So Who's Getting More?

RAY: Let's say that Tommy starts off at a hundred bucks a week. If he gets a ten percent raise he'll be making 11/10ths of what he makes now, which is $110 a week.

TOM: That was last year.

RAY: Right. When he gets his pay cut of ten percent he'll be making 9/10ths of what he's making this year which is 9/10ths of 110 bucks, which is 99 bucks a week.

I start off at the same hundred bucks and I get cut by ten percent, so what did I make, last year?

TOM: 90 bucks last year.

RAY: Right. And then I get a raise of ten percent.

TOM: Yeah.

RAY: So I'm making 11/10ths of 90 bucks, which is, are you ready for this?

TOM AND RAY: 99 bucks!

TOM: So we ended up a buck short of what we had started with two years ago. And NPR saves two bucks a week. They're probably telling us, "Hey guys, you're right back where you were!"

RAY: Better read the fine print. Who's our winner?

TOM: The winner this week is Tom Choice from Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts—a local boy! And for having his answer selected at random from among all the correct answers that we got, Tom Choice is going to get a 26-dollar gift certificate to the Shameless Commerce Division at cartalk.com where he can order, get this, this our brand-new CD featuring calls about cars and animals.

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]