Every Day I Wake Up I Am Thankful God Made Me An American
I begin with a discussion of how our great tax system works because it is an area of great misunderstanding. One which tends to influence our thinking, and, thus, needs some clarification:
Suppose that ten men, all high school classmates and friends, some very successful, others less so, and some struggling financially…but all friends who enjoy each other's company, play a weekly game of basketball at a local gym. They decide to go out for a beer after their game, 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 and most successful) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar each week following their basketball game and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curveball. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your weekly beer by $20". Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80! Wow, a 20% reduction…that’s incredible!! Cheers for the bartender!
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? br>
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. That certainly was not the intention!
WHAT TO DO?
Thinking quickly, 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. So he reached under the bar and pulled out his slide rule (he is old-fashioned) 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).
Total savings 6 thru 10 = $20! What a wizard that bartender is!
OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS:
Each of the six men 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 and I am a better player than he is!!"
"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!" (it’s unclear if that man’s name was Bernie Sanders or if he was a democrat, but what he said seems consistent with the democratic way of looking at things)
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison who didn’t pay anything, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"
The nine men then surrounded the tenth and beat him up, and drove him out of town!
The next week the tenth man didn't show up for the basketball game or the after-game drinks. So, the nine others plus a guy they recruited from the neighborhood 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, students, teachers, professors, journalists, community organizers, politicians, 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. And when they do, the burden falls on the shoulders of those who remain…the middle class….you and me.
End of Lesson # 1 on the U.S. Tax System.
NOW, LET’S BEGIN LESSON #2 DEALING WITH OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM:
Let’s turn our attention to the New Wave of Democratic Socialism engulfing our nation, and in particular, our youth, college students, college and university professors, news broadcasters, and folks like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Corey Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris who collectively and individually attempt to sell us their fantasy story that all the free stuff they are offering can be paid for by increases in taxes on the rich. But you know now that when you continue to tax the rich they may leave which then leaves the middle class…you and I…to pick up the tab!
It wasn’t long ago that we heard Bernie Sanders’ $16 Trillion Climate Change spending plan for the U.S. Economy. He audaciously states, without trepidation or equivocation, that his plan “will pay for itself” by the increases in taxes and the complete restructuring of our entire economy. And, on top of that, he suggests that his plan will “create 20 million more jobs”. He did not discuss where those jobs will come from, but that is what he said.
But, fear not….President Joe Biden who is now on the scene has tempered this thinking. He is now only proposing to spend $6.0 Trillion, for the moment.
I may be wrong in this assessment, and readily admit that my following remark may sound a bit cold and even crass. but I’m going to guess that Bernie Sanders, and probably Joe Biden never took a course in accounting, finance, economics, or…..common sense. And, forgive me, but anyone who buys into this program ought to have their heads examined. Consider the following:
1. Our annual tax revenues are roughly $4.5 trillion each year (incidentally 2018 tax revenues under President Trump…even with his tax cuts….were the highest in history! )
2. We spend roughly $5.5 trillion….so we spend more than we take in. That, ladies and gentlemen, suggests to me that we have a spending problem, not a revenue problem….and, in the midst of this, democrats want us to spend more. That doesn’t sound to me like a rational building plan, but a blueprint for economic disaster… economic suicide might be a better word.
If you listen to the other people making up the democratic/socialist party, they profess even greater hypocrisy. They pledge more free stuff and giveaways, all seeking to buy the votes of Americans who think this kind of thing doesn't cost them anything! But, in reality, it does cost and the cost is far greater than they can imagine, The cost is their freedom and ours as well.
NOW LET’S TURN OUR ATTENTION TO SOCIALISM VERSUS CAPITALISM FOR LESSON # 3
SOCIALISM VERSUS CAPITALISM
It is an undeniable fact that the Economic System we know as Capitalism has produced the single greatest example of growth and prosperity known to man. And here in the United States, we have achieved that status in a period of 245 years since the founding of our Republic. There are nations around the world, Britain, France, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, who have been in existence for ten and twenty times longer than the U.S, who have not achieved what we have in a fraction of the time. And left-wing liberal democrats want us to scrap all this in exchange for socialism. They speak of the problems of our country but they do not address this very basic, fundamental question…..if we have so many problems, if America is an evil nation built on racist principles and class warfare, why are so many people trying to come to America? America welcomes 1.0 million people who come here every year legally. How many Americans seek to leave our shores for other nations of the world?
Think about this: What nation in the history of the world that has adopted socialism as their economic system has prospered? Can you name one? If so, who is it? We have seen the failures of socialism in nations like Venezuela, Argentina, North Korea, Russia and Cuba. Do we wish to be like them? When was the last time you saw or read about caravans of Americans migrating to Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina…or for that matter any other nation on earth?
Sir Winston Churchill described socialism in this manner: “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” He reiterated, “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings while the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
The most disturbing aspect of all the rhetoric from liberal democrats and the corrupt media and left-leaning university professors these days is that they genuinely believe that the majority of American voters simply do not understand economics nor do they understand our tax system. They believe that by spewing hatred and negative comments directed towards our President and promising free stuff which “someone else…the amorphous government”…..will pay for, they can get your vote!
And, if truth be told, they are partially right. Our high schools and universities have really not done a good job in educating students. Indeed, they have become more temples of advocacy rather than learning, and that has contributed to the propensity of young students to protest in our streets without having a foundation or understanding of what or why they are protesting. Our youth need to take courses in Civics and American History taught by faculty who appreciate American Exceptionalism. And, most importantly, students need to understand that the government cannot give to any one group that which they do not take away from another group because there is a finite amount of tax revenue…that belongs to the people.
One solution to problems like these is for the people to insist upon term limits for both Houses of Congress. Consider this:
Joe Biden has been in government for almost 50 years
Diane Feinstein has been in government for 60 years
Chuck Schumer has been in government for 37 years
Dick Durban has been in government for over 40 years
Maxine Waters has been in government for 47 years
Take a close look at the democratic cast of characters. What exactly are they offering? What is their platform and how will that improve the lives of Americans?
Do we have problems here in the US? You bet we do…and we put them out there for the world to see. I have traveled all over this world over the last forty years and I can tell you without hesitation or equivocation, there has never been anywhere I would rather be than right here in the USA. I am proud of our nation and its heritage; proud of its military; its incredible medical system; its creativeness and innovation; its system of values and fairness and its Constitutional Republic.
And, I am still learning. Even to this day, I marvel at the genius of our Founding Fathers.
I thank God every day I wake up that He made me an American!
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E.P. Unum is US! H/T McIntosh Enterprises - June 23, 2020.
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