Bar stool economics

[Hugh Ferrier]

Bar Stool Economics

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 bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a Euro 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 Euro, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I did!"

"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, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a 20% tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up any more. In fact, they might start drinking overseas.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

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

[happy daze john in oz]

Sadly there are those who think companies making profits is obscene, yet without it there would be no companies, and so no jobs.

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi Shipmates, The richest companys/ people in the u,k pay little or no tax. i.e hedge funds 2009 many billions on stock exchange tax bill???? some top wages non royals, but bankers michael morley coutts the queens bank. john horican r.b.s. john valey/bob diamond barclays eric daniels lloyds and the biggest michael googhgan of the drug money washing bank hsbc, they caused the cut backs and mass unemployment by bank bail outs over the last few years ... The government aid and abett them as they give to party funds...

[cappy]

#3...if its so easy Louis why arnt we all doing it

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates, Hi Cappy because we are not crooks or greedy bankers but honest poor ex seaman who payed our taxes...Bankers and hedge funds take excess profits, and pay the right people not to pay the taxes !!! if we took the drug dealers money= profits i,e Mexico 5,000 deaths in drug war. and put it thro' the british banking system like H.S.B.C. did we would go to the big house, for a few years and not get a big bonus...

[j.sabourn]

#2... The Russian Utopia of years gone by.. Communism.. Great in theory, impractible when carried out, due I suppose partly to dishonesty of humankind. Nearest to it working was the Tito brand in Yugoslavia when it existed. Tito still leaves pleasant memories to a large amount of the ex. Yugo community, despite the Wests attempts to discredit. John S

[happy daze john in oz]

Hi shipmates, Hi Cappy because we are not crooks or greedy bankers but honest poor ex seaman who payed our taxes...Bankers and hedge funds take excess profits, and pay the right people not to pay the taxes !!! if we took the drug dealers money= profits i,e Mexico 5,000 deaths in drug war. and put it thro' the british banking system like H.S.B.C. did we would go to the big house, for a few years and not get a big bonus...

Only because the law allows it, the gov make the laws the lawyers interpret them.

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates. Its the rich that get the pleasure its the poor who get the blame, its the same the whole world over is an'it a f------- shame...

[Louis the Amigo]

hi shipmates,Bosses' crimes' in the U.K.justice denied to victims, feb2014 High court rules that workers have no rights, to fight for justice unless they have cash, cost £250 to lodge a cliam, £950 for a hearing, this is with out legal cost Discrimanation and unfair dismisslal cost are 3 times as high, employers can now act as they see fit with a rubber stamp, by the high court in the U.K. Unions/workers justice/rights have been defeated by a psychotic bunch of political judges....

[j.sabourn]

This is where the advantage of being in a union is Louis. They would supply the money for any court case. That is one of the reasons for being a member of a union. Cheers JS