A Beer Story

[Duel of Fates]

It has been entirely too quiet around here. I recently came across this little story that explains a very dry topic (taxes) with one of my favorite things in the world. (beer). Enjoy.

Beer Story Explains US Taxes...



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.

[Darth Crater]

Dr. Kamerschen is not the author of this piece. It doesn't look at all like an actual economist's writing, so I'm not sure why you didn't catch this yourself.

[MATTHEW'S_DAD]

It doesn't er if Bozo the Clown wrote it, it is accurate and still makes the point.

Not to change the subject, but the company I work for is toying with the idea of dumping our health insurance. It was funny yesterday the number of people that came to me when they realized that the insurance available on the government website was going to cost them. Not only that but that it was going to cost them as much or more than what they're currently paying!!! Several times I had to explain who was getting it for free and how it was being funded. I would end each talk with, "are you registered to vote?? Go do it.".

These aren't dumb people either, they are just typical, disinterested Americans. More interested in who's doing well on The Voice, liking cat videos on FB and will Ray Rice ever play ball again. Distracted . That's ok though, the "system" got their attention yesterday.

[WD-40]

It doesn't er if Bozo the Clown wrote it, it is accurate and still makes the point.

Not to change the subject, but the company I work for is toying with the idea of dumping our health insurance. It was funny yesterday the number of people that came to me when they realized that the insurance available on the government website was going to cost them. Not only that but that it was going to cost them as much or more than what they're currently paying!!! Several times I had to explain who was getting it for free and how it was being funded. I would end each talk with, "are you registered to vote?? Go do it.".

These aren't dumb people either, they are just typical, disinterested Americans. More interested in who's doing well on The Voice, liking cat videos on FB and will Ray Rice ever play ball again. Distracted . That's ok though, the "system" got their attention yesterday.

Good beer story Duel.

I just saw another piece on the news how Walmart would be losing $175 million/year due to Obamacare, so about 33% of their workforce would be put on part time basis (30 hours/week or less) to avoid the hit. Hope I got that right. I'm looking beyond that, and hoping the GOP spanks the [poo] outta the Dems this November and manage to repeal that P.O.S.'s Healthcare Law (Yeah Pelosi..It's 'Obamacare'!) that he needlessly dumped on the majority of Americans and totally [m'kay] up everything. Liberal, stupid, socialist Piece of Crap!

[Duel of Fates]

It doesn't er if Bozo the Clown wrote it, it is accurate and still makes the point.

Not to change the subject, but the company I work for is toying with the idea of dumping our health insurance. It was funny yesterday the number of people that came to me when they realized that the insurance available on the government website was going to cost them. Not only that but that it was going to cost them as much or more than what they're currently paying!!! Several times I had to explain who was getting it for free and how it was being funded. I would end each talk with, "are you registered to vote?? Go do it.".

These aren't dumb people either, they are just typical, disinterested Americans. More interested in who's doing well on The Voice, liking cat videos on FB and will Ray Rice ever play ball again. Distracted . That's ok though, the "system" got their attention yesterday.

Good beer story Duel.

I just saw another piece on the news how Walmart would be losing $175 million/year due to Obamacare, so about 33% of their workforce would be put on part time basis (30 hours/week or less) to avoid the hit. Hope I got that right. I'm looking beyond that, and hoping the GOP spanks the [poo] outta the Dems this November and manage to repeal that P.O.S.'s Healthcare Law (Yeah Pelosi..It's 'Obamacare'!) that he needlessly dumped on the majority of Americans and totally [m'kay] up everything. Liberal, stupid, socialist Piece of Crap!

Yep, my wife will be losing her insurance. She works at Wally World. This is going to be interesting.

Crater, go research some fungus or something, I merely came across this and found it amusing. Thought I would share. The stuff not in my color is what was written. It was not a College thesis, it was an allegory. Not meant to be entirely accurate, but to get the uninformed some sense of what the hell is going on.

Why don't you go test Obama Care? Go find a rusty nail and scratch your ass.

[Son]

Why don't you go test Obama Care? Go find a rusty nail and scratch your ass.

Sat on a rusty nail once...hurt like hell

[imaim]

Great demonstration, Duel!