Food for thought

[me]

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 ? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?
The bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, 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.

[Locutus]

More flotsam from the email inbox?   

[Exterminator]

More flotsam from the email inbox?   

Yep; and the people who write such inane tripe only need useful idiots to pass it along.  Sort of like the whole socialist grading scheme I've seen going around...doesn't even come close to equating to real life.

[Locutus]

Yep; and the people who write such inane tripe only need useful idiots to pass it along.  Sort of like the whole socialist grading scheme I've seen going around...doesn't even come close to equating to real life.

I think it was Y that said that the only problem with the creation of the web is that it gives any idiot with Internet access a worldwide voice. 

[The Troll]

I think it was Y that said that the only problem with the creation of the web is that it gives any idiot with Internet access a worldwide voice.

  And also fools that repeat it as fact.   

[me]

I think it was Y that said that the only problem with the creation of the web is that it gives any idiot with Internet access a worldwide voice. 

But you wouldn't deny Troll something to occupy himself with would you?  I mean, if it wasn't for him having the internet where would he be?

[libby]

Seriously, where would a lot of us be without the internet?  I remember how I got started. I had a computer on my desk at work -- used it to write -- but didn't have one at home, didn't know there was such a thing as a chat room. Then one day I got a letter from a high school classmate -- with an update about who was doing what, and I learned one friend had died. I wrote to the person who sent the news to me and told him I wished I'd known, and that I would've tried to go the funeral. He wrote back and told me that I needed to get myself a computer, that a lot of classmates were on line. Then another classmate in Florida wrote to me about checking out a Bluefield Daily Telegraph posting area -- where people could write condolences to families of the deceased. By that time it had turned into a posting board, with people who grew up there but lived all over the country getting re-acquainted. It opened up a whole new world to me.

[me]

Seriously, where would a lot of us be without the internet?  I remember how I got started. I had a computer on my desk at work -- used it to write -- but didn't have one at home, didn't know there was such a thing as a chat room. Then one day I got a letter from a high school classmate -- with an update about who was doing what, and I learned one friend had died. I wrote to the person who sent the news to me and told him I wished I'd known, and that I would've tried to go the funeral. He wrote back and told me that I needed to get myself a computer, that a lot of classmates were on line. Then another classmate in Florida wrote to me about checking out a Bluefield Daily Telegraph posting area -- where people could write condolences to families of the deceased. By that time it had turned into a posting board, with people who grew up there but lived all over the country getting re-acquainted. It opened up a whole new world to me.

There are definitely good things about the internet.  A girl I went to kindergarten with found me and we renewed our friendship as well as some others I had lost track of.  I was never one to write letters but through facebook I can keep in touch with family around the U S and some abroad.  I do have to admit longing for the good old 3.1 days before all the garbage and viruses though.  Started out in '92' with a state of the art Packard Bell, the grandkids still play games on it, but the hard drive that was so big for the time wouldn't even hold a song now let alone get online.....lol 

[Anne]

I certainly enjoy my computer and the internet. I love researching geneaology and keeping in touch with my granchildren an cousins on line. I can't remember exactly when we got our first computer but I remember we had Prodigy and when they upgraded their speed we had to buy more memory and then couldn't upgrade any more after that. The prices are much better now, too. Our first computer was at least 9X what we paid for our our last laptop and couldn't do anything compared to the new ones.

[me]

I really don't care for Windows 8 but 7 isn't too bad.  One of these days I am gonna get brave and go into the config sys on my laptop and shut off a bunch of the things I don't want running at start up like I did on my XP though.  I already did with a few things but just haven't gotten back to it to do the rest.  Heck it doesn't take them that long to open up if you need them so why have them open on start up just to be ready.....lol

[The Troll]

But you wouldn't deny Troll something to occupy himself with would you?  I mean, if it wasn't for him having the internet where would he be?

  If you ever wake up from you stupors, you will notice that I am not on the Zone for 3, 4 and sometimes 5 day in a row.  Hot Lips.    Where would I be?  Why I am up to my RV Trailer at Salamonie Lake, fishing , boating, eating, drinking and having a good time with friend up there.  Or some times I am down at French Lick doing a little gambling, eating, drinking and having a good time.     What do you do Tater Pie?  Sit on your fat ass and cry.      about Obama. 

[me]

Work in the yard, play music, help out with some charity work, housework, you know, useless things like that. 

[The Troll]

Work in the yard, play music, help out with some charity work, housework, you know, useless things like that.

  I take my wife every where I go, she goes to the lake and to French Lick.  She doesn't to house work every day.  She has fun with me.   

  Why don't your hubby take you any where or is it like this.     Or is it that your broom is one passenger.    

[me]

We do those things together dumb ass.  We also go out to eat and do other things together.  Very seldom do we do anything away from each other.  We happen to like being at home and don't even own a boat, don't want one.  We have fires in the summer and sit out and listen to the silence and enjoy nature in our own back yard with friends and/or family.  Our back yard and patio are our no stress zone, we don't need to get away from home to relax and have fun. 

[pariann]

You both do more than we do.  Car rides around the state is our fun, when we can get away from that darn shop.  Too many 11 and 12 hour days. Ugh.