Freedom or Fascism?  A lesson from 1948 that appears to have been forgotten.

I received this via e-mail the other day.  It refers to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) Tax Policy, and I think it’s a great illustration of the problem with our current tax system.  What do you think?

ALP TAX POLICY EXPLAINED VIA THE “BEER ECONOMY” FOR THE AVERAGE JOE….

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 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.

To summarize…

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

Congressman Garamendi with Contra Costa County Public Employee Union Members

Prior to his vote, I e-mailed Congressman Garamendi, of California’s 10th Congressional District, expressing my opposition to the health care bill.  Below is his response which I received well after the fact as you can see by the date.  Unfortunately typical in my experience with our so called “representatives”.

Representative Ellen Tauscher, California 10th Congressional District

H.R. 1207, also known as the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009,  enables the Comptroller General to audit the Federal Reserve System and federal reserve banks, without first obtaining written consent from them (which is currently required).  It  also directs the Comptroller to complete an audit of the Federal Reserve System by 2010, and provide a detailed report to Congress.  In addition H.R. 1207 removes language from Subsection b, section 714, of Title 13 of the United States Code, and would enable the Comptroller General to audit the following items which are currently exempt from auditing:

When asked if she would consider joining the list of H.R. 1207 cosponsors, California 10th Congressional District Representative Ellen Tauscher’s e-mailed response was:

“Thank you for writing me about H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. This bill is currently pending before the House Committee on Financial Services. With the near collapse of our financial system last fall, it is apparent that efficient, effective regulation that strengthens consumer and investor protections and promotes market stability and transparency is needed.  As we repair the financial system, we must incorporate strong oversight and accountability measures that enhance the current regulatory standards.  Be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind as I review the report for the committee.”

Rep. Tauscher skillfully dodged the question of whether or not she would considering joining the list of H.R. 1207 cosponsors.  She also wrote that she will “review the report for the committee” (House Committee on Financial Services), on which she does not serve. As of June 5, 2009, H. R. 1207 had 190 cosponsors, and Rep. Tauscher was not among them.

Could it be that Rep. Tauscher and others are against a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve System and federal reserve banks?  If so, why?

Update: Tauscher was confirmed as the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security on June 25, 2009.  Her last day in the House was June 26, 2009.