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Update: If you can’t make it in person, you also can follow the Denver Tea Party online.

Do you live in Colorado? Are you sick of out-of-control government spending and encroachment on our liberties? The Tea Party of Northern Colorado has posted the most comprehensive roundup of this Thursday’s Tax Day Tea Party events I’ve seen. Check out the list below, find one of the 14 events near you, and come out for the festivities and to send a strong message to our elected officials:

Denver – 10:00 am to 1:00pm
Colorado State Capital
200 E Colfax
http://www.hearus-now.org/taxday2010.html

Colorado Springs – 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Acacia Park (downtown)
http://www.theconstitutionalisttoday.com/come-to-the-tea-party/

Fort Collins – 5:00pm to 7:00pm
Washington Park
301 Maple Street (behind City Hall)
http://www.NorthernColoradoTeaParty.com

Loveland – 4:00pm to 6:00pm
South Shore of Lake Loveland
http://www.loveland912project.org/home

Estes Park – 11:30am to 1:00pm
Bond Park (downtown)

Grand Junction – 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Lincoln Park (12th and North Ave)

Pueblo – 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Pueblo County Courthouse Steps

Woodland Park/Teller County – 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Lions Park – Gold Hill North
Corner of Hwy 67 X 24

Montrose – 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm
Old Courthouse
South First Street

Montrose (yep, there are 2 in Montrose) – 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm
Corner of Main & Townsend

Delta (This one is on Saturday, 4/17) 10:00 am- 12:00 Noon
Delta Courthouse

La Junta – 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Santa Fe Plaza
More info: Kathy and Betty – 719.853.6683 or 719.384.2473

Goodland – 12:00 noon
Gulick Park

Lamar – 4:30pm
In front of Courthouse

Author - David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.

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.

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

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.