Taxing the Wealthy

HT to my FIL Gene for this piece illustrating the fallacy of a "soak the rich" tax policy:

Just in case you are not completely clear on this issue, I hope the following will help. Please read it carefully.

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner 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 ate dinner in the restaurant 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 meal by $20." Dinner 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 eat 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 eat their meal.

So, the restaurant 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 paid $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 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 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 me!"

"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 dinner, so the nine sat down and ate 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 eating overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Fair and Balanced?

Not surprising at all, but sickening nonetheless:

One Year Ago...

Today is the first anniversary of the beginning of my career with Harris. On occasion, it still seems a bit unreal how much change has happened in our lives over the last year.

I remember sitting in the orientation program last September 17th. Not knowing anyone in the room, living in an unfamiliar town, in an apartment (I hadn't lived in one of those since 1988)...it was such a long way from our cozy house in Virginia and my 20 year career of government service that we had left behind just days before.

Now we are in a great home, in a growing community, and have met a couple of neighbors who have similar family situations. My job is going great, I have made friends and colleagues, and many people have told me they are glad I'm part of the team. Brian and Sean (and even Colin, although he doesn't quite grasp it all yet) are loving their school room at home. And Cindy has made several good friends through church and homeschooling connections. We've even found a super babysitter!

So all in all, it's been a fabulous first year. Looking forward to many more!

Sorry Charlie

The conventional wisdom is that Charlie Gibson exposed Governor Sarah Palin's ignorance of foreign policy details in his line of questioning on the Bush Doctrine.

Not so fast. Here's the real story: Charlie Gibson's Gaffee

Charles Krauthammer should know. He is credited as the person who coined the term in February 2001.

Just setting the record straight.

Issues: Foreign Policy

Who made which of the following statements after the recent outbreak of violence in the Georgia-Russia conflict:

Statement #1: "I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict. Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war. Georgia's territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis."

Statement #2: "I condemn Russia's aggressive actions and reiterate my call for an immediate ceasefire... Russia must stop its bombing campaign, cease flights of Russian aircraft in Georgian airspace, and withdraw its ground forces from Georgia."

Ready for the answers?






Scroll down...






Answers:


#1: Barack Obama, 8 August 2008


#2: Barack Obama, 9 August 2008

Liking Sarah Palin

"What Sarah Palin has done, and this is something I like about her, is that she's a women who has succeeded very much on her own terms. She talks about motherhood as a training ground for leadership; she manages and balances her family and her work in her own way. It's very hard to see where her family ends and her work begins. I think a lot of women see their lives that way. Not everyone's going to go out and shoot a moose and put their hair up in a bun and put on their sexy open-toe shoes and go to dinner. ... But does everybody have to be lock-step on every issue? Or can somebody who's outside--in Sarah Palin's case, very much outside--the traditional feminist agenda still move the ball forward for women? I think the answer is yes. When I hear Pat Buchanan on TV, decrying sexism in the media, you know? This is not all bad. ... I don't know where abortion rights are going to end up in all this, and honestly that concerns me, but I think we need to find a different language to talk about it. I think that there are more women who identify with Sarah Palin than Gloria Steinem right now. Even if they don't agree with 100 percent of her agenda, her life looks more like their lives."

The passage above is an excerpt from an article written recently by Dee Dee Myers. You'll remember that Dee Dee served as White House Press Secretary in the first Clinton administration. She is an ardent Obama supporter, but has the intellectual honesty to speak her mind on Sarah Palin despite the fact that she does not agree with her politics.

We could use more of this in politics and certainly in the media.

Another Genius

Hey Matt...stick to acting. Maybe there's a role in a "bad Disney movie" waiting for you.

Just for the record, Gov. Palin does not believe the dinosaurs roamed the earth 4,000 years ago, nor did she try and ban books as Mayor of Wasilla. Perhaps you could do your homework before opening your mouth.

9/11

Never before have two numbers joined together held such somber significance.

Seven years ago today, our country was changed forever. September 11th became no longer just a date, but also a stark reminder of the dangers present in the "New World Order" that took hold after the end of the Cold War.

I vividly remember being in my Reston, VA office the morning of the savage attacks that took the lives of almost 3,000 of our fellow Americans. At first, it seemed like an unfortunate accident. Bruce, an engineer who worked for me, stood in my office doorway.

"Hey boss, turn on the TV. A plane just hit the World Trade Center in New York."

"What did he say?" I thought to myself. I turned the TV on, and soon after saw the second plane hit the South Tower, followed by the attack on the Pentagon and the plane crash in a field near Shanksville, PA.

Everyone watching in my office, and surely across the Nation, knew in an instant that this was more than just a bizarre coincidence. We still couldn't quite grasp what had happened and why, but in the hours and days following these horrific events we had to come to grips with the new reality of what's now referred to as the "Post-9/11 World."

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who lost friends and loved ones on that fateful day seven years ago.

Prayers Commemorating September 11

Brian the Baseball Player

Today was one of those landmark days as a Dad, especially when you have boys. Brian entered the world of organized sports as his t-ball league started today. I was so proud of him getting out there with kids he didn't know, playing a game he had never played before.

He did great, even hit the ball by himself and did a really good job concentrating in the field. He has some perfectionist tendencies which we will have to work through (he didn't want to run to first base by himself because he was afraid of making a mistake, I think).

For more details, check out The Kelly's Korner.

Gatorade Revisited

I grew up on Gatorade. Invented in the mid 1960's at the request of a University of Florida assistant football coach, the carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage hit store shelves in 1967.

My introduction to Gatorade came when I was in elementary school and caught a nasty virus at school. I couldn't keep anything down, and as a result I was getting dehydrated. My mom called the pediatrician who told her to buy some Gatorade and try that. She did and it worked great!

Back then, there was only one flavor, lemon-lime (or "regular" I guess, since there were no other choices). I remember when the Orange flavor came out a few years later, and how strange it seemed that Gatorade came in a second flavor. I remember collecting Gatorade bottle tops with NFL teams on them, and how my mom wrote to the company because they were unable to find the last few teams we needed to complete the set (the Saints were one of them, I think there were a couple more). Stokely Van Camp kindly sent her the caps she needed, and we got the cardboard display board as well. Of course, it got messed up when the NFL expanded and there was no place for Tampa Bay and Seattle.

Over the next 30 years or so, Gatorade has really branched out from those two original flavors (I'll give Orange the benefit of the doubt). There is now Rain, Frost, X-Factor, Fierce, even Gatorade A.M. (makes me think of Tang). There is an entire line of Performance drinks. And of course Propel "Fitness Water". Saturday Night Live even did a spoof a few years back, mocking all of the designer flavors:

Despite all the choices -- even the "original" lemon-lime flavor sold today is different -- nothing has quite measured up to the original Gatorade flavor formulated in the 60's.

Until now.

Until Gatorade Tiger, Cool Fusion.

This is the real thing. This is Gatorade how it's supposed to taste. Mildly sweet, lemon and lime flavoring, very refreshing, no after-taste like some of the "modern" Gatorade flavors have. I read today that Cool Fusion has a hint of key lime. That would explain a lot.

Thanks Tiger, and thanks Gatorade people for bringing back a classic, even if unintentionally.