A friend of mine sent this to me and it was too good not to share. It's a bit lengthy but the message makes it worth the read. Vote YES for the FAIR TAX. Enjoy.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 on 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 want ed to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were uneffected . 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 subtract ed 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 point ed 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
For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
MAKE APRIL 15 JUST ANOTHER DAY
flfairtax-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
http://www.fairtax.org
5 comments:
Now, you know I love ya, but occasionally, _just occasionally_, check your facts:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/t/taxcuts.htm
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/tax/article1996735.ece
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=warren+buffett+taxes&search_type=&aq=f
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLD0p1QpcI8
http://www.cbpp.org/1-14-04bud.htm
http://www.heritage.org/research/features/BudgetChartBook/Budget-Comparisons.html
The last one is from _The heritage Foundation_ -- heh, a very conservative site. Check out their link to:
Government Spending Grew Faster Than Revenues for Most Administrations
Once again, I know you are brilliant; I respect and admire you, and the _fake_ letter is somewhat humorous, but must we insult _my_ intelligence when I am simply agreeing with Warren Buffet? ["For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible."] -- heh, Buffet surely is no "liberal." And, I assure you, I understand.
I love wealthy people -- love 'em -- especially those like Buffet who tell the truth about things. For example, the people at the top of the tax bracket make their money off the people at the bottom of the tax bracket -- their labor. Furthermore, those at the top generally inherit the bulk of their wealth.
Rather than spouting ideology absent genuine learning, occasionally check the source of a an e-mail -- it's easy. Or, heaven forbid, read a book. Given the horrid nature of the e-mails being sent by the right of late, it might be especially prudent.
Thirty seconds of fact checking would have shown you that no doctor of economics wrote it, or if they did, they have all denied it -- it has been attributed to three -- laugh.
Much love my brother,
Nick
Nice story... Completely backs up the fact that; if Obama gives all these tax cuts to the Middle Class instead of the big corporations,(which is what he's promising) these corporations will not simply "take one off the chin," but instead will just move their headquarters overseas, thus shipping many jobs over as well... So, does the Middle Class want a couple tax breaks, or do they want some jobs available??? The answer should be obvious.. But Mr. Hodge, would you like 2 give me the obvious answer??
I am tired of the right-wing argument from people who made the same tired arguments regarding Bush -- McCain offers _exactly_ the same economic plan -- do you like the job Bush has done? If so, by all means vote for McCain. If you are concerned about people who work for a living, then make an historical vote -- and by "historical" I mean a vote grounded in the history of our country which shows conclusively that democrats have dealt with economic issues with competence and republicans have not, generally speaking -- as the last link I posted to _The Heritage Foundation_ shows.
Therefore, if you are genuinely middle class and are tired of masochistic votes for people who make the rich richer while punishing salt of the earth, middle class workers, vote in your self interest, remembering the remarkable job President Clinton did. Vote for Obama.
Or, if you are wealthy, I embrace you, and plead that you not be sadistic because our country cannot afford any more economic ideology from the right -- we are watching it crumble before our eyes -- and your party is assaulting Obama's character rather than offering any thing like a cogent plan. I would ask you to read Tolstoy's "How Much Land Does a Man Need."
And, as I hope you are a Christian, as I am, then I would remind you that "to whomsoever much is given, much is required." And, I would ask that you, with joy in your heart, do the American thing, the Christian thing, and at the very least influence your party to embrace a more equitable economic stance.
I am amused that this forged joke is still up -- heh the supposed author, David R. Ramerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics University of Georgia, exists and denies having written the joke -- at least we could edit out the false attribution, but instead, right-wingers tend to make the fallacy of appealing to authority, even when there is no such authority -- it would be amusing if _every_ bipartisan examination of this issue, "fair tax," had not discredited it as a viable economic position.
There are several tax issues we could possibly agree about. For example, if you want a "consumption tax," on gasoline which you would argue is "equitable" because everyone pays the same rate, I would agree that it would be an acceptable tax -- for different reasons. I would argue we should use that tax to: 1) Change behavior -- quit burning fossil fuels, 2) fund energy independence, and 3) stop enriching people who hold an ideology dangerous to us and the rest of the western world -- we should be forcing them to change their behavior through economic means rather than inefficiently trying to do so with bombs.
Finally, the notion that corporations should get tax cuts and the specious comparison to other country's tax rates given our many subsidies and loop holes, I find morally revolting. We need corporations, I agree with that. They are composed of people, many of whom wish only the best for or country -- I agree with that. But it is our _policies_ which should determine access to our market, and we should quit allowing large companies to sell items here if they don't provide a percentage of jobs for Americans.
We _must_ stop the wholesale abandonment and relocation of manufacturing jobs, and both parties are guilty of that, but only democrats and Pat Buchanon make the argument.
With much love and respect, absent malice,
Nick
Seeing as it's still here, just thought I would give you a link to snopes about it:
http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/howtaxes.asp
Hugs -- Nick
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