Tax Law

[live2ski]

I got this forwarded to me awhile ago, kinda a cool example IMO, no political view here, just a cool example that most people don't understand IMO.

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand:

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go somethinglike this.

The first four men -- the poorest -- would pay nothing;
the fifth would pay $1;
the sixth would pay $3;
the seventh $7;
the eighth $12;
the ninth $18.
The tenth man -- the richest -- would pay $59.

That's what they decided to do.

The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant 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 meal by $20." So now dinner for the ten only cost $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 eat for free. But what about the other six -- the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"

The six men 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 end up being "paid" to eat their meal.

So the restaurant 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 paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of his earlier
$59.

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat 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. "But he got $7!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me!" "That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? 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 he didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They were $52 short!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college instructors, is how the 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 at the table anymore!!!

[AlbatrossFlyer]

great way to put it.... except that dinner should have cost $1000 and the group said "here's a $100, put the rest on our tab".....

[Finway]

WOW!!! That's awesome!! I'm gonna need to carry a printout of that around with me and hand it to people when they start crying about the evil Republicans.

[Elrod]

That is an example that people should be able to understand.

[tommcat327]

That is an example that people should be able to understand.

but they wont

[Coconuts]

That works except it's taxes- therefore not something people can choose not to show up for anymore.

[tommcat327]

That works except it's taxes- therefore not something people can choose not to show up for anymore.

just like i cant choose not to have my money pay for the free dinners

[Coconuts]

That works except it's taxes- therefore not something people can choose not to show up for anymore.

just like i cant choose not to have my money pay for the free dinners

Right.

[tommcat327]

That works except it's taxes- therefore not something people can choose not to show up for anymore.

just like i cant choose not to have my money pay for the free dinners

Right.

i think if my taxes have to go towards welfare they should at least earn it.come by and mow my lawn or something.
i think we should be able to choose what our taxes go to,then i wouldnt b*tch so much about paying them.

[Sidew13]

WHo pays the tip?

[SuperTrooper]

WHo pays the tip?

"For parties of six or more a gratuity of 18% will automatically be included in the total."

[land_shark3]

I really should not try to read that after a night out drinking.

[Crazy Navy Flyer]

That is the best description I have ever read of how it works, gotta remember that for future discussions.

[Dr.Corona]

I got this forwarded to me awhile ago, kinda a cool example IMO, no political view here, just a cool example that most people don't understand IMO.

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand:

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go somethinglike this.

The first four men -- the poorest -- would pay nothing;
the fifth would pay $1;
the sixth would pay $3;
the seventh $7;
the eighth $12;
the ninth $18.
The tenth man -- the richest -- would pay $59.

That's what they decided to do.

The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant 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 meal by $20." So now dinner for the ten only cost $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 eat for free. But what about the other six -- the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"

The six men 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 end up being "paid" to eat their meal.

So the restaurant 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 paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of his earlier
$59.

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat 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. "But he got $7!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me!" "That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? 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 he didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They were $52 short!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college instructors, is how the 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 at the table anymore!!!

BRILLIANT!!!!!!!!!

[bravedave]

Tax Law, pt 2

The restaurant manager was a likeable fellow, but unfortunately a bad businessman. Nevertheless, since his was the only restaurant for hundreds of miles around, he had huge volume of customers.

Even before offering the discount to the ten town residents, he let some folks from the neighboring town eat for free. Since they often picked up some crumbs from the floor as they walked in, he figured they were performing a service that nobody else wanted to do. So he just looked the other way when they walked out on the tab.

This same guy spent thousands of dollars on a specially-fueled heating system, but since the restaurant was located in a warm place, it never got any use. Still, he had a big service contract with an HVAC company (that also was run by a poor businessman) so his heater was almost always ready to run (in case of bad weather.)

The problems really started to mount when he offered the discount to the ten diners. He was running his business in red ink beforehand, but after cutting his revenue to please the regular customers, he had to lay off some of the kitchen help. At first it was only the fry cook and a few dish washers. This didn’t bother the rich guys too much, because they never ate the inexpensive fried food (unhealthy) and always brought their own plates and flatware with them. The poorer diners, however, were left to order more expensive meals served on dirty dishes. The more they paid, the less they got for their money.

In the end the hapless restaurant manager was replaced by new guy who said he could do a better job. But we all know how difficult it can be to change the climate in any business. Lotsa luck, fella.

Maybe I’ll just make a sandwich in my own kitchen.



(zipping up asbestos longjohns)

[tommcat327]

Tax Law, pt 2

The restaurant manager was a likeable fellow, but unfortunately a bad businessman. Nevertheless, since his was the only restaurant for hundreds of miles around, he had huge volume of customers.

Even before offering the discount to the ten town residents, he let some folks from the neighboring town eat for free. Since they often picked up some crumbs from the floor as they walked in, he figured they were performing a service that nobody else wanted to do. So he just looked the other way when they walked out on the tab.

This same guy spent thousands of dollars on a specially-fueled heating system, but since the restaurant was located in a warm place, it never got any use. Still, he had a big service contract with an HVAC company (that also was run by a poor businessman) so his heater was almost always ready to run (in case of bad weather.)

The problems really started to mount when he offered the discount to the ten diners. He was running his business in red ink beforehand, but after cutting his revenue to please the regular customers, he had to lay off some of the kitchen help. At first it was only the fry cook and a few dish washers. This didn’t bother the rich guys too much, because they never ate the inexpensive fried food (unhealthy) and always brought their own plates and flatware with them. The poorer diners, however, were left to order more expensive meals served on dirty dishes. The more they paid, the less they got for their money.

In the end the hapless restaurant manager was replaced by new guy who said he could do a better job. But we all know how difficult it can be to change the climate in any business. Lotsa luck, fella.

Maybe I’ll just make a sandwich in my own kitchen.



(zipping up asbestos longjohns)

were you drunk when you wrote this?

[Coconuts]

I don't get it.

[CaptainP]

OK, now, everyone gets one guess on the political affiliations of live2ski and bravedave....

I bet each votes a straight party ticket instead of actually putting any thought into the candidates.

[live2ski]

OK, now, everyone gets one guess on the political affiliations of live2ski and bravedave....

I bet each votes a straight party ticket instead of actually putting any thought into the candidates.

Did you fail to read the very first line?

[CaptainP]

OK, now, everyone gets one guess on the political affiliations of live2ski and bravedave....

I bet each votes a straight party ticket instead of actually putting any thought into the candidates.

Did you fail to read the very first line?

Actually, I did overlook that. I apologize.

I just believe anyone who votes a party ticket has sold their soul and should not be allowed an opinion.