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A tale first told to me in the 1960's by my economics lecturer using pounds sterling, still true today.
Fine as an illustration, but I think that the barman's maths are slightly off.
Where is @Amarillo when you need him? And I'm surprised that @andyinluton hasn't commented.
 
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Every day 10 men meet at a bar to chat and drink beer. The total bill for the ten men is €100.

They agree to pay it in the proportional way in which taxes are paid in a country's society, so the thing would be more or less so, depending on the scale of wealth and income of each one:

The first 4 men (the poorest ones) pay nothing.
The 5th one pays €1.
The 6th one pays €3.
The 7th one pays €7.
The 8th one pays €12.
The 9th one pays 18€.
The 10th (richest) pays 59€.
From then on, everyone was having fun and kept this agreement between them, until, one day, the bar owner got them into trouble:
“Since you are such good customers,” he said, “I will reduce the cost of your daily beers by 20€. Drinks from now on will cost €80.

The group, however, considered continuing to pay the bill in the same proportion as they did before.

The top four kept drinking free; the sale didn't affect them at all.

But what happened to the other six drinkers, the ones who really foot the bill? How were they supposed to distribute the €20 discount so that everyone would get a fair share?

They calculated that the €20 divided by 6 was €3.33, but, if they deducted that from each portion, then the 5th and 6th man would be charging for a drink, since the 5th used to pay 1€ and the 6th 3€. Then the bartender suggested a formula based on each one's wealth, and proceeded to calculate how much each one should pay.

The 5th drinker, the same as the first four, would pay nothing: (100% savings).
The 6th would now pay €2 instead of €3: (save 33%)
The 7th would pay €5 instead of €7: (saving 28% ).
The 8th would pay €9 instead of €12: (save 25%).
The 9th would pay €14 instead of €18: (saving 22% ).
10th would pay €49 instead of €59:(save 16% ).
Each of the six payers was now in a better situation than before: the first four drinkers kept drinking for free and the fifth too.

But, once outside the bar, they started comparing what they were saving. "I only got 1€ of the 20 saved," said the 6th man and pointed to the 10th drinker, saying "But he got 9€"

“Yes, that’s right,” said the fifth man. "I also only saved €1; it's unfair that he gets nine times more than me. "

“It’s true,” exclaimed the 7th man. "Why does he get €9 off when I get only €2?" The rich always get the greatest benefits! "

"Wait a moment ! ”, yelled the top four at the same time. “We have received nothing from nothing. The system exploits the poor! "

The nine men surrounded the 10th and gave him a beating.

The next night the 10th man didn't go drinking, so the nine sat and drank their beers without him. But when it was time to pay the bill, they discovered something disturbing: Among all of them, they didn't put the money together to pay even HALF the bill.

And that's right, friends, journalists and college professors, unionists and wage earners, professionals and street folks, the way the tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes are the ones who benefit the most from a tax cut. Tax them very high, attack them for being rich, and most likely never show up again. In fact, it's almost certain that they'll start drinking in some bar abroad where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Moral: "The problem with socialism is that you end up running out of other people's money."

Margaret Thatcher already said it: “Socialism fails when they run out of money.... of the others"

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
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That of course is total bollocks. The problem is that people have been so gas-lit by the Right Wing Media into thinking that paying tax is a bad thing. We ALL benefit when services are adequately funded. The person who would have turned to crime to sustain his family doesn't, we don't have to deal with the fallout from crime. In a properly funded society, those more able to pay actually benefit the most, the society enables their wealth by giving the climate in which wealth production can occur. Those with the least are assisted and helped to achieve the situation where, they too, can contribute.

Trickle Down Economics was always a lie.....Bubble Up works.... Paying tax is good, you're paying for the benefits of being in the society you live in. No one wants to pay too much, that's true.

<nomex suit on>
 
A tale first told to me in the 1960's by my economics lecturer using pounds sterling, still true today.
Fine as an illustration, but I think that the barman's maths are slightly off.
Where is @Amarillo when you need him? And I'm surprised that @andyinluton hasn't commented.

I’ll post a reply in one of the threads in “The Three Cocks”.
 
I think she thinks she’s a little “gem”, and she gave Quasi a real “rocket”.
A little "gem"?
I'd describe her as a bit "Loose leaf" or a right "Escarole"
 

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