A Tory friend of mine put this up on FB Now that the election is out of the way...... THE TAX SYSTEM EXPLAINED IN BEER Suppose that once a week, 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 And the tenth man (the richest) would pay £59. So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every week and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until, one day, the owner caused them a little problem. "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. 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 not only would the first four men still be drinking for free but the fifth and sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fairer 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 (a 100% saving). The sixth man now paid £2 instead of £3 (a 33% saving). The seventh man now paid £5 instead of £7 (a 28% saving). The eighth man now paid £9 instead of £12 (a 25% saving). The ninth man now paid £14 instead of £18 (a 22% saving). And the tenth man now paid £49 instead of £59 (a 16% saving). Each of the last six was better off than before with the first four continuing to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got £1 out of the £20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got £10" "Yes, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved £1 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 only got £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 week 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 to pay 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 might not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible Discuss??? Is this logic flawed?
Is it flawed? Of course... 1. No rich man would countenance paying for the poor men's drinks in the first place. 2. Rich men tend not to pay tax anyway, they are more likely to take advantage of tax shelters, tax avoidance schemes etc. 3. Those promises to take their drinking habits overseas if threatened 'to pay their share' never seem to eventuate.
I would hotly contest that statement Yorkie - on a European ranking on beer I would have Belgium on first place followed by Germany (only the South - for some reason the North Germans have taken to pale lager). The oldest breweries are in the South of Germany (I have done an enjoyable cycling tour of these - highly wobbly at times )
Well I do remember as a 14 year old on a school exchange to Bamberg, Germany being introduced to Rauchbier by a group of American servicemen stationed there.... I remember little else on those evenings!
I have a fridge full of very strong Belgium beer that my son-in-law brings me. The trouble is that it is so strong I can only partake on an evening when I do not intend to stray too far from the armchair.
Some of the strongest Belgian beer is still brewed by monks. Unfortunately the tradition of monastic brewing in England was killed off in the 16th Century - but Belgium still has 6 Trappist breweries. Lots of the German breweries still have monastic names but the monks do not actually brew themselves. The best I have tasted was at the Trappist monastery Saint Sixtus - near Vleteren in Belgium - the Westvleteren 12 is around 10.2%, but, unfortunately, only obtainable there.
IMPORTANT EDIT: The best Cologne has tasted was at the Trappist monastery Saint Sixtus - near Vleteren in Belgium - the Westvleteren 12 is around 10.2%, but, fortunately, only obtainable there.
