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, thats what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until oneday, the owner threw them a curve. Since you are all such good customers, he said, Im 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 everybodys 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 mans 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 paid $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 adollar, too. Its 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. Wedidn'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.

Ace, u are a friggin genius dude...

ha ha ha , good read and i'm sorry to say quite true , BUT , how do you answer the problem?
we can't tax the poor more , middle class is supporting the most burden , seems to me government is bloated with federal aid to foreign countries and entitlement programs at home.
i still say trade , most of the places we get oil from do not grow there own food , you want corn , grain? 1 bushel for 1 barrel.
vote pappy at the poles and this shit will stop , LOL

To difficult to do the mathematics! Free beer is always nice, and being a free-loader is obviously the way to go you get beer for free! There was a time when friendship, honor, God and country, along with respect for your self and others were paramount, and key concerns in our society-still is for many. But indeed Ace, the pilgrims found out that the initial idea of socialism and fairness were indeed remote-so they did not provide for those that refused to work, and contribute to the welfare of the community, i.e., but just pig out. All those years ago, yet people still like free beer, and want to raid the very manufacturer that makes beer, and pays money to people to make the stuff, along with paying taxes to the state!Cheers!

Ace, man... I've never heard it so simple... You should run for president!

How about everyone pay a flat tax?

How about the greater your contribution to society, the more volunteer/charitable work you do, the less tax you pay?

t_b, like your thoughts,i.e., ".... the more volunteer/charitable work you do, the less tax you pay", the concept sounds very promising, positive and beneficial for the community?

Does seem reasonable, doesn't it?