Ok—I’m totally stealing this from Dax Desai.com but honestly—it was the first time someone actually explained taxes really well! I don’t even drink beer–but understood this one! I’ve always wonder why people get so unhappy when we give “the rich” tax breaks…well…duh…because they are the ones that pay MOST of the taxes!! We are a Capitolistic society…it works…some people have more than other…if you want more…work harder! But get off the pity party of tax breaks for the rich, and make your own life better!
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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
A couple of days ago I wrote about the Rachael Ray show and the high fiber brownie recipe that was made. Well, I made them! On Rachael Ray’s site–you can get the recipe to make brownies from scratch, but in this house–nothing beats Betty Crocker brownies with the frosting packet included! They are our favorite–nothing from scratch even compares! Anyway–I pureed the whole can of black beans–liquid and all–and I added two little cups of baby food prunes. Beat them together and then added the brownie mix and ingredients. When they came out of the oven-the first thing I noticed was that they didn’t rise as much as normal–but that just made them a bit more fudgy. We let them cool–and put the chocolate frosting on. How did they go over with the kids??? They loved them! The oldest keeps proclaiming that they are the best brownies he’s ever had–which is good since I made them for him! For an adult–they are just a little thick–with a ‘new’ texture–but honestly–they tasted better than store bought brownies–and each brownie carries the full days worth of fiber! So easy to get this kind of fiber into them!
