Surely we won’t forever believe that unlimited economic growth is the answer to all our problems and that the rat race to grab an ever greater share of the pot is naturally good for all? Look where we have come in 200 years in regard to infrastructure, consume and waste and so on. We only have another six thousand million years of “infinite” growth to go. Where do you think that will lead? Sooner or later both rich AND poor will have to live lower maintenance lifestyles and start emphasising BEING rather than HAVING. It’s only a matter of time.

Only then might we live in some kind of sustainable equilibrium.

1) under the current system no matter how much tax these people pay they will receive the same state pension when they retire as someone who has contributed the lowest level of tax.
2) If each of these people where knocked down in the street by a car they would have to wait the same amount of time for an ambulance to turn up as the afore mentioned individuals.
3) If these people became unemployed they would not be able to receive unemployment benefit even though they paid taxes because they have too much money in savings. When they eventually do earn that right, they will receive exactly the same as the afore mentioned individuals.
And on and on and on.
Now pick up your pens and start writing thank you notes to these wealthy people for subsidising your existances.

Networth seems to be something hard to achieve for most people, but it is not. Making money to pay the bills are harder. Networth in itself is just one company away.

BAR ROOM ECONOMICS

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: 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 everyone’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 pound 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 pound, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I did!”

“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, ladies and gentlemen, 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, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics

But I work hard and live in hope and what I’ve got is what I earned myself and I never sponged off anyone. I won’t be voting for the Greed & Envy Party.