'Yeah, That is Unfair!' (How our tax system works)

I don't claim to be an economist nor do I play one on TV. But, I know a good illustration when I see one and this is a good one. This illustration has made the Internet rounds in previous years but seems particularly relevant now, especially in light of the 'class warfare' rhetoric we're hearing these days. While I can't verify the author (authorship is credited to several different people), the premise remains unchanged, which is, since the wealthy pay most of the taxes it should be no surprise that they will also benefit most from tax cuts. (The actual percentages in the illustration may not be exact given today's tax rates but the principal remains the same.)

Please, let me be clear: I am not 'sticking up for the rich one percenters' but neither am I 'siding with the cries of the complainers and occupiers.' I'm just trying to bring some clarity (and hopefully sanity) to the incorrect argument that all we need to do to get out of our fiscal mess is 'make sure the rich are paying their fair share' by increasing their taxes. 

(Side note: I think all who pay taxes pay too much in taxes. We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem).

You must read all the way to the end but if you do I think you'll find the read worthwhile. Here it goes….

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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!

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And that 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. 

Since the probability that any of us has ever been employed by a 'poor' person is quite low I suggest we refrain from trying to punish those who take the risk, invest the funds and create the jobs. They are not philanthropists. They are in business to make money. Make it too hard on them and they might not 'show up anymore.'

Before Judging Thee I'll Start With Me

I watched some of Whitney Houston’s funeral today. I laughed some, and I cried some. Truth be told, I cried more than I laughed. So sad, so, so sad. But, I’m convinced Whitney knows Jesus and now her faith has become sight, and she now knows the reality of Jesus’ words as He sings over her “And I will always love you….”

Over the last few days as folks have discussed Whitney’s death, a lot of ‘what did she expect’ thoughts have been expressed….And all this got me thinking and remembering….

It’s September, 2003…..I’m pastor of Salem City Church in downtown Salem. Several months earlier we had met a man named Mark. Mark loved God and he was loved by the SCC family very, very much. The Lord was working in Mark’s life. God was changing him. However, even as Mark experienced God’s love and grace in ways he had never known, and even though he was surrounded by people who loved him and were committed to helping him, he continued to struggle with his heroin addiction. But, he was making efforts to get clean. Mark, having served in the Marines had even made arrangements to enter a drug rehab program run by the Veterans Administration.

So, late one afternoon in September, 2003 I’m sitting in the car listening to the radio while I waited for Vonnie to do some shopping at Target. My phone rings, and my friend on the other end says ‘Well, I have some bad news. Our friend Mark overdosed, and he died.’ I was shocked, dumbfounded, felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Mark, dead? How, why? We found out a few days later that Mark was actually on his way to Portland to enter the VA rehab program. But, he wanted one more high, just one more. So, he rented a motel room, shot up, overdosed and died.

Mark’s death was a tragedy. It was sad and we all grieved. Obviously, many things surrounding Mark’s death were grievous, but one that took me by surprise was the judgment and condemnation expressed by a few people who supposedly loved him. Things were said like “If he really loved God he would have not died this way”…..“Well, what did he expect? You reap what you sow!”.....”Once an addict always an addict.”

Let’s discuss……..

I John 3:1 says “How great is the love that the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Mark was never seen by the Father as a drug addict. In God’s eyes this was not his identity, this was something he was caught up in, but not who he was. He was and is a child of God. The Bible says if we are in Christ we are ‘accepted in the beloved.’ God freely accepted Mark. And while that doesn’t mean He was obligated to accept everything Mark did, God accepted Mark! Mark knew this, and knowing this is what allowed him to live with a joy and a hope that seemed ‘out of place’ given the dire circumstances that surrounded most of his adult life.

Mark’s life was not so different that any of ours. The fact is we may not all be heroin addicts, but we are all broken. And before we judge Mark we need to take a look at our own issues. Heroin controlled Mark, what controls us? Is it anger, food, fear, a past failure? While whatever ‘holds’ us may not be something that has such dire physical consequence as heroin addiction, make no mistake, it still ‘has a hold on us.’

But here’s the good news….While our bad decisions and resulting actions have consequences, just as God accepted Mark He will accept us. My encouragement is this, rather than focus on and fear the consequences of our bad decisions and resulting actions, focus on the goodness of God. See, God’s acceptance of us is not based on our ‘badness’ but it is fully based on ‘His goodness.’ The Bible is clear…..The grace and love and mercy of God triumph over all our shortcomings! And no matter what we do, HIS LOVE is constant. His love for Mark never waned, never changed. It was the same before Mark came to Christ and it was the same in that motel room as he died. This is the grace and the love of God.

Final thought…..I’m 57 and I’ve been around ‘Christians’ most of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I love God, I love the church, but sometimes I don’t ‘like us’ very much. We are so quick to ‘shoot our own’ and  too often we eagerly and vigorously expect some level of perfection/performance from others that we never expect of ourselves. And, I’m weary of it…..

Don’t judge Mark, don’t judge Whitney. If we want to judge anyone, let’s judge ourselves.

Little by Little, Whittle by Whittle

Most of us have probably heard the theory (some scientists agree, some disagree, but the premise seems likely) that if you gently place a frog in a pot of tepid water and turn the heat on low, it will float there quite placidly. As the water gradually heats up, the frog will sink into a tranquil stupor, not unlike what one of us might do in a hot bath, and before long, not feeling uncomfortable enough to get climb out it will unresistingly allow itself to be boiled to death….. 

Something similar is happening in our country right now, it is called ‘incrementalism’ and can be seen as the federal government chips away, little by little, at our individual freedoms which are clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed in the Constitution.  The dictionary defines incrementalism as ‘a policy of making changes, especially social changes, by degrees; gradualism.’ Wikipedia describes it as ‘a method of working by adding to a project using many small, incremental changes instead of a few large jumps.’ So, incrementalism means achieving policy goals piece-by-piece over time rather than all-at-once, especially when BIG changes would most likely be, at least  initially, resisted. And unfortunately it appears that far too many of us, while feeling ‘a little uncomfortable’ with this ever-increasing encroachment into our private lives, are quite content to put up with it since it ‘hasn’t affected our lives yet.’

Here’s the rub….This creeping encroachment has affected our lives on a ‘macro’ scale and if unchallenged it won’t be long before we see the effects on a ‘micro’ scale, forever changing our lives as the freedoms we enjoy are diminished, little by little. And just because you ‘think’ it hasn’t reached you and your family doesn’t mean it hasn’t and won’t.

Let me illustrate how incrementalism is working now, starting with 3 ‘Big Things’ (I could list many, many more) and working our way down the ‘incremental scale’ to 5 ‘Little Things’:

• Our President, without Congress and without the consent of the governed appoints ‘Czars’ who will oversee various government functions and who, thru regulation, make some of the most important policy decisions of our day.

• Our President, without Congress and without the consent of the governed makes ‘recess appointments’ to key labor positions even though Congress was not in recess, having met as recently as the day before the appointments are made.

• Our President mandates that private citizens, private business and faith-based organizations enter into private contracts to buy/sell/provide health insurance regardless if they want it or if the provisions of same may violate their own conscience.

The above are examples of some the ‘BIG Things’ that have already happened. Below are some ‘Little Things’….The first 3 have actually already happened. The last 2 are theoretical but if the above ‘Big Things’ (and others like them) and the 3 ‘Little Things’ that have actually happened are not considered and challenged what will stop the last 2 from happening?

• Perhaps my friend wants to use old-style light bulbs in his house….No biggie, but the government says ‘No, he will use the new-style light bulb. Now, this started under President Bush so please don’t make the mistake of thinking this only an ‘Obama’ problem. (Oh well, it’s not me, I don’t care what kind of light bulbs they force me (thru regulation) to use).

• Perhaps my son while dining in New York City wants salt on his table at one of his favorite restaurants. No biggie, but for many restaurants in NYC the government has said ‘No, you will not have salt at your table.’ (Oh well, it’s not me, I don’t live in NYC and I don’t care if the government (thru regulation) limits salt intake in NYC).

• Perhaps your friend sent her 4 year-old little girl to school with a lunch Mom deemed healthy and that she knew her little girl would like. No biggie, but the government says to the little girl ‘No, you will eat the lunch we provide because we deem your lunch unhealthy.’ (Oh well, it’s not me and not my child and I don’t care if the government (thru regulation) tells that mom what feed her child).

• Perhaps I want blue bubble gum. No biggie, but the government says ‘No, you will not have blue bubble gum you will have green for we deem (thru regulation) that green is better for you.’ (Oh well, at least I still get bubble gum. I don’t care if I don’t have a choice).

• Perhaps the government begins to mandate to grocery stores ‘You must provide only soy milk, only lean meat, and only gluten-free bread to your customers, free of charge.’ (Cool, I don’t care, I like free things).

Now you may say of the last 2 examples above ‘what a crock, just hyperbole, foolishness, this will never happen in America.’ Are we so naive? Logic says that if the previous 6 can take place then there is no reason why the last 2 can’t happen.

Folks, we no longer need to ‘be on guard’ against these kind of things happening in the future…They’re here, now……

In closing, we should take heed to the wise words of C.S. Lewis who said “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

Is 'Income Inequality' THE 'Defining Issue' of Our Tme?

President Obama recently said income inequality is “the defining issue of our time.” Seriously? Is ‘income inequality’ more important than the loss of individual freedoms? Is ‘income inequality’ more important than our elected officials (BOTH PARTIES!) consistently dismissing and ignoring the Bill of rights and Constitution? If it were then maybe ignoring our foundational documents might be justified. BUT it is not. What’s at the top of the list (my list anyway) is reigning in a government and administration intent on the ‘fundamental transformation’ of America….

On Oct 25, 2011 I posted: President Obama is traveling the country proudly saying “If congress won’t act, I will” to which I replied “Mr. President, you are not a king, you are not a benevolent dictator, you are bound to operate within the framework of the constitution in concert with the other two branches of government and you cannot 'act on your own.'”

Some people said I was ‘overreacting’ and that the President was only trying to ‘get stuff’ done. Never mind that he and his party currently have control of the White House and the Senate and that for the first 2 years of his presidency Democrats held the White House, the Senate and the House. So, it’s not really about ‘Congress not acting’ it’s about Congress not acting the way he would like. And, he’s frustrated. 

At a recent campaign stop we got a glimpse into his frustration where he actually says “I know some people want me to bypass Congress and change the laws on my own.” What is perhaps even more disconcerting is the response of the crowd as they cheer and begin to chant, “Yes we can.”  But what is most disturbing is you can hear people in the crowd chanting “Yes you can.” My fear is that too many folks are adopting that same attitude, willing to acquiesce fundamental rights for the sake of ‘political expediency born out of simple compassion’….

While the President does acknowledge “that’s not how our democracy functions” it hasn’t stopped him from ‘working his way around Congress.’

Need more proof?

• He has made unprecedented use of his Executive Order privilege to circumvent Congress
• He appointed a new head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three members to the National Labor Relations Board, using the ‘recess appointment’ rational, even though the Senate has met every three or four days over the holiday period and therefore is not in recess
• He recently said again regarding changing laws he disagrees with "I wish I had a magic wand and could make this all happen on my own...There are times where -- until Nancy Pelosi is speaker again -- I'd like to work my way around Congress."
• Mandating that sovereign individuals, simply because they are breathing, engage in commerce by procuring a product (health insurance) even if they don’t want it and punishing those who do not comply thru fines or other means
• Mandating that faith-based organizations must provide products and services that are against their individual and collective conscience
• In his ‘benevolence’ creating a new ‘Homeowner Bill of Rights’ while on so many fronts ignoring our original Bill of Rights
• The Administration takes over some banks & parts of the auto industry and decides the salaries of those that lead same
• The First Lady tells parents what to feed their children, what restaurant menus should look like, etc
• President Obama recently told human rights advocates at the White House that he was thinking over the possible need for a “preventive detention” system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects (without trial) who are deemed a threat (by the government) to national security
• Our President recently said "We've got laws on the books that have to be upheld."  But he quickly added there are different ways to uphold the laws on the books. "You know as well as anyone that…how we enforce those laws is also important." Which leads to why our President has been ‘selective’ in his enforcement of laws already on the books, choosing to enforce the ones he agrees with and not enforcing the ones he disagrees wth….
• He ordered the Department of Justice to no longer enforce the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Section 3, even though DOMA was duly enacted and passed into law in 1996
• His administration directed that the federal government sue the sovereign state of Arizona to make Arizona cease enforcing federal immigration
• His Justice Department dropped it's lawsuit against the New Black Panthers for intimidating white voters in Philadelphia

I could give more examples of all this, and I will, later…..Stay tuned.

Just a guy, sharin’ his thoughts…..

"How do we make sense out of something like this?"

A couple of months ago my wife's second cousin, young, beautiful mom was killed in a traffic accident. I was asked by a few folks "How do we make sense out of something like this?"


The only way I know is to return to what I know to be true....that God is good. As people who think primarily about the 'here and know' we are always looking to 'explain' why things happen....And it seems that when something good happens we are quick to call it 'a blessing' from God but when something bad happens we are quick to blame Him. The truth is, we live in a world where good things happen to 'bad' people and bad things happen to 'good' people and we have to live with that, hard as it is.

What makes life tolerable for me in the light of all the 'nonsensical' things that happen is I trust in God and His goodness. I believe that because He has been and will always be eternally good He can't stop doing good for us and that if something 'bad' happens, something that we would rather not see or have to go through, we have to trust He will bring something good out of the situation that we can't see right now. While I don't believe God 'caused' this tragedy I do believe He has a plan in it, a good plan. Maybe He wanted to show Himself to the family in way He hasn't been able to before, maybe He wanted to work out some healing or reconciliation that wasn't going to happen before, or maybe He just wanted to bring those most affected closer to Him than they have been before.

He tells us in the book of Isaiah that His ways and thoughts are higher than ours....That being said, in light of His goodness, I choose to trust Him...It's all I can do.

Declaration of Independence....Who Cares?

In previous weeks I have posted a few observations regarding our current President and his ever-increasing efforts to enforce his ‘government is the answer’ ideology on us all as he seeks to ‘fundamentally transform America’ away from a Constitutional republic to something else he deems better. In a Jan 30 Facebook post I explained at little as to why I have been doing so and so to ‘get me’ you might want to read that post. I also wrote that in the days to come I would be sharing some of my observations on the ‘roots’ that are producing ‘the fruit’ which are the actions our President is taking that I feel are not helpful and in fact may prove to be quite harmful to our current situation and most certainly to our future….

Just a guy, sharin’ his thoughts…...Here we go.....

Those who disrespect, disregard and attempt to circumvent the Constitution often do so because they, at worst, disagree or at best simply do not respect the second and third sentences of the Declaration of Independence which say “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed….”

The Declaration of Independence was written long before (approx. 11 years) the Constitution….The Declaration ‘declares’ that we are sovereign individuals who have been given certain rights by God AND that government is instituted to secure those rights that have been given by God AND that those in government derive their powers FROM the governed….Not vice versa!

‘Big Government’ folks (and our President is one) believe that government bestows rights and therefore whatever action is necessary to give/take rights is justified, even if it means disregarding, disrespecting or circumventing the Constitution. Case in point: Declaring health care as a new ‘right’ and thereby justifying the MANDATE that sovereign individuals, simply because they are breathing, engage in commerce by procuring a product (health insurance) they may not want and MANDATING that private insurance companies engage in commerce by selling a product to individuals that they may not want to sell their product to and MANDATING that ‘religious’ healthcare providers MUST provide products and services that are against their individual and collective conscience and if those sovereign individuals, private insurance companies and ‘religious’ healthcare providers do not comply they will be punished with fines, levies and perhaps jail time…Unconstitutional, incredible, and sad, and dangerous.

CAUTION: When government starts ‘handing out rights’ they can also take them away.