If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this (federal only, 2005 data, some minor artifacts due to rebinning already summarized data):
The first man would say he can't afford to go out for drinks, but his friends would bring him along anyway and promise to pay the tab while he's down on his luck. He'd pay nothing -- in fact, they'd give him a little something for groceries on the way home.
The second would reach into his pockets and, blushingly, put down $0.30 and some pocket lint.
The third would put in a bus ticket "That's worth like $1.70 right there mates." Someone would make the exchange at par so the poor waitress could get actual, you know, money.
The fourth would pay $2.90, never quite sure what happened to his Newfoundland $3 bill.
The fifth would pay $4.70
The sixth would pay $6.60
The seventh would pay $9.00
The eighth would pay $13.50
The ninth would pay $20.50
The tenth man (the richest) would look up, see the bill had come, and hastily put out the hundred he was using to light his cigar. He briefly considers putting in the half a c-bill that remains, but remembered that with the new plastic bills the hundred dollar tinder was a rare luxury to be enjoyed, so he kept it for later. Instead pulls two crisp twenties off his wad, and finds another 80 cents rattling around in his pockets for a total of $40.80.
Id say it ''goes'' like this-The 9 men are unaware(or care to realize)the tenth man is in business with the bar owner.
The bar owner's cost for the beer's are slightly over $1.00.
The bar owner and the tenth man need 4 thru 9(the bar owner and the tenth man have a agreement, the 10th man can influence the whole group on a regualr basis to choose that bar over any other bar(insuring business)if the 10th man is sucessful(ie:they keep coming to the bar) after ''cost'' have been paid the profits are split between 10 & owner.
TO make matter's worse 4 thru 9 start ''feeling'' sorry for 10(we should buy 10 atleast a ''round'' every other week,he does carry the heavy "burden"
The next mourning the owner and the 10th man are having a coffee(splitting there profits)Tough to be the 10th man-poor bastard.
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