TAX CUTS EXPLAINED
Because it is tax season. . . 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. "Because 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. But 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 between 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.

My Dad gave me this printed a few years back. Definitley the best explanation of the benefits of capitalism ever!

you forgot to mention that the wealthy bastard claimed the $59 beer as entertainment for the trust fund company he set up so that he could spread his absurd income between his deadbeat son,lesbian overall wearing daughter and pool cleaner humping wife. He drove to the pub in a salary sacrifced,emission spewing, resource draining, tax deductable 4wd.
The grunts still had to pay for there beer just not over the counter, but under. got to love that tax system.
remember if you rip off some pensioners life savings with a clever scam and reap in a $1,000,000 dollars you MAY get 5 years (income pa $200,000) but if you threaten a pensioner with a stick and take there wallet($100), you will get 10years (income pa $10)

[ Edited on 6-6-2007 by DUBB61 ]

A:
Whereas if you lived in one of our worlds' great Communist/ Socialist 'utopias', there would be no beer for anybody, and a can of beans would cost you a months wages and a two-month wait, by the time which that price would have doubled, but you wouldn't have any money anyway (unless you were involved in some illegal importing/exporting to/from Capitalist countries), as the state would provide for all your needs in return for your unpaid service, the products of such labours being used to maintain the status quo, rather than driving progress.

And if you dared to complain, you wouldn't be seen again.

Year 0 in Cambodia? No thanks.

Capitalism FTW.

B:
I couldn't agree more, the legal system is an ass.

[ Edited on 6/6/2007 by sinecure ]

I thought the tax department had simplified the forms for this year. Goes something like this

Total income for the year ......

Send it in !!!

Capitalism = Working out if your would sell your friends out by the kilo or by volume for the most profit. (Refer Ammway)

Don't worry about the dole bludger getting $300 per fortnight to live. What about the monopoly that sold product to a dictator through a back door agreement and when they got caught by an outside allie had the guile to claim $300 millon of dollars in bribes as a genuine business exspense and the claim was upheld by the ATO. How many hospitals/police/teachers/disabled services would that buy. (refer aust wheat board scandal)

[ Edited on 7-6-2007 by DUBB61 ]

Love the Amway gag.

ALL forms of government are open to corruption, some worse than others, but none are GENUINELY altruistic about upholding their agreements with their voting or non-voting populace. I believe the difference is in how outraged (even if it's ineffectually) we are allowed to be about this rorting.

At least in this country when "we the people" get vocal about how unimpressed we are with our government, we're not rounded up and shot.

Don't get me wrong, I still wouldn't piss on most pollies if they were on fire, I just appreciate the fact I can openly express this opinion in a public forum without fear of reprisal from the men in black.

hear! hear!

No-one been to Cuba? There is a Socialism/ Communism model that allows plenty of relaxation and alcohol.

that tenth man isn't real.

the real tenth man would pay a creative accountant $5 so he could get away without paying any of the bill, and he'd tie up all his other cash in a trust fund so he could pretend he was one of the first 4.