The Tax system

The Saint · 05-08-2007, 08:53 PM

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten
comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would
go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do:

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the
arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are
all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your
daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the
first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what
about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the
$20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized
that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from
everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up
being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be
fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded
to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to
drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare
their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20,"declared the sixth man. He pointed to
the tenth man," but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too.
It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I
got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down
and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they
discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all
of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax
system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from
a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they
just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas
where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not
understand, no explanation is possible.

davisfire · 05-08-2007, 08:59 PM

That's awesome! Amen to that!

Focks · 05-08-2007, 09:13 PM

And you wonder why some of us drink wine.

mikepowell · 05-08-2007, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Focks

And you wonder why some of us drink wine.

that's soooo true

RSSRTOY · 05-08-2007, 09:23 PM

JUST THINK HOW MUCH IVE SAVED OVER 30 YEARS OF NOT DRINKING ANY MORE.

ssr71 · 05-09-2007, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Focks

And you wonder why some of us drink wine.

No, it's not about drinking wine, it's about the whiners!

I've always tried to argue along those lines. I pay more annually in taxes than many people actually earn as their wage/salary!

WOW_FCTR · 05-10-2007, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssr71

I pay more annually in taxes than many people actually earn as their wage/salary!

I always thought it was a milestone when I reached the point where I paid the same amount in taxes as I made the first year I worked......and at one point in time I did pay twice that amount in taxes.......

ssr71 · 05-10-2007, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WOW_FCTR

I always thought it was a milestone when I reached the point where I paid the same amount in taxes as I made the first year I worked......and at one point in time I did pay twice that amount in taxes.......

Wasn't a stretch for me as my first job was working at a drug store part time.

jim_king · 05-10-2007, 09:49 PM

Now if we can get the Democrats and Republicans together and figure out how to get the poor to stop drinking the rest of us can share the 40% increase in beer!