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A Tax Cut Parable
A TAX CUT PARABLE
Every night, 10 men met at a restaurant for dinner. At the end of the meal,
the bill would arrive. They owed $100 for the food that they shared.
Every night they lined up in the same order at the cash register. The first
four men paid nothing at all. The fifth, grumbling about the unfairness of
the situation paid $1. The sixth man, feeling very generous paid $3. The
next three men paid $7, $12, and $18 respectively. The last man was required
to pay the remaining balance, $59. He realized that he was forced to pay for
not only his meal but the unpaid balance left by the first five men.
The 10 men were quite settled into their routine when the restaurant threw
them into chaos by dropping their prices. Now dinner for the 10 men would
only cost $80. This clearly would not effect the first four men. They still
ate for free. The fifth and sixth men both claimed their piece of the $20
right away. The fifth decided to forgo his $1 contribution. The sixth
pitched in $2. The seventh man deducted $2 from his usual payment and paid
$5. The eighth man paid $9. The ninth man paid $12, leaving the last man
with a bill of $52.
Outside of the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings, and angry
outbursts began to erupt. The sixth man yelled, "I only got $1 out of the
$20, and he got $7," pointing at the last man. The fifth man joined in.
"Yeah! I only got $1 too. It is unfair that he got seven times more than
me." The seventh man cried, "Why should he get $7 back when I only got $2?"
The nine men formed an outraged mob, surrounding the 10th man. The first
four men followed the lead of the others: "We didn't get any of the $20.
Where is our share?" The nine angry men carried the 10th man up to the top
of a hill and lynched him. The next night, the nine remaining men met at the
restaurant for dinner. But when the bill came, there was no one to pay it.
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