Since you mentioned Miami and I am only minutes away, I thought you might like this it comes from another forum board (thanks to ozamerica yahoo group)
I Received the following from a friend in Australia.
Bar Stool Economics,
something to which we ALL can relate!
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten
comes to $100. They could all just pay $10 since they all drank beer or
if they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something
like this:
The first four men (the poorest of the 10) 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 OK with the
arrangement until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are
all such good and faithful customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the
cost of your daily beer bill 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 realised if they divided the $20 savings by six they could each
reduce the amount they were paying by $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 the same way Tax Savings are
dispersed, 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) - so 5 men are drinking for free. The sixth now paid only $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 (the wealthiest)
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, now along with the 5th too. But once
outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their total dollar
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. '$20 was
given back and we didn't get anything at all. This 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 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.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia
For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not
understand, no explanation is possible.
