Basic Teacher, Step 27

The Basic Teacher

STEP 27

	VOCABULARY
Nouns	Nouns	Adjectives
agreement	limit	equal
cause	nation	general - special
comparison	payment	past - future
danger	reward	political
distribution	salt	poor
effect	sex	present
error	tax
gold	theory
government	trade
industry	unit ¹

1 . As in the case of use, the initial 'u' in unit is pronounced 'you', and so a is the form used with it.

TAXES

Mr. A. : What are your views about the new tax on pipe-cleaners, B.?
Mr. B. : Being a pipe-smoker, I am naturally against it. For a long time there has been a tax on what we put into our pipes. Now we are going to be taxed for keeping them clean. It seems hard on a man not to be able to have a quiet smoke without putting money into the nation's pocket.
Mr. A. : It wouldn't be so bad if, at the same time, they had put a tax on something used only by women 00 hair-nets, for example. Women have the same political rights as men and they are now making a request for everyone to be given equal payment for equal work. Rights are not now dependent on sex, as they were in past times, and t here is no good reason for not taxing men and women equally.
Mr. B. : I mean what I say.
Mr. C. : My dear B. It is quite clear that you and A. are not married men. Mrs. C. gets her pocket-money from me, and the effect of putting a tax on women's goods would be to make her come to me for more money. So I would be taxed and not she. On the other hand, I am not at all troubled about the tax on pipe-cleaners because I am not a pipe-smoker.
Mr. B. : It's quite wrong for you not to be taxed because, by chance, you are not a smoker.
Mr. C. : But you are quite free to give up your pipe. And if you did so, you would be in the same position as I am.
Mr. B. : Your are wrong there, old boy. If I gave up smoking I'd be giving up something which is a pleasure. But a smoke gives you no pleasure, so you don't have to give up anything.
Mr. A. : That's true. And here's another thing. If B. and I and all the others like us gave up our pipes, the nation wouldn't get any money at all from this tax. That's why it's a bad tax. The tax on salt, which they had in the past, was a much better idea, because no one is able to give up salt.
Mr. C. : You are making a great error. Let us make a comparison between the salt tax and the present tax on pipe-cleaners. The salt tax was bad for the very reason that salt is needed by everyone. If a person doesn't get salt, there is a danger that he will become very ill. So, however poor a man was, he had to make payment of the tax or do without something which is necessary to a healthy existence. The effect of the tax on pipe-cleaners is quite different. My theory is that if a man is well off, the tax will not keep him from smoking. If he is poor, he will give it up. So the tax comes out of the pocket of the man who is most able to give the money.
Mr. B. : I have little doubt that the poor man will make pipe-cleaners for himself and go on smoking.
Mr. C. : Good. Then he'll not have to give up anything. It seems to me that this is a tax which will have everyone's approval.
Mr. B. : No tax has everyone's approval. Most taxes have no one's approval.
Mr. A. : That's a fact. Whatever sort of government a nation has, it will make a protest against being taxed. Taxes are the cause of the downfall of most governments.
Mr. B. : It's only natural, isn't it ? The money a man makes is a reward for his industry. If the government takes away part of his reward, he will be less interested in doing hard work.
Mr. C. : A surprising amount of money may be taken from our private pockets without having a bad effect on trade and industry, but it has a limit. A wise government keeps inside that limit and does not take more money from us in taxes than we are ready and able to give.
Mr. A. : The limit is very low for me ! I'd be on the side of any government which made an agreement to put an end to all taxes.
Mr. C. : That's a foolish thing to say. A government has to have money. If there was no money for the payments of the men and women working in government offices, they would all be shut after a day. And even if they kept open, they wouldn't get anything done without money. How would we get on with the making of roads, the building of bridges, and all the other work which is so necessary to trade and industry ? The government is responsible for all these things and it has to have some way getting money for them. You and I and B. would be worse off in the end, not better off, if we had not taxes.
Mr. A :We would get on better if some of the government offices were shut. What makes me angry is that the government says "Give us your money or we will put you in prison." Wouldn't it be better if we were all free to give as much or as little as seemed right to us ? Giving is a pleasure. Most of us give money to hospitals or some society in which we are interested, and I have no doubt we would readily give it to the nation. But no man is pleased when money is taken from him.
It is my belief that if some future government made the decision to put an end to taxes, it would get more money than the present government gets from taxing us. Then it might make a distribution among the poorest families.
Mr. C : There would be no chance of that. There wouldn't even be enough for the normal everyday needs. Some very good persons would give almost all they had, but others wouldn't give anything, and my experience is that those who have most give least. But even if there was no trouble about getting the money, I'd still be against getting it in that way. The idea of a government handing round the hat before it is able to get on with its business seems a poor one to me.
Mr. B. : I am not in complete agreement with A. The general theory of having taxes is all right, but whenever any special tax is under discussion I see strong arguments against it.
Mr. C. [laughing] : You and A. didn't put forward any very strong arguments against the tax on pipe-cleaners.
Mr. B. : No, that's true. We were only making our private protest. But the tax on pipe-cleaners is a very unimportant little tax.
In my view, taxes are only part of a much greater question. I have hopes that at some time in the future we may have better control of our money. It seems very foolish that the amount of money which may be used i a country in Europe is dependent on how much gold is got out of a mine in Africa. A country which has gold is not well off if it hasn't got goods. Wouldn't it be better if we made the amount of money dependent in some way on the amount of goods produced ? When more goods are produced there would be more units of money in the country, and when less goods were produced there would be less money
Mr. C. : That may not be a bad idea, but it would be hard to get any government to make a change of that sort. And even if the change was made, you and A. would still go on protesting about your taxes !

NOTES

pipe-cleaner : The object consisting of a bowl with a pipe attached, used for tobacco-smoking, is called a pipe.
pipe smoker : Smoking is used both for the process of giving off smoke (as in this case of a fire) and for the process of inhaling tobacco smoke by means of a pipe, cigarette, etc., but smoker is used only in relation to the latter. The sense of the compound is clear.
taxed : Persons are said to be taxed when they are liable for payments of a tax ; goods, etc., are said to be taxed when a tax is levied in respect of them.
hard on == unfair to, causing hardship to.
have a quiet smoke : A spell of smoking tobacco is a smoke.
used == utilized. Note that the 's' in user, using, used is pronounced like 'z'.
hair nets : A hair-net is a net put over the hair to keep it tidy.
for example == for the purpose of giving an example.
rights : Right is used as a noun in three senses :

The right side, part, or direction (always proceeded by the).
What is right or just.
(as here) A privilege, something which it is in agreement with law or right for a person to have or do.

In past times : When talking generally of long stretches of time, we use time in the plural, to show that we are not referring to any one particular period.
pocket-money == money for small purchases.
by chance == as it happens, as an effect of chance.
give up : The idiom give up is used for the act of surrendering something to a conqueror (give up one's arms) or to a person in authority (give up one's ticket). By a further development, it may be used, as here, (where your pipe stands for smoking your pipe), in the more general sense of abandoning or ceasing some action or habit.
old boy : A jocular style of address.
the past : Past is used as a noun for past time. In this sense, it is always preceded by the.
make a comparison between : Between is used with words like comparison and agreement to indicate the two or more persons or things to which the comparison, agreement, etc., relates.
needed : The -ed form corresponding to the -ing form needing, which means having a need for.
do without == get along without having.
well off : One of the senses of off is away, and to be well off is, so to speak, to have got away well, promisingly, from the starting-post in the competition for success, that is, to be in fortunate circumstances, and so, specially, to be rich. As will be seen late in this Step, a person may also be described as worse (or badly) off or as better off.
downfall == a fall from power, or prosperity, or high position.
most governments : The word government is used both for the organization by which a country is governed and for the group responsible for governing it at any particular time.
whatever == no matter what. Compare with however (Step 26). Other similar compounds are whenever )== no matter when), which is used later in the Step, wherever (note the dropping of the final 'e' in where) (== no matter where), and whoever (== no matter who).
trade and industry : Industry is he name given to the making of goods on a large scale, a process for which industry, in the root sense, is needed.
be on the side of == give support to, be in favour of.
get on with : As we have seen, on may be used with get, as with go, to give the idea of progress or continuation. To get (go, keep) on with work, etc, is to continue with it, frequently, as here, in the case of get, the use of with in this construction activities or attention is similar to its use in the sense of 'concerning' ('trouble with a tooth') which has been noted earlier.
some way of getting money : Way of getting, doing, etc., is an alternative construction to way to get, do, etc.
society : Society is used not only for 'communal existence' or a 'community', but also to an organization within a community, formed for some special purpose
normal everyday needs : By expansion, need is used for 'thing needed, requirement.' The adjective everyday (used only before nouns) == 'such as is met with every day, common'.
get on with : As we have seen, on may be used with get, as with go, to give the idea of progress or continuation. To get (go, keep) on with work, etc, is to continue with it, frequently, as here, in the case of get, the use of with in this construction activities or attention is similar to its use in the sense of 'concerning' ('trouble with a tooth') which has been noted earlier.
some way of getting money : Way of getting, doing, etc., is an alternative construction to way to get, do, etc.
society : Society is used not only for 'communal existence' or a 'community', but also to an organization within a community, formed for some special purpose
normal everyday needs : By expansion, need is used for 'thing needed, requirement.' The adjective everyday (used only before nouns) == 'such as is met with every day, common'.
getting it in that way : In that way == 'by that means, in that manner'. Note his idiomatic use of in with way.
handling round the hat : When street entertainers collect money at the end of a performance, they frequently go round with a hat into which coins are dropped by the audience. So handing round the hat is a phrase which has come to be used in the sense of 'soliciting contributions'.
under discussion : A subject which is being discussed is said to be under discussion.
strong arguments == weighty, convincing arguments. Strong is not limited to the description of a physical state.
put forward : The sense here is 'state, bring to the attention' as in the case of something which one puts forward to be seen.
a much greater question : A problem is something about which one's mind puts questions, and so question is used for 'problem' and, more widely, 'subject for discussion.'
the future : Future and present may be used as nouns preceded by the, in the same way as past.
produced == made, caused to grow or come into existence or be available.

EXERCISE

1 . Ten things which are named by a compound word are pictured above.
Write ten sentences about the picture, bringing one of these compound words into each.

2 . Fill in the blanks in the following :

3 . Ten Basic words which you know, of two letters or more, can be formed from the letters of the word AGREEMENT. What are they ?

4 . Use each of the following in two different senses :

5 . Give Basic alternatives for the following :

6 . Put into Basic : Teacher Link

7 . Answer in Basic :

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