“All lies and jests, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest – lie la lie, lie…lie, lie, lie, lie”
– Paul Simon “The Boxer”
Mimimum Wage and Welfare
“…there’s a huge segment of the black population for whom upward mobility is elusive, and it’s because of the welfare state — because of government.” “Poverty programs destroy the natural mechanisms that have always enabled poor people to lift themselves out of poverty.” (Walter Williams of George Mason University from his book “Race and Economics”)
All quotes herein – Walter Williams, unless otherwise cited
Are you still a slave?
If someone else decides your fate, then you are a slave.
Thousands of years of history have shown us that the majority of people will give up their individual rights and responsibilities and become slaves in service to any gang claiming authority and power in return for the hope of support and protection.
The Fairest Tax
A Utopian Dreamer is one who thinks we can create “Heaven on Earth” by having the Government screw the Hell out of the people 🙂 – Dr. Society
The Fairest Tax is one that is not levied directly on people, but rather an indirect excise tax on transactions, which is of equal rate to all, with no exemptions, and which funds the government from the bottom up (so that the top level does not control the lower levels by controlling their funds).
Taxation of wealth, in the form of income, property or estate, to support the government is a moral hazard (the moment tax from one person or group is used to benefit another, it become theft), gives incentive to avoidance and fraud and is against the founding principles of the Constitution which prohibited a direct tax on the people. Direct tax makes an end run around the states, fills the coffers of the Federal Government at the expense of the State, creates too much top down control due to all funds going directly to the top and the progressive tax rate reduces incentives for people to increase their incomes and treats people unequally under the law.
Only an amendment that broke the constitution with the support of a Politically intimidated supreme court allows this theft to be “legal”. Income tax requires an invasion of privacy, opening up private papers to the government, it steals the very life and liberty of the people in the time it takes to assemble the paper work, to comply with the wealth taxes. Tax exemptions and subsidies control the life of people, how they save, how they invest and even influences where they live.
With a direct tax, in principle, the government owns all of your income, property and wealth. Do you own the tax they currently take? You might have temporary possession but you have to yield it to the government. With salary withholding, you don’t even get temporary possession. Follow the logic. There is no limit on the tax rate the Federal Government can impose on what you legitimately earned. FDR was willing to impose a 100% tax. If the government can take everything and you can’t refuse, then you effectively don’t own anything. Rather, the government is granting you the privilege of keeping some of what you earn. That’s why they say you are stealing from the government is you don’t pay taxes. They own it. Not only do they own your wealth, they own the life and liberty, time, labor and resources that you invested in your earnings. They own YOU! You are a slave or at best a share-cropper.
Instead the 16th Amendment should be repealed and the Federal and State governments should be financed solely by an equal rate excise tax on transactions such as retail sales. At least you have control over when and how much tax you pay, based on your purchases. Can’t afford the tax this year, buying that TV set, couch or new car next year instead. The people can refuse to buy any products if the tax is too high. The infrastructure is already in place., Tracking public transactions does not violate privacy or influence the market or people’s lives. Products that come from foreign sources, not directed to a re-seller, can be taxed upon arrival into the USA, based on who is receiving the product.
It is intrinsically progressive. The rich buy more and pay more tax. The very poor do not pay taxes.
To help the poor, no consumption tax would effectively be collected on purchases up to the poverty level, as set by Congress. Every person living in the US would get a check (a pre-bate) to cover paying the consumption/sales tax. For example, if the poverty level is $25,000 and the flat sales tax is 20%, then everyone gets a check for $5,000 which pays for the 20% tax on the first $25,000 of purchases.
The 16th amendment would be repealed, making income tax unconstitutional, as it was before that amendment, and the IRS would be eliminated.
It would end all lobbying for special tax exemptions and the control the Federal government exerts through those exemptions.
The Fair Tax is an idea in the right direction, but is not comprehensive enough.
As long as the Federal government receives all the proceeds of the Consumption tax, the Federal Government still retains control of the States and the people because it can give or deny funding to them. Lobbying for special privileges, pork and corruption would continue.
The Fair tax would eliminate all taxes from business, income, capital gains, estate, property, gas, liquor etc. on the federal level and replace them with one equal/flat rate retail consumption/sales tax across the nation with no exemptions. Good.
However, The Fair Tax also does not change the way States and local government collects revenue; – through income, property, wealth and estate tax which is theft of property ownership/stewardship.
Civil Rights and Civil war
Civil rights are Citizen's rights such as the right to vote, serve in public office, move freely about the country, have a passport etc. (Civil is derived from the Latin meaning Citizen). There are also Civil responsibilities that are not talked about as much such as obeying the law, keeping clean, and not interfering with other's rights.
Natural or Endowed rights (and their responsibilities) – life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, ownership and stewardship of property, free will etc. are inherent in all Human Beings.
All Civil rights are derived from the Natural Rights of the Human Beings that came together to constitute that society. For instance the right to vote is derived from the Natural right to liberty and free choice. However, a right does not mean entitlement. You have the right to property but first you must earn it so that the right is actualized. You have the right to vote but first you must be a citizen to activate that right. Charity is a favor. You may have a right to life but you are not entitled to keep it unless you take care of your health and don't murder.
Since a Natural right does not confer entitlement, you can't just take someone else's property. Nor can you have a civil right to take someone else's property. If you, who has the Natural right to property can not take, then certainly government which has no natural rights, can not take anyone's property or claim to be entitled. Government is supported solely by Citizen's responsibility to pay for services not by government's right to get paid. Government has no rights, only duties.
The government does not grant any rights. If they did, they could also take them away.
Individual have rights. Groups do not. Groups are classifications only. There is no such thing as a civil right for blacks or women, as a category, to vote. All citizens regardless of group classification have the right to vote. It is a civil protection against interference with the right to vote that was instituted.
If something is granted to a particular group it is a privilege not a right. Privileges grant an advantage that is not earned. Government enforced privileges such as Racial Quotas, affirmative action and the like, violate Natural rights.
We have confused privilege of a certain group or class with individual rights.