Let's put 'tax cuts' in terms everyone can understand:
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner.
The bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their dinner bill the way we Americans pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men - the poorest - would pay nothing. That's right, zilch.
The fifth would pay $1... One buck.
The sixth would pay $3;
The seventh $7;
The eighth $12;
The ninth $18.
The tenth man - the richest - would pay $59. Almost 60% of the entire dinner tab for all ten men, all by himself.
And that's what they decided to do. The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day, and seemed quite happy with the arrangement - until one day, the owner of the restaurant threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."
"That's great!", said all ten men. "Thanks!"
So now, dinner for the ten only cost $80... But the group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.
The first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free.
But what about the other six - the paying customers?
How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"
The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from the "paying customers" share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would end up actually being "paid" to eat their meal.
So the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same percentage he usually pays, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
So now, the fifth man also paid nothing;
The sixth pitched in $2;
The seventh paid $5;
The eighth paid $9;
The ninth paid $12...
Leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of his earlier $59.
Now, each of the six paying customers was better off than before. And of course, the first four continued to eat 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. "But he got $7!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me!"
"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "At least you guys got something back! We didn't get anything at all! The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men grew resentful of the tenth man, surrounded him.
They told him he was evil, greedy, wasn't being 'fair', and threatened to use the simple fact they outnumbered him to make him take out his wallet and give them more of his money.
So, the next night, he didn't show up for dinner. The other nine sat down, said "Good riddance!", and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important...
They were $52 short.
And that, boys and girls, (journalists and college nstructors) is how the "progressive" tax system works.
OF COURSE the people who pay the 60% of all the taxes will get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Duh.
Go ahead... Tax them more. Attack them simply for earning more...
But what will you do when they don't show up at the table anymore?
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner.
The bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their dinner bill the way we Americans pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men - the poorest - would pay nothing. That's right, zilch.
The fifth would pay $1... One buck.
The sixth would pay $3;
The seventh $7;
The eighth $12;
The ninth $18.
The tenth man - the richest - would pay $59. Almost 60% of the entire dinner tab for all ten men, all by himself.
And that's what they decided to do. The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day, and seemed quite happy with the arrangement - until one day, the owner of the restaurant threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."
"That's great!", said all ten men. "Thanks!"
So now, dinner for the ten only cost $80... But the group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.
The first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free.
But what about the other six - the paying customers?
How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"
The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from the "paying customers" share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would end up actually being "paid" to eat their meal.
So the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same percentage he usually pays, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
So now, the fifth man also paid nothing;
The sixth pitched in $2;
The seventh paid $5;
The eighth paid $9;
The ninth paid $12...
Leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of his earlier $59.
Now, each of the six paying customers was better off than before. And of course, the first four continued to eat 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. "But he got $7!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me!"
"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "At least you guys got something back! We didn't get anything at all! The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men grew resentful of the tenth man, surrounded him.
They told him he was evil, greedy, wasn't being 'fair', and threatened to use the simple fact they outnumbered him to make him take out his wallet and give them more of his money.
So, the next night, he didn't show up for dinner. The other nine sat down, said "Good riddance!", and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important...
They were $52 short.
And that, boys and girls, (journalists and college nstructors) is how the "progressive" tax system works.
OF COURSE the people who pay the 60% of all the taxes will get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Duh.
Go ahead... Tax them more. Attack them simply for earning more...
But what will you do when they don't show up at the table anymore?