It’s Christmas Eve and Jimmy has just been tucked snugly in bed. The anxiety for the day to come has him plum tuckered out. As he drifts off to sleep the last vision that passed across his mind is a photographic memory of the crayon written letter he sent to Santa,
Dear Santa,
It’s me Jimmy. I have been a very good boy this year and I got all A-s on my report card. All I want for Christmas is a pony; a brown pony with white spots is what I really want but any pony will do if you can’t find one with spots.
Thanks,
Jimmy
As the first light of dawn broke through the mini blinds in Jimmy’s room he was up like a shot. To the window he went, expecting a pony to be tied to the old elm tree in the front yard. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he looked again; more closely this time, bumping his head on the cold glass trying to look straight down. With a deep sigh, his warm breath obscured the view through the glass. Striking his finger through the haze on the window, the thought to himself, no pony! Perhaps the back yard! He thought with a revived spirit. Again, no pony. With sorrow and disbelief he made his way towards the Christmas tree, his bare feet slapping the hardwood floor in gait of discouragement. Down he plopped, sideways on his father’s worn recliner. Just then, out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a red envelope placed thoughtfully at the base of the Christmas tree. On the envelope was his name JIMMY. With restored hope he hurriedly opened the letter.
Dear Jimmy,
I am so glad you have been a good boy this year however, due to the small number of ponies available; I am unable to grant your wish. I also expect the supply of ponies to be small next year as well. With that knowledge, only the very best children will be awarded a pony next year. Trevor Johnson next door was given a pony this year based upon his very complete letter to Santa. Please use his format and documentation as an example of a winning letter (see enclosed).
Thanks for believing,
Santa
Jimmy opened Trevor’s letter to Santa; all twelve pages worth. The front page- cover sheet, the second page- left blank intentionally, the third page- the table of contents; all pages type written. His parents helped him Jimmy thought as he thumbed through the pages. Every good deed was well documented. What’s this!!! “Shoveled snow at old man Lincoln’s house.” I did that! he fumed. Passing by that page in disgust he also noticed Trevor’s grades were not as good as his, but with each poor grade was a type written reason for his poor performance….
Exit fiction, enter reality
This morning on my way to work I heard a news story that at first did not sink in. The story was. “The State of Idaho is in the running for a Federal education grant.” My first thought when I heard the news was, cool we could use the extra money to help out in a short budget year, but my second thought was a bit deeper.
Why must we apply to Santa errr Uncle Sam (both old, white bearded guys) to have the same money that was seized from our citizens granted back to us? The answer is strings; both purse and puppet. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution grants all the power not given specifically to the Federal government, in the Constitution, to the States and the people. Public education is not a power reserved for the Federal government, therefore the duty falls upon the State or the People. The catch however, lies in the Sixteenth Amendment.
“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”
Boy howdy does the Feds use that Amendment to the fullest! They take as much as they wish ((lawfully so (a legal injustice)) and impose their will by withholding funds from those do not comply, or rewarding those who comply; bribery and pandering to be blunt. This affective nullification of the Tenth Amendment via the Sixteenth has been gradual erosion that is transforming The United States of America into the Administrative Oligarchal of Puppet States of America (AOPSA).
This Federal grant for education that Idaho is in the running for is just a small example of the Federal governments “soft persuasion tactics.” The Department of Energy, the EPA, Dept. of Homeland Security and many more practice this Santa-esque tactic. But it does not stop there. The Feds have used much stronger tactics in the past; threatening to withhold directly budgeted money from our state if we did not conform to their will.
With the apparent wholesale rejection of Obama Care things are looking up for freedom loving Americans. In the past we as conservative Americans have been content to play defense, against, the would be tyrant; giving a little ground each time we proclaim victory. With this most current election in Massachusetts, we must prepare to go on the offense for once and not squander the opportunity like we did for the Bush years. As Winston Churchill once said,
“Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.”
As we prepare to retake the once golden beaches of liberty, we must consider in advance the genesis of this increasingly less soft tyranny we endure. We must fight monumental battles of direct principal rather than a thousand small skirmishes. I would offer for consideration of the patriots an action plan.
The Tenth Amendment couldn’t be clearer, yet it is impotent. We must repeal the Sixteenth Amendment and replace it with something like this.
The Congress shall have the power to levy a tax on each State based solely upon census. The amount of the tax will be restrained to the actual expense of administration and execution of duties described in the Constitution specifically.
In such a consideration the states would pay a tax directly to the Federal government rather than the citizens individually. Each state could decide how to most efficiently and equitably procure the funds from the people at the state level. Each state could decide which services and programs are the duty of the government. Just as Santa is an un-necessary, redundant, convoluting, inefficient, intermediary between parent and child, so is the Federal government in most affairs. The power must be closer to the people.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
To The Matter of Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson said, "...since then (the pact with the Devil) the Haitian people have been cursed with one thing after another; desperately poor."
Pat Robertson did not say this earthquake was a divine retribution. He did imply however, the economic state of Haiti was a result of past decisions. I am not a big Robertson fan, but the press has stuffed a lot of extra words into Robertson’s mouth, and that is not right.
Here is my take on curses and blessings. God has given us much wisdom in which to rule our affairs, personally and as a nation. Through out the Bible many blessings and curses are described. If you do this, good things will happen, if you do that, bad things will happen. However I do not think God is up there with his Scepter sending down curses and blessings via invisible ray. The laws of God are like the laws of nature; they can't be broken and an attempt to do so results in calamity...simple cause and effect. Our Nation was founded upon the Laws of God and we have been "blessed" because of it, yet the further we stray from those principals the more tribulation we experience. Haiti won its "freedom" based not upon the Laws of God but an agreement with the Enemy of God. Whether the Devil actually showed up to shake hands with them is irrespective; their departure from the known Laws of God and intentional separation from him brought their society a natural cause and effect reaction, or "curse" if you please.
Now, consider this. If Haiti was a nation that was founded upon the same principal as ours, would the poverty and corruption be the same as it is today? Would the damage to the infrastructure be as great had the nation managed its wealth better over the past 100 years? Would the internal governmental response to the suffering be quicker and more compassionate if they were under a 1787 US Constitution? Blessings and Curses are cause and effect. God did not create us to destroy us, but as an object of His love. His expression of the principals to a blessed life and nation are a perfect example of that Love. As witnessed not just in Haiti but in almost every culture the result of ignoring this Loving advice is chaos and corruption.
Pat Robertson did not say this earthquake was a divine retribution. He did imply however, the economic state of Haiti was a result of past decisions. I am not a big Robertson fan, but the press has stuffed a lot of extra words into Robertson’s mouth, and that is not right.
Here is my take on curses and blessings. God has given us much wisdom in which to rule our affairs, personally and as a nation. Through out the Bible many blessings and curses are described. If you do this, good things will happen, if you do that, bad things will happen. However I do not think God is up there with his Scepter sending down curses and blessings via invisible ray. The laws of God are like the laws of nature; they can't be broken and an attempt to do so results in calamity...simple cause and effect. Our Nation was founded upon the Laws of God and we have been "blessed" because of it, yet the further we stray from those principals the more tribulation we experience. Haiti won its "freedom" based not upon the Laws of God but an agreement with the Enemy of God. Whether the Devil actually showed up to shake hands with them is irrespective; their departure from the known Laws of God and intentional separation from him brought their society a natural cause and effect reaction, or "curse" if you please.
Now, consider this. If Haiti was a nation that was founded upon the same principal as ours, would the poverty and corruption be the same as it is today? Would the damage to the infrastructure be as great had the nation managed its wealth better over the past 100 years? Would the internal governmental response to the suffering be quicker and more compassionate if they were under a 1787 US Constitution? Blessings and Curses are cause and effect. God did not create us to destroy us, but as an object of His love. His expression of the principals to a blessed life and nation are a perfect example of that Love. As witnessed not just in Haiti but in almost every culture the result of ignoring this Loving advice is chaos and corruption.
Monday, January 18, 2010
New and Current Tax Evaluation Checklist
Understanding that some taxes are required in order to administer and maintain assets of the people in union, we must also consider carefully the equitability of each tax, fee and money generating regulation. The scope of the duties of government vary from state to state, as do the general philosophical characteristics of people based upon the geography, economic culture and general moral order. This geographic uniqueness of governments as allowed by and specifically reserved for the states in the 10th Amendment, is considered by some a brilliant act of our Founders, by others pure Providence. However, as we are warned by the past countless times, even the finest forms of government left to the hands of man, whether tyrant, aristocrat, altruist, or simply a complacent or distracted man, will eventually grow far beyond its intended purpose. The metamorphosis starts as a government for and by the People, to the inverse; the people for and by the Government. Often over many generations the change from servant to lord is nary noticed by the citizens.
As a remedy to this culturally debilitating governmental illness an intersession must take place before the tenants of Liberty, Industry and Thrift are forgotten or worse yet considered a fanciful ideal, unattainable by man. If this intervention is possible, the people must draw a personal connection to the government purse. They must understand and accept the full value of their monetary sacrifice for the government, and with that knowledge approve the expenditures thereof as a prudent substitute to their otherwise eminent higher economic condition. Sadly, the direct connection of he who fills the purse and he who demands it filled has been broken. Taxing structures once simple and direct, are now convoluted, confounding and take much effort on behalf of the benefactor to calculate with accuracy. Taxes become hidden in the gradual maturity of a product or service, from raw good to finished product, leaving no hand un-slapped. The result in many cases is a finished product, which caries a price largely a representation of the taxation and mandated regulation generationaly; yet the consumer is none the wiser. Would it not be in the best interest of the people to know how much of their bounty the government actually seizes? Might this encourage a new found desire to encourage accountability and thrift? Would the People take more ownership of their government if they paid a $.20 sales tax rather than the equivalent masked in the shadows? Following is a simple question and answer list each lawmaker should consider before any new tax is designed. Additionally, to simplify our existing tax code we must ask this of our existing laws. As long as the government by and for the People is broken it is not too late to fix it, but when Liberty is gone so is the last hope of repair.
1) Does the tax impede commerce?
2) Is the tax aimed at a specific industry or product?
3) Is the tax aimed at a specific people group; racial, religious, economic or otherwise?
4) Is the tax designed to discourage a specific behavior?
5) Are the revenues needed to support a specific government function as defined in the Constitution of the State?
6) Will the revenues of the tax directly, positively impact those who pay the taxes?
7) Is the tax or fee based upon usage of a publicly owned asset?
8) Does the tax place state industry at a competitive disadvantage?
9) Does the tax place business in a border town at a competitive disadvantage, based upon tax laws across the state line? If so is there a plan to make those effected businesses whole?
10) Has the tax or fee been used in other states, successfully and equitably?
11) Does the tax or fee require an additional logistical burden on a business or person(s) to collect?
12) Is the tax likely to be passed on to others as a cost of goods? If so how many generations of sales will the tax likely be passed?
13) Is this tax designed to be disguised from the end payer?
14) If the tax is designed to fund a specific service, has the private sector been give a fair opportunity to bid or compete on that service?
As a remedy to this culturally debilitating governmental illness an intersession must take place before the tenants of Liberty, Industry and Thrift are forgotten or worse yet considered a fanciful ideal, unattainable by man. If this intervention is possible, the people must draw a personal connection to the government purse. They must understand and accept the full value of their monetary sacrifice for the government, and with that knowledge approve the expenditures thereof as a prudent substitute to their otherwise eminent higher economic condition. Sadly, the direct connection of he who fills the purse and he who demands it filled has been broken. Taxing structures once simple and direct, are now convoluted, confounding and take much effort on behalf of the benefactor to calculate with accuracy. Taxes become hidden in the gradual maturity of a product or service, from raw good to finished product, leaving no hand un-slapped. The result in many cases is a finished product, which caries a price largely a representation of the taxation and mandated regulation generationaly; yet the consumer is none the wiser. Would it not be in the best interest of the people to know how much of their bounty the government actually seizes? Might this encourage a new found desire to encourage accountability and thrift? Would the People take more ownership of their government if they paid a $.20 sales tax rather than the equivalent masked in the shadows? Following is a simple question and answer list each lawmaker should consider before any new tax is designed. Additionally, to simplify our existing tax code we must ask this of our existing laws. As long as the government by and for the People is broken it is not too late to fix it, but when Liberty is gone so is the last hope of repair.
1) Does the tax impede commerce?
2) Is the tax aimed at a specific industry or product?
3) Is the tax aimed at a specific people group; racial, religious, economic or otherwise?
4) Is the tax designed to discourage a specific behavior?
5) Are the revenues needed to support a specific government function as defined in the Constitution of the State?
6) Will the revenues of the tax directly, positively impact those who pay the taxes?
7) Is the tax or fee based upon usage of a publicly owned asset?
8) Does the tax place state industry at a competitive disadvantage?
9) Does the tax place business in a border town at a competitive disadvantage, based upon tax laws across the state line? If so is there a plan to make those effected businesses whole?
10) Has the tax or fee been used in other states, successfully and equitably?
11) Does the tax or fee require an additional logistical burden on a business or person(s) to collect?
12) Is the tax likely to be passed on to others as a cost of goods? If so how many generations of sales will the tax likely be passed?
13) Is this tax designed to be disguised from the end payer?
14) If the tax is designed to fund a specific service, has the private sector been give a fair opportunity to bid or compete on that service?
Don't Cut Taxes...Eliminate some!
Even the drunken dullard, when presented with the laws of economics, must concede; taxes only restrain industry. So we must conclude that in order to sponsor real growth (not the kind of growth the Fed proclaims) we must reduce the amount of money seized from the productive and given to the non-productive. Of course tax cuts can be done a number of ways, some with more impact than others. A simple cut that may be proposed, and may resound with a typical work-a-day voter is a sales tax reduction. Although, any tax cut is a good one this is just not the best way to take make a full impact.
I would suggest rather than cutting tax ratios on existing tax structure, we need to eliminate certain taxes and regulation that not only directly restrains business by the seizure of funds but also cost business extra time and funds due to the requirement of additional ancillary support; personal property tax, real estate property tax and income tax come to the top of mind.
So, at this time of mandatory thrift, perhaps we need to look at how we can get the most bang for the buck out of our reduction of taxes. Perhaps eliminate the income tax altogether and raise the sales tax (of course with a net reduction in the size of the government take). Just the reduction in minutia, and the resulting savings from such an act would promote economic growth. There is my two cents (well not exactly...the government actually owns one of them...both if I don't hire someone that knows the tax code to defend me).
I would suggest rather than cutting tax ratios on existing tax structure, we need to eliminate certain taxes and regulation that not only directly restrains business by the seizure of funds but also cost business extra time and funds due to the requirement of additional ancillary support; personal property tax, real estate property tax and income tax come to the top of mind.
So, at this time of mandatory thrift, perhaps we need to look at how we can get the most bang for the buck out of our reduction of taxes. Perhaps eliminate the income tax altogether and raise the sales tax (of course with a net reduction in the size of the government take). Just the reduction in minutia, and the resulting savings from such an act would promote economic growth. There is my two cents (well not exactly...the government actually owns one of them...both if I don't hire someone that knows the tax code to defend me).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)