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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.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
Hi, I am in PA just wondering why the media has your state as all republican votes for the Pres. Election. The media does lie can't trust them.
Can one of you start a presidental poll for your state?
West Virginia is not a Republican state. It is a one party Democrat state which is part of the problem with state government there. Having little competition breeds complacency. It is a "Red" state because it is largely socially conservative and tends to vote that way in national elections, but not in state ones.
Miracles happen. Nobody knows what could happen on Tuesday.
Gottaherdon,<I'm with you Al, I think America will be just fine. We can only go up from here... We've just about hit rock I think.>
Sure we hit the rock bottom by considering Obama for a president. This IS a real rock bottom.
Miracles happen. Nobody knows what could happen on Tuesday.
Gottaherdon,<I'm with you Al, I think America will be just fine. We can only go up from here... We've just about hit rock I think.>
Sure we hit the rock bottom by considering Obama for a president. This IS a real rock bottom.
ha ha, just couldn't let me agree with you could you?
Naa, I'm pretty sure George Bush's one recession per term with one being the worst since the great depression is a clear indication of BOTTOM. The conservative republicans have had their chance up to bat, screwed up horribly, now let the democrats come in and clean up the mess, like we do every 8-12 years or so.
It's going to be ugly on Tuesday for the McCain camp. Perhaps not in WV, but nationally its going to be a slaughtering. Obama will lose WV on the grounds of god, guns, and gays
ha ha, just couldn't let me agree with you could you?
Naa, I'm pretty sure George Bush's one recession per term with one being the worst since the great depression is a clear indication of BOTTOM. The conservative republicans have had their chance up to bat, screwed up horribly, now let the democrats come in and clean up the mess, like we do every 8-12 years or so.
It's going to be ugly on Tuesday for the McCain camp. Perhaps not in WV, but nationally its going to be a slaughtering. Obama will lose WV on the grounds of god, guns, and gays
Obama and Dodd were virtually on the Fannie Mae payroll. They opposed McCain's suggestions for tighter regulation. They, along with the Democrat controlled Congress, are at least as much to blame for the financial problems as is Bush. What we would be doing with an Obama presidency is following one bad situation with an even worse one. I am not real happy with either choice, but McAmnesty is the better of the two.
If Wvians are one thing it is this: Constitutional Conservatives....goes back to 1788...
I believe Obama will lose Wv on one single issue...COAL and his willingness to destroy that industry to fund the unproductive eco-energy sources...
My personal economy is in Wv...nowhere else...I don't give a Rat's A$$ about the other areas of the country because I do not live and work in those areas...
I also had gotten that email. I think it is soooo clever!
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ha ha, just couldn't let me agree with you could you?
