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• 1. Mike Carroll  |  October 21st, 2008 at 2:59 pm

  This explanation of tax policy should present a Clear Path to Victory, especially in Pennsylvania. Apologize for the length.

  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, that’s what they decided to do. The ten 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.
  > ?”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 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 pay $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 a dollar,
  > too. ?It’s 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. ?”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 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.

• 2. Billybeermonicagar  |  October 21st, 2008 at 3:35 pm

  Kinda quiet in here.

• 3. unmanager  |  October 22nd, 2008 at 4:18 am

  Trying to figure out what this joke has to do with McCain’s state focus….

• 4. Billybeermonicagar  |  October 22nd, 2008 at 9:13 am

  Didn’t think you would be able to figure it out.

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