Went to a family reunion in Charlotte Saturday...210 miles each way. Had some GREAT food, and saw some folks I haven't seen in a couple years.
Decided that Sunday was such a gorgeous day that I'd head "out to sea". My cousin, my brother-in-law and I took Pirate Attack for a spin. We ended up at a spot called Jerry's Reef" (gotta find out a little history about the plots off the Carolina Coast. There's a story in their naming, to be sure). Turned out that it's 28 miles from New River Inlet, and in 100 feet of water. Only big problem is that we didn't find any fish.
However, before we headed to points WAY offshore, we looked for spanish macks close to the beach, and we picked up a pretty good sized one. Made for a good dinner, I'm sure.
Worked all day Monday. And, I found out that a gent from Hayes, Virginia...a spot that's about 250 miles from Jacksonville...wanted to buy one of my boats, and planned to be in town Tuesday morning. Early.
He came. He bought the boat. On condition that I transport it, for a fee, to his home. And, it had to be done Tuesday.
Bill, at Tideline Marine, handled the details, and he readied the trailer for a long haul. Took a couple new bearings...thank goodness he took care of that problem. I would not like to be stuck alongside the road waiting for help. Not a good thing.
Made the trip there and back with no issues. Nine hours, straight, on the road. And, I work again all day Wednesday. Heck of a schedule for a retired old fogey.
Some say that the two best days of a man's life are when he buys a boat and when he sells it. I disagree. I have never sold a boat, including this one, that I did not regret selling. No, I didn't need her (all boats are "hers"), and she's in good hands. And, I have two other boats. But, I already miss my Aquaholic (that was her name).
Anyway, I made the trip, there and back...safely.
Lots of e-mails making the rounds. I enjoy reading jokes, even the non PC ones. I even understand some of them. And, you can pick up some great tips from some of them, as well.
Did you know that asparagus can prevent or cure cancer? One of the better ones explains our tax system so that even I can understand it. And, it comes from a very smart person. Read on, take notes, and pay attention.
THE TAX SYSTEM EXPLAINED IN BEER
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 ball. "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 men would 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 a higher percentage. They decided to follow the principle of the tax
system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he
suggested that each should now pay.
And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued
to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare
their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," 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 benefit than me!"
"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back,
when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get
anything at all. This new tax 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 their 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 government ministers, is how
our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will
naturally 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.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible
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