If Obama Wins...

Our Tax System Explained in Beer!
By: David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

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.
'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.

Sadly, we're back

I have to admit, coming home from Switzerland was depressing. We were so not ready to leave. We had such an amazing week!

We flew into Munich and toured the city for 2 days, visiting the Dachau concentration camp, English Garden, Deutsches Museum, and the fun downtown area. Also went to the famous beer hall, Hofbrauhaus...kind of made me wish I drank...it looked so fun :) Then we picked up a car and drove to the Nueschwanstein castle (the "Disneyland castle"). It was awesome (cloudy/rainy, but what an you do). Toured the Hohenschwangau and Linderholf castle as well. Saw the cutest white church and a fun town named Oberammergau. Stayed the night in Reutte, Austria, right across the border.

Then off we drove to Switzerland...we headed to the Berner Oberland, Interlaken, Swiss Alps area for an amazing 3 days. Hiked in the Alps, rode trams and trains, went to the top of the Schilthorn, ate CHEESE, potatoes, CHEESE, bread, CHEESE, and chocolates. We stayed in the adorable town of Muerren. Saw lots of cows (with their cow bells on!) while hiking. Absolutely HATED leaving. I want to move to Switzerland so bad!!! Took the train through Luzern and toured around for a few hours and then flew home through Zurich.

We packed a lot into 8 days, but it was awesome!!!!

From 09132008 - Germany Switzerland

E2 Shoes (aka Europe 2 Shoes)

Yep, I bought new shoes for our trip next week :) and not Keens, can you believe it? They're Merrells. We're headed to Germany and Switzerland, and I really needed more of a hiking shoe for Switzerland since we'll be spending 3 days hiking in the Alps. We can't wait to go! Stay tuned for pictures when we get back.

(E2 shoes = well, 2 years ago Ry and I went Italy. It was our first trip to Europe together...of course we bought new shoes :) which became known as our Italy shoes or Italy Keens. Now that we bought new shoes for this trip, it was kind of mouth full to say Germany/Switzerland Shoes, so we've decided to call them our E2 shoes. I know, I know, we're dorks!)

Infidel

This was a really interesting book...it is the true story of Harisi Ali. She was raised in a strict Muslim family and because she was female, had no voice, no opinion, no say in what happened in her life...which included beatings, female mutilation, and an arranged marriage. (Seriously, so glad I wasn't born Muslim!) She defied her family, her religion, and her culture, and escaped this way of life. To all my feminists out there...you actually may NOT want to read this. It will make you so mad (and hate men even more :) Seriously though, fascinating book!

Fun Weekend in Chicago

Recently Ry and I were in Chicago, where we met up with our good friend Brettman for the weekend. Ryan had an Ortho Conference, so since he was going, you know I had to go too! We stayed at the Intercontinental, right on Michigan Ave. Great location! We had a fun 3 days of seeing the sights. Our favorite part of the trip was a Food Tasting/Walking Tour by Chicago Food Planet (http://www.chicagofoodplanet.com/). If you're ever in Chicago, don't miss it!

Sears Tower

Brett and Ry

Oak Street Beach

Where I want to live (Gold Coast) if we ever move to Chicago!!!

My new obsession...the only place I'll ever buy spices again!

Seriously...start blogging

So, I took a little break from blogging, and not because I was obsessed with reading Breaking Dawn (okay, so I read it twice :) but because I started reading a blog called SersiouslySoBlessed. I am sure most of you have heard about it. It is so funny, but totally makes fun of the world of blogging and the Mormon culture (and let's be honest, the Mormon culture is totally worthy of some sarcasm). I went online to read it, thinking I would laugh with her at all the funny things she points out about "other" people, only to realize I totally was one of the people she was making fun of. CRAP! So I had to take a break from blogging (and for awhile considered even stopping all together). I have decided though, (after my good friend Quinn reminded me how much she loves to keep up with friends through their blog) that I’ll keep bloggin. So if you want to hear about Ryan and my vacations, books I’ve read or movies I’ve scene, stay tuned!

Done

Amazing! Loved it! (16 hours to read)

New Favorite Song too

And while I'm on new favorites, here is my new favorite song.

Taylor Swift - Picture to Burn

Have you seen...

Penelope?
This is my new favorite movie. I just saw it the other night and thought it was so cute!

This is such a great scene. (I am a sucker for romance!) It is at the very end, so if you haven't seen it and plan to, Don't Watch.



Also, the DVD has a spotlight on Twilight the movie if you're interested (and it doesn't include the swear word :).

SLR Camera Debut

Okay, so I know I've said that Ry rarely gets 2 days in a row off, and that is true (he has gone 6 weeks straight without a day off before), but he actually had 2 weekends in a row off!!! The first weekend he went fishing - see below - and his 2nd weekend off we went to Asheville, North Carolina to visit the Biltmore Mansion. It was very impressive. The Biltmore is the largest privately owned home in the US. and was built by George Vanderbilt. For the small fee of $50 each, we toured the impressive home and beautiful grouds. We both really enjoyed it and had a great day!!!

On the way home, we drove through the Great Smokey Mountains. It was beautiful.

(Ry bought a new SLR camera - a Canon Rebel XTi - this was our first time using it. Here are the rest of the pictures. Great job babe!!!)