Taxation Simplified - As explained by an economics professor

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 on 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.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics University of Georgia

Linguistic Chauvinism

Pretty recently, I came across this new word – Linguistic Chauvinism

For long, I had been trying to describe what had been happening with the 2 south Indian states – Karnataka & Tamilnadu. I am not sure whether this is a new addition to the dictionary, but this clearly, in one word, explains what is happening around.

Indians, traditionally had been known for their tolerant culture and heritage – A history of onslaught by the Aryans first, then the Mughals and finally the Missionaries and even after all these we live in peace and harmony as a global community. Off late, the chaos in the two states, on the basis of a river, on the basis of the language they speak has caught everybody’s attention.

Whose asset is a river anyway? What if Mother Nature decides not to rain the catchments of this river for a couple of years? What have we done to replenish the nature and the river and not end up killing it? Who is talking about forestation? But when it comes to reaping the benefits, everybody needs a piece of the pie.

In my early days of childhood, I had seen a river die. There was a river named “Nila” (also known as Bharathapuzha in the colloquial usage) which was once the largest/longest river in Kerala. It had inspired quite a lot of poets and writers during its pink time. Now, the river is no more… Only the sand dunes exist telling a tale of a dead river. People call it “Nila Highway”; because it is a long broad stretch of sand with bridges and pump stations reminding the new generation that… Once upon a time, a river existed here… And during monsoons, it is more of a storm water drain.

Coming back to the original point, what does language has to do with rivers – other than that the language speaking population who they benefit out of them? Nothing. Then why is all this “hoo haa” created on this issue? The answer is simple. Lack of Vision. Our so called elected leaders do not have a vision beyond setting the stage for winning the next election and in the process accumulate wealth! They need something to keep the public (aam janata) busy so that this would hide their inefficiencies. Why can’t we share the national resources? Is a Kannadiga’s blood different from that of a Tamilian? Or Is a Tamilian’s thirst worse than Kannadiga’s? This realization has to happen. And the only way to do this is education. Educate people; Assist them to have a broader perspective of things.

And why are we electing these people again and again? The voting majority in urban areas is less compared to the rural areas. Why? The answer is simple – Apathy. When asked to choose between a devil and sea, people chose to have a cup of tea at home and enjoy the holiday with family rather than going out to stand in the queue and cast the vote. The recent outburst of a prominent JD(S) leader to the urban populace in Bangalore explains that. His populist drama does not sell with educated people. Hence his frustration.

Somebody told me that there is a provision in the constitution where you can go to the polling booth and decide not to vote for anybody – because there is no eligible candidate. Your vote will be counted as Nil. And if the percentage of Nil votes is more than a certain percentage of the total electoral rolls, the election is considered void. At present, the voting system does not provide the anonymity of such cases and hence people would not turn up; scared of being a political target and other consequences. If the EC can provide this Nil vote as an option in the ballot and provide anonymity in such cases, I am sure lots of the political dirt can be cleaned up.

However, I learned a new word to express the current socio-political situation in South India - Linguistic Chauvinism

What Is Intelligence, Anyway?

This is an interesting read which even made me a little uneasy as a reader – Thought I should share this to more people.

What Is Intelligence, Anyway?
By Isaac Asimov

What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army, I received the kind of aptitude test that all soldiers took and, against a normal of 100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that, and for two hours they made a big fuss over me. (It didn't mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP - kitchen police - as my highest duty.)

All my life I've been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I'm highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so too. Actually, though, don't such scores simply mean that I am very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of answers by people who make up the intelligence tests - people with intellectual bents similar to mine?

For instance, I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not possibly have scored more than 80, by my estimate. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was. Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals, and listened to his pronouncements as though they were divine oracles - and he always fixed my car.

Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test. Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or, indeed, almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I'd prove myself a moron, and I'd be a moron, too. In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly. My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact that a small subsection of that society has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such matters.

Consider my auto-repair man, again. He had a habit of telling me jokes whenever he saw me. One time he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: "Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?"

Indulgently, I lifted by right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed raucously and said, "Why, you dumb jerk, He used his voice and asked for them." Then he said smugly, "I've been trying that on all my customers today." "Did you catch many?" I asked. "Quite a few," he said, "but I knew for sure I'd catch you." "Why is that?" I asked. "Because you're so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn't be very smart."

And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.

Hello Hello Check :)

Somebody told me that I can configure my blog in such a way that it would publish the material if I send an email.

With an inquisitive & pessimistic mind, I couldn’t help but trying it myself J

A day in Jupiter - The Destination

Hold on... This isn't about any space expedition. This is a very special place where people like me spend one-third of our life (Yes.. 1/3 of life on a daily basis). This is a very quite place with no frills attached and looks like the old cinema tents in my village.

Though it looks like a tent, you will be taken for a surprise when you enter the place... What receives you at the entrance is an abstract wall painting on the right-hand side. Though it doesn't match with the Tanjore painting or the ones in Ajanta & Ellora caves, I like it. Many a times I wanted to do a similar one at my house, but my CPU & RAM was not capable enough to capture the entire design at a time. Well, on the left hand side, you find a captain with a smiling face, asking you to show him your cell phone so that he can make sure that there are no contra-band articles that you are trying to smuggle inside. You will also feel a peculiar stingy odour emanating from somewhere... but you silly, You feel it stingy because you are not exposed to the latest fashion and perfumes... Done with your formalities, you flash your card, open the door and you are in !!

At first moment you feel whether you have gone to the poles... Sub zero temparatures... (Slightly negotiable ;)) And you wull curse the moment that you thought it is pretty sunny outside and your jacket/gherkin/windchetter is not required. You walk into your designated offices and then start the boxing for the day.

As the day progresses, you find that the seasons are also changing. Pretty fast world.. huh? On the earth, it takes a good 365 days for a complete cycle of seasons, whereas in Jupiter it takes just 24 hours... just a day... do you believe it? So what is the "Productivity Increase", "Turn Around Time"?? We should ask the green and black belts about this. Anyways, by around 2PM, you start feeling the heat... Yes, things get heated up by 2. Now you have reached an equilibrium with the environment outside... hmm effects of global warming.... And as the day progresses, you start cursing the moment when you decided to wear the Jean, or that woollen mixed shirt because global warming is happening!! And... by the time it reaches 5PM, you start thinking on why u thought of wearing "anything". Being an air-"Conditioned" facility, the probability and possibility of having a pedestal fan is thin... The guys think of doing a "Ganguly", not to express emotion or solidarity, but to use them as a fan... Girls think of doing a "Rakhi Sawant"... And who talked about gender equality? Not in this planet atleast... as you see the events turning around... Guys can manage to do a Ganguly but definitely NO Rakhi.

And at the end of the day, you can walk out as if from a factory, sweating, panting and using your shirt as a fan, flash your card and walk past the captain into a cool evening. Anybody try to speak or raise concerns about this wonderful phenomenon of changing seasons in this planet will be sentenced.

Listen to a lecture of 1 hr about "How does the AC work"

You will be provided a certificate of "Certified AC Mechanic" at the end of the term.

Memories

An address.... No, that will be too late
Also I cannot contain you in an address
Worship..That may feel foolish, its not false
Can I call it the "Pain of friendship"?
Words are getting struck somewhere.....
You've influenced me...sure.
That may be why I felt like remembering our days together...
How can I tell those people who-Hasn't felt the pain of heart,
Doesn't have a bit of kindness,Hasn't loved atleast once...
ThatWe have a fire of love between us???
A kiss of death in rejection???
Your memories have the softness of life...
Thanks a lot for those memories you have presented me
I don't believe in resurrection,
Still... Even when I come to know that my dreams are not real,
My heart is still filling with love.....

Kathaavasheshan...

Being away from the family for a few months... miles away... gives you a lot of time for nothing... The biggest challenge that I face during my travel is killing time... especially when you are in the west where social life is close to a nil. That is a huge culture clash...

A friend of mine gave me this link of torrents website from where anyone can download films using a file sharing technique... And I got glued to it.. Back in India, I was never a movie buff and I was as pathetic as 1 or 2 movies in a year... In the past 3 months here... I saw atleast 10 - 15 movies... and close to 5 of them.. downloaded from this torrents.

Back to my subject, this film was just amazing! It leaves a pricking feeling in your mind... I have seen an earlier picture of TV Chandran, Dani.. that was very good. The film is about an educated well-to-do youth who commits suicide on one fine day and none knows the reason behind. His fiancee goes in search of the reson behind this and meets a lot of people, all of them who has good memories of association with him and how he used to react to the dirt in the society. Finally, it is concluded that he commits suicide of "being ashamed to be alive"...

Though this can't be classified as an art film, it strikes a good chord between the viewers and the narration. Chandran is also pointing his fingers to the high suicide rate among the youth in the most literate Kerala.

Only a few films would give that hang-over after you see the film... This was one of them... and I had it for almost 2-3 days.

By the way, I am going to join my family in another weeks time... and I am excited !! I would be missing these films... but what is better in life than being with your family, listening to the giggling of a 5 month old daughter...

Yes, I wouldn't be missing anything...

The Snow - A nostalgic desperation

My dear friend,
I can feel the snow melting through
the nerves of January.
The love you left behind the frozen window
of memories is scaring me.
Do you remember those days, my friend, when
we use to dream of the spring
after these rain of fire?
The days when the stars come down to earth
to dance with us?
I remember your words, my friend, that
A new dawn will follow this frozen night
wiping out the darkness
A new light whose brightness will burn all those
whores who speak of charity
Why did you give me this, my dear friend??
This burning coal of kindness and
the rage of bitter truth
Now I wish, my friend, I be with you. . .

Hello World !

Greetings !!!!

I have been thinking of this from quite some time... A lot of thought, considerations, hiccups and guess what...It took a long 3 months for me to decide... pretty long... huh??

That may be why I feel that I belong to a soon to be extinct species...
Like Hell... anyways me too has arrived...