the Math Mayhem shirts and hoodies.
Were you familiar with these paycheck terms? Did you recall seeing Homer’s paycheck in the episode? Did you ever calculate Homer’s hourly wage yourself? Does Homer’s paycheck make you feel better or worse about your own? Sound off in the comments below. You know we love hearing from you.