Gothamist: Rudy Giuliani Is Forbes-Approved

Wilson

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:20:03 -0500

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. 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 on 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 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 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 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 I!" "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, 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. David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics University of Georgia *note: Poster is not David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.

Darrin

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:57:12 -0500

You want a REAL tax cut? How about this: the first $60,000 of income is tax free. No Federal, State, County, City taxes on the first $60,000. Everything above that gets taxed at 19%. For everyone. No exceptions, no exemptions. Just 19% That means your Federal taxes would be $3458 if your income is $78,202. Today's "Paris Hilton" tax codes have you currently paying $13414... so you would get a tax break of almost $10,000! No, this isn't the "Flat Tax" that Steve Forbes was pushing, loaded with hidden breaks for the richest. It's the Democratic Tax Plan that Rham Emanuel is proposing. It would bring in at least as much tax money as is currently collected and would stimulate the economy like a rocket taking off. So... where are all the "Liberal Media" when it comes to promoting this plan? They're too busy repeating the mindless mantra "The Democrats Don't have any new ideas".

why

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:22:57 -0500

republican economics make sense. too bad all their candidates are religious nut-jobs with myopic foriegn policies and totalitarian tendencies.

Life isn't all about the bottom line

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:06:48 -0500

It still amazes me that many Republicans care solely about whether their taxes are raised a few dollars than the serious problems in Iraq and the corruption of our administration.

Cuz

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 23:57:52 -0500

Well RG already won the vote in the south, he was married to his cousin for many years.

anomalous

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:29:38 -0500

and Steve Forbes did so well when he ran for president...

jmchez

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:23:54 -0500

As Ared said, fiscal conservatives are already saying that Rudy "Hit a homer" with Forbe's endorsement.

Ared

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 19:52:22 -0500

Among fiscal conservatives, Steve Forbes is probably the most respected man in the country. Fiscal conservatives are kind of a large part of the GOP's primary voters.

Tim N.

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:44:51 -0500

Nice picture. They're creepy and they're kooky Mysterious and spooky They're all together oonky The GOP-ily.