# I haven't checked the math, but this makes a good story



## zylon (Oct 27, 2010)

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for a 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 $1.00

The sixth would pay $3.00

The seventh would pay $7.00

The eighth would pay $12.00

The ninth would pay $18.00

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.00

So that's what they decided to do. The men drank in the bar 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 beer by $20.00."

Drinks for the ten men now cost just $80.00.

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 their "fair share?"

They realized that $20.00 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted 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 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," 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 I 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.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

... thanks to Casey Research










(image for "check the math")


----------



## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

LOL... This is the US right now.


----------



## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

Zylon, you forgot to mention in the story that the 10th man also provides employement for a a couple of the other guys. That is how it works isn't it.


----------



## zylon (Oct 27, 2010)

Yes, that's right.
- and one of the guys who drinks beer for nothing is also fooling around with #10's wife :frown:


----------



## sags (May 15, 2010)

If each person had to pay the full $10 for their beer, there would probably only be 3 people in the bar, and the economic activity would decline by 70%.

Hence the core problem with ""trickle down" theory.


----------



## Jim9guitars (May 5, 2012)

I have never, ever seen a situation where 4 men out of ten would expect, or get their beer free. Not once, let alone in an ongoing situation. Sorry, but this blue collar beer drinker doesn't see it your way.


----------



## slacker (Mar 8, 2010)

Please check your math.


----------



## zylon (Oct 27, 2010)

*As long as they whine there's still life. Silence = death.*

*"*I just received my tax return for 2011 back from the IRS. It puzzles me!!! They are questioning how many dependents I claimed. I guess it was because of my response to the question: “List all dependents?”I replied: 12 million illegal immigrants; 3 million crack heads; 42 million unemployed people on food stamps, 2 million people in over 243 prisons; Half of Mexico; and 535 persons in the U.S. House and Senate.” Evidently, this was NOT an acceptable answer. I KEEP ASKING MYSELF, WHOM DID I MISS?*"*

Thanks D.D. and JS Mineset


----------



## praire_guy (Sep 8, 2011)

Lol, that cheque is funny. I would love to write checks like that but I suck at math. 

Any web sites that will convert an amount into "math genius"?


----------



## zylon (Oct 27, 2010)

Image source


----------



## Potato (Apr 3, 2009)

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.


----------



## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

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 *******.


----------

