Category — Getting Out

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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!

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

I went to Colorado a couple months ago and met up with Arman and Jeff. Cool guys, but they were just learning. I don’t like interrupting guys in the club, so I’m writing this instead. I’ve been dancing long enough so that I’ve seen the most common problems for people learning to Salsa dance.  This is for people who have taken at least the basic lesson.

Bottom line – Just because you’re dancing doesn’t mean you stop walking. The basic salsa step is just walking!

• There’s no up and down or bouncing when you walk. Just walk a little bit more smoothly than normal. Don’t turn it into a jig or something complicated.
• Don’t do excessive hip or shoulder rolls, move your hands/arms like you’re juggling, or otherwise complicate the dance.
• Do complete weight shifts. When you walk, you don’t just put your foot out in front of you like you’re tiptoeing. You step out on it. A lot of beginning dancers dance like they’re tentatively approaching a cliff edge, (or they’re trying to stay in one place). Don’t dance like you’re scared – step out far enough to look down the edge of the cliff.
• Similar to above, don’t step forward and down, and back and down. You stay level. Keep it smooth.
• Look up, no watching the feet. You know where they are, same place you’ll find them when you’re walking. Watching the feet also engages your visual sense. Dancing is all about the feel – you can’t watch yourself dance. You should be able to dance with your eyes closed, except when taking your partner’s hand.

• Keep your knees together. Think of a little kid that has to pee really bad, just without holding onto their privates. They walk with their knees locked together.

  Bellydancers do this. I’ve taken bellydance lessons before, and used to date a bellydancer. We talked about this, and she agrees – if you want sexy hip movement, it starts from the knees, not the hips. Except in certain moves, all bellydancers keep their knees very close together.
  This is what produces most, but not all, of the sexy hip movement.

  If you’re a guy, you don’t have the hips needed to become a sexy freakshow. So get over yourself and do it right. Knees together.

• Take lessons as soon as possible, to eliminate bad habits. “The chains of habit are too light to be felt, until they’re too strong to be broken.”
• Get out in the clubs and dance with everyone who will tolerate you. I sucked for the first 2-3 years because I didn’t club enough. I think it’s possible to get really good in just a few months.
• Master the cross-body lead, and cross-body lead with a turn. These are the CORE of the dance. A lot of moves are disguised cross-body leads – the only difference is the way you use your hands/arms.

Most of the problems in salsa are in our own heads. Just because you are dancing doesn’t mean you suddenly forget how to walk.