CLEAR EXPLANATION OF TAX CUTS

An explanation that we should all be able to relate to. An explanation of tax
cuts --

  Sometimes politicians, journalists and others exclaim ”It's just a tax cut for
the rich!" and it is just accepted to be fact, without questioning it. But what
does that really mean? Just in case you are not completely clear on this
issue, the following might help.
  Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. 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. "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 men were unaffected.
They would still drink for free.  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 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 roughly the
same amount, 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).
  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 men began to compare
their 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. "We didn't get anything at all. The 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 amongst all of them for
even half of the bill! And that, boys and girls, 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, PhD Professor of Economics University of Georgia
Clear Explanation of Tax Cuts