pininsho Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Suppose that once a week, 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. And the tenth man (the richest) would pay £59. So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every week and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until, one day, the owner caused them a little problem. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your weekly 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 and 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 not only would the first four men still be drinking for free, but the fifth and sixth man would each end up actually being paid to drink their beer. So the bar owner suggested that it would be fairer to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage. They decided to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using and he, the bar owner, proceeded to work out the amounts that each man should now pay as follows: The fifth man, like the first four men, now paid nothing (a 100% saving). The sixth man now paid £2 instead of £3 (a 33% saving). The seventh man now paid £5 instead of £7 (a 28% saving). The eighth man now paid £9 instead of £12 (a 25% saving). The ninth man now paid £14 instead of £18 (a 22% saving). And the tenth man now paid £49 instead of £59 (a 16% saving). Each of the last six was better off than before with the first four continuing to drink for free. But once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got £1 out of the £20 saving," declared the sixth man and he pointed to the tenth man, "but he got £10!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a £1 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 only got £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!" So the nine men surrounded the tenth man and beat him up. The next week 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 to pay 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 might 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj.scuba Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Lol that's great well done pininsho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INTERVIEWER Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 There is a time rapidly approaching when the super rich in this country will have their UK based wealth and assets seized by the state and redistributed amongst the poor. Multi-millionaire David Cameron's cuts (which hurt those with the least the most) are making such a revolutionary scenario almost inevitable... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pininsho Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 There is a time rapidly approaching when the super rich in this country will have their UK based wealth and assets seized by the state and redistributed amongst the poor. Multi-millionaire David Cameron's cuts (which hurt those with the least the most) are making such a revolutionary scenario almost inevitable... Oh dear. Ignoramus socialitis rears it ugly head again. If that ever remotely begins to happen you would have economic and social collapse almost instantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
six45ive Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Very good. Not sure I agree with it completely but it somehow rings true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vague_Boy Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 There is a time rapidly approaching when the super rich in this country will have their UK based wealth and assets seized by the state and redistributed amongst the poor. My god, it's Wesley Mouch. How are ya Wes? Wes, I loves ya and all that, but did you learn nothing from The Equalization of Opportunity Bill? The real question here is not "what on earth is VB on about" but of course, "Who is John Galt?" (Film adaptation coming out this year for those who can't face reading 1000+ pages.) "I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” It's the mark of truly great literature that it becomes more relevant, not less, as the years pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INTERVIEWER Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Oh dear. Ignoramus socialitis rears it ugly head again. If that ever remotely begins to happen you would have economic and social collapse almost instantly. Once all of the greedy super rich parasites have either been imprisoned for their crimes against society, or have fled to tax havens overseas, their wealth will belong to the people and we will have PARADISE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Once all of the greedy super rich parasites have either been imprisoned for their crimes against society, or have fled to tax havens overseas, their wealth will belong to the people . No it won't. They'll take their wealth with them, and with nobody to invest in businesses we will have nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris28 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Good thread. I notice that there haven't been many replies as yet. Perhaps all the people who understand this will be still at work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 You can read what I guess is the original source and all the comments here http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100008153/government-spending-review-tax-and-spend-explained-in-beer/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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