Socialism explained

[Jantar]

Stolen from another forum:

A young woman was about to finish her first year at university. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a Labour supporter and very liberal. Among her other liberal ideals, she was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed of her father who was a staunch Nationalite, a feeling she openly expressed.

Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor (who sported a full beard), she felt that her father had for years, harboured an evil selfish desire to keep what he thought, should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes for the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing at university.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had passes in 4 subjects, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many varsity friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your friend Clarrisa doing?'

She replied, 'Clarrisa is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she has only 2 passes. But she is ever so popular on campus; varsity for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.'

Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to the Chancellor's office and ask him to deduct 1 pass off you and give it to your friend who only has 2 passes. That way you will both have 3 passes and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of passes'.

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That's a crazy idea, and how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Clarrisa has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!'

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to the National party.'

If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between National and Labour then I'm all ears.

[ducatilover]

One is blue and the other is red.

I win.


I rather like yours though

[Latte]

One is blue and the other is red.

I win.


I rather like yours though

Yours is more accurate though

[BOGAR]

BAR ROOM ECONOMICS – HOW THE TAX SYSTEM WORKS

Suppose that every day, ten people 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 (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 (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten 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 were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But
what about the other six - the paying customers? How could they
divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get their "fair share"?

They realised that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they
subtracted that from everyone's share, then the fifth and the sixth
would each end up being paid to drink their beer. So, the bar owner
suggested that it would be fair to reduce each drinker's bill by
roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts
each should pay. And so:

The fifth person, 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
drinkers began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth. She pointed
to the tenth man, "but he got $10!" "Yes, that's right," exclaimed
the fifth. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten
times more than I did" "That's true!!" shouted the seventh. "Why
should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the
breaks" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four in unison. "We didn't
get anything at all. The system exploits the poor"

The nine drinkers 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.

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

[avgas]

BAR ROOM ECONOMICS – HOW THE TAX SYSTEM WORKS

Suppose that every day, ten people 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 (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 (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten 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 were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But
what about the other six - the paying customers? How could they
divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get their "fair share"?

They realised that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they
subtracted that from everyone's share, then the fifth and the sixth
would each end up being paid to drink their beer. So, the bar owner
suggested that it would be fair to reduce each drinker's bill by
roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts
each should pay. And so:

The fifth person, 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
drinkers began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth. She pointed
to the tenth man, "but he got $10!" "Yes, that's right," exclaimed
the fifth. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten
times more than I did" "That's true!!" shouted the seventh. "Why
should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the
breaks" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four in unison. "We didn't
get anything at all. The system exploits the poor"

The nine drinkers 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.

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