Politics

The Tax System Explained – Using A Beer Analogy   Suppose that once a week, ten men go out for beers, 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!” “Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved £1 too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefits 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.

It seems these days that the English identity is being eroded. For some reason, we have to be British first and English second, whereas the Welsh and Scots (and quite rightly so) are Welsh and Scottish first and British second. When there is an international sporting match (let’s use Rugby Union as an example), the announcement comes across the stadium ‘please be upstanding for the national anthems’. The Welsh have their anthem – ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ and the Scots have ‘Flower of Scotland’, and it’s quite right that they should have these anthems. But, the English have ‘God Save The Queen’ which is the national anthem of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’. This may be a great and rousing song and I will sing it with pride when supporting GB. But this is NOT the National Anthem of England. England does not have a national anthem. Why should the Welsh and the Scots have a national anthem and not the English? Perhaps a little poem might explain it a bit better:- OUR ENGLAND Goodbye my England, so long old friend Your days are numbered, being brought to an end. To be Scottish or Irish or Welsh that’s just fine, But don’t say you’re English that’s way out of line! The French and the Germans may call themselves such, As may the Norwegians, the Swedes, and the Dutch. You can say you are Russian or maybe a Dane, But don’t say you are English ever again. At Broadcasting House that word is taboo, In Brussels, they’ve scrapped it, and in Parliament too. Even schools are affected, staff do as they are told, They mustn’t teach children about the England of old. Writers like Shakespeare, Milton or Shaw, Do pupils not learn about them anymore? How about Agincourt, Hastings, or Mons? Where England lost hosts of her very brave sons. We’re not Europeans, how can we be? Europe is miles away, over the sea! We’re English from England let’s all be proud. Stand up and be counted, shout it out loud! Let’s tell Whitehall and Brussels too. We’re proud of our heritage, not just red, white, and blue. Fly the flag of St. George AND the Union Flag! Let the World know ENGLAND is back!