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Lesson 4: The History of Taxes And The Power of Corporations
第四课 税收的历史和公司的力量
I remember in school being told the story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
我还记得在学校里听过的关于罗宾汉和绿林好汉的故事。
My school teacher thought it was a wonderful story of a romantic hero who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor.
我的老师认为这是一个浪漫的英雄主义传奇, 劫富济贫的故事。
My rich dad did not see Robin Hood as a hero. He called Robin Hood a crook.
但我的富爸爸却认为罗宾汉不是英雄，他称罗宾汉为窃贼。
Robin Hood may be long gone, but his followers live on.
罗宾汉已经死去很久了，但他的门徒甚多。
How often I still hear people say, “Why don’t the rich pay for it?” or “The rich should pay more in taxes and give it to the poor.”
我经常会听到这样的话：“为什么不让富人来承担”或是“富人应缴更多的税让穷人受益”。
It is this idea of Robin Hood, or taking from the rich to give to the poor, that has caused the most pain for the poor and the middle class.
而今，罗宾汉劫富济贫的想法却成了穷人和中产阶级最大的隐痛。
The reason the middle class is so heavily taxed is because of the Robin Hood ideal.
由于罗宾汉的理想，中产阶级现在承担着沉重的税负。
The real reality is that the rich are not taxed.
事实上富人并未被征税。
It’s the middle class who pays for the poor, especially the educated upper-income middle class.
是中产阶级尤其是受过良好教育的高收入的中产阶级在为穷人支付税金。
Again, to understand fully how things happen, we need to look at the historical perspective.
要讲清这个道理，我们需要从历史角度来考虑。
We need to look at the history of taxes.
我们需要回顾一下关于税收的历史。
Although my highly educated dad was an expert on the history of education, my rich dad fashioned himself as an expert on the history of taxes.
我的受过高等教育的爸爸是教育史方面的专家，而富爸爸则自学成为一名受欢迎的税收史的专家。
Rich dad explained to Mike and me that in England and America originally, there were no taxes.
富爸爸告诉我和迈克，英国和美国在早期是不需纳税的。
Occasionally, there were temporary taxes levied in order to pay for wars.
只有一些因为战争而临时征收的税。
The king or the president would put the word out and ask everyone to “chip in.”
英国国王和美国总统把它称为“纳捐”。
Taxes were levied in Britain for the fight against Napoleon from 1799 to 1816, and in America to pay for the Civil War from 1861 to 1865.
英国在1799年到1816年间为了与拿破仑作战而征税，美国则在1861年到1865年间为了应付内战而征税。
In 1874, England made income tax a permanent levy on its citizens.
1874年，英国规定纳税是国民的义务。
In 1913, an income tax became permanent in the United States with the adoption of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.
1913年，美国通过了《宪法修正案》（第16条），也规定了要征收所得税。
What these historical dates fail to reveal is that both of these taxes were initially levied against only the rich.
这些历史事件没有揭示的是，这些税最初只是针对富人。
It was this point that rich dad wanted Mike and me to understand.
这一点富爸爸希望我和迈克明白。
He explained that the idea of taxes was made popular, and accepted by the majority, by telling the poor and the middle class that taxes were created only to punish the rich.
他解释说纳税被大众普遍接受，是因为它告诉穷人和中产阶级税收只是为了惩罚有钱人。
This is how the masses voted for the law, and it became constitutionally legal.
因此，大众才投了赞同票，依法纳税才被写入了宪法。
