* The first five men would pay $0.60 (3%)
* The sixth and seventh would pay $5 (10%)
* The eighth and ninth would pay $8 (16%)
* The tenth man (the richest) would pay $71 (71%)

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. How could they divide the $20 increase so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they added that to everybody’s share, then the first five men would each end up gettind paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to increase each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
* The first five men now pay $0.55 instead of $0.60 ($.05 savings).
* The sixth and seventh now pay $4.50 instead of $5 ($.50 savings).
* The eigth and ninth now pay $6.50 instead of $8 ($1.50 savings).
* The tenth now paid $55.25 instead of $71 ($15.75 savings).

Each of the ten was better off than before and the first five continued to drink for pennies, but once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“We only got $.50 out of the $20!” declared the six and seventh men. They pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $15.75!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the eigth and ninth men. “We only saved $1.50. It’s unfair that he got $15.75 back!”

“That’s true!!”, shouted the first five men. “Why should he get $15.75 back when we only got 5 measly cents?! The wealthy get all the breaks! The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth man and said, “We’re going to create a fairer way to split the money tomorrow,” without thinking that over half were already being supported by the 10th guy.

So they call their friend Mr. Obama and this is what he suggests:
* The first five men now make $0.80 instead of paying $0.60 ($1.40 savings).
* The sixth and seventh now make $1.50 instead of paying $5 ($6.50 savings).
* The eigth and ninth now make $0.50 instead of paying $8 ($9 savings).
* The tenth now pays $90 instead of $71 ($19 increase).

The nine agreed to this, but the 10th did not, and since he voted out by the majority, he had no say.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. When it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even part of the bill!

As they walked out, they saw the 10th man across the street drinking with some foreign friends in a Chinese restaurant.

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.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

References and figures

As long as my math is somewhat accurate, the income breakdowns and taxes are correct.
The increases are not as proportional however, because there is no decrease in the Democratic tax plan.

Tax Effects
Income Breakdown

The Barkeep’s breakdown would somewhat represent McCain’s tax breaks, however I would suggest…

* The first five men now pay $2.08 instead of $0.60 ($1.48 savings).
* The sixth and seventh now pay $7.20 instead of $5 ($2.20 increase).
* The eigth and ninth now pay $8.80 instead of $8 ($.80 increase).
* The tenth now paid $37.60 instead of $71 ($33.40 savings).

This would put each person’s tax equal to the % of income they make.  Meaning, if you make 47% of the income, you pay 47% of the taxes.

This, if you can’t afford the beer, maybe you shouldn’t be drinking.