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Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Please excuse how long this is, and I haven't validated the numbers, but it sure feels about right.
...
for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100..
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.
would pay $12. The ninth would pay $18. The tenth man
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 ball.
customers", he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the
ten men would 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 a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the
principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out
the amounts he suggested that each should now pay. And so, the fifth man, like
the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving). The sixth now paid $2 instead
of $3 (33% saving). The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving). The
eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving). The ninth now paid $14 instead
of $18 (22% saving). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving). Each
of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink
for free.
began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving",
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 benefit than me"! "That's true"!, shouted the
seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get
all the breaks"!
"Wait a minute", yelled the first four men in unison,
"we didn't get anything at all. This new tax 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 their 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 government ministers, is
how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will
naturally 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.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
March 9, 2010
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+1 (although i am poor I understand i once made just enough money to move into a higher tax bracket from working so much over time before x-mas and after taxes i made less than my standard pay!, not the same but, still I get it)
July 5, 2009
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Sadly, it is the entitlement attitude that is identified in your story which is being perpetuated by the current administration (prior administrations are guilty as well). I believe that many Americans have woken up and they will be voting for a different "hope and change" this general election.
GG
May 17, 2010
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Nice parable... I have seen something like it before.
However at this point, taxes don't seem that much of an issue, or at least not taxes like everyone thinks about. Now inflation (via excess printing of money). It has been my contention that we are ripe for a very bad bout of rather high inflation.
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