Weather: Cold, Shitty, not Yet May type of weather.
One thing good about the shitty weather, no bugs. Seen a few mosquitos and black flies but not many.
The Tax System Explained in Beer
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
ball.
“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
men
would
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?
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
a
higher
percentage
the
poorer
he
was,
to
follow
the
principle
of
the
tax
system
they
had
been
using,
and
he
proceeded
to
work
out
the
amounts
he
suggested
that
each
should
now
pay.
And
so
the
fifth
man,
like
the
first
four,
now
paid
nothing
(100%
saving).
The
sixth
now
paid
$2
instead
of
$3…
(33%
saving).
The
seventh
now
paid
$5
instead
of
$7…
(28%
saving).
The
eighth
now
paid
$9
instead
of
$12…
(25%
saving).
The
ninth
now
paid
$14
instead
of
$18…
(22%
saving).
The
tenth
now
paid
$49
instead
of
$59…
(16%
saving).
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
dollar
out
of
the
$20
saving,”
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
received
ten
times
more
benefit
than
me!”
“That’s
true!”
shouted
the
seventh
man.
“Why
should
he
get
$10
back,
when
I
got
only
$2?
The
wealthy
get
all
the
breaks!”
“Wait
a
minute,”
yelled
the
first
four
men
in
unison,
“We
didn’t
get
anything
at
all.
This
new
tax
system
exploits
the
poor!”
The
nine
men
surrounded
the
tenth
man
and
beat
him
up.
The
next
night
the
tenth
man
didn’t
show
up
for
drinks,
so
the
nine
sat
down
and
had
their
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
government
ministers,
is
how
our
tax
system
works.
The
people
who
already
pay
the
highest
taxes
will
naturally
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.
For
those
who
understand,
no
explanation
is
needed.
For
those
who
do
not
understand,
no
explanation
is
possible.
