Saturday, September 1, 2012

Form 1040: You Get 10, We Get 40.

Robert Ringer once said if you wanted to study the methods of tyranny, required reading would be Mein Kampf, The Communist Manifesto and the Internal Revenue Code. I couldn't agree more. In my continuing series on what we MUST do to restore American (in case you're wondering, no book offers yet), I will endeavor today to address the issue of taxes.

We don't just need tax reform, we need radical tax reform. We all know our tax system has grown into this huge, invasive, science-fiction vine monster. We've seen the kind of trouble the I.R.S. can cause if you're unlucky enough to attract their attention. But the one thing we all need to realize about the I.R.S. is they are not there to collect revenue and fund government, they are there to control behavior.

Politicians derive a tremendous amount of power from the tax code. For example, when the Democrats looked for ways to impose and enforce Obamacare, they didn't start a new agency, they didn't have to, the I.R.S. was perfect for the job. If a politician likes dairy farmers we get government cheese. If they don't like oil we get $4 a gallon gas; and on and on.

I like a consumption tax rather than an income tax, and the FairTax (www.fairtax.org) is a good place to start. It has a lot of advantages not the least of which is the I.R.S. and their Gestapo power are in the rearview. With the FairTax everybody pays their fair share and it's simplified. Plus there is very little room for the kind of fraud and abuse we see in our current system. (Hey remember back in '98 when the Republican Congress required the I.R.S. to impose strict rules for dependents i.e. every dependent had to have a ssn? Seven million dependents disappeared overnight!)

The FairTax, a flat tax, just about anything would be better than what we have now. It will not be easy. K Street is full of lobbyist and think tanks and interest groups who will fight tooth and nail to keep the gravy train rolling. Politicians will not give up their power easily. Tax reform, and I mean real fundamental tax reform would be demogogued like no other with special interests from all across the political spectrum coming together to kill the idea that we are actually in control. But if you want a prosperous America, a just America, an America where we the people are in charge and not corrupt politicians, then by God it's time to make a move. Government must be funded fairly and equitably, and we need a tax system for that purpose. What we don't need is another tool for the powerful and corrupt to tyrannize us and take away our liberty.

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