Posted on 06/09/2003 7:55:02 AM PDT by Columbine
There is a classic slogan in America that is probably as old as the country itself. You've heard it many times, and it goes like this: "There are only two sure things in life: death and taxes." Unless the fountain of youth is discovered or secret advances are made in human cloning, I think we can still count on passing from this earth at some point. However, the paying of taxes is not the certainty it once was. With each passing tax bill, more and more Americans are no longer paying income taxes. Thus, the question arises: "Should these non-taxpayers have a say in America?"
With the passage of President Bush's two tax cuts, ten million more Americans no longer pay income taxes. Late last week, the Senate voted to extend the $400-per-child tax credits to minimum-wage families, most of whom are currently not paying income taxes. What this does is give people a credit or rebate for something they have not paid into in the first place. Even with a Republican plan, we are still seeing the redistribution of wealth that should be avoided at every turn.
The tax burden of the entire country is being shifted more and more to fewer and fewer Americans. As it stands now, the top 5% of wage-earners in this country pay 50% of all income taxes collected. The bottom 50% of wage-earners pay only 5% of income taxes collected.
(Excerpt) Read more at gopusa.com ...
What do you say?
DWG
The Title Code 26 - Income Tax code, is actually in the Citizens favor! If the Code was actually followed, you would find most of the stories of incomes earned overseas not taxed, would indeed be taxed.
Title code 26 states that your income, is infact not income, but wages. Wages are not taxable. Income is profit, from sales and interests.
Title code 26 is way too large to read with out confusing yourself, but that's how the IRS can "pull it over" on you. John Q. Public will not read the code.
FICA starts at the first dollar you make, and 2 points of FICA goes straight into the general fund, and the rest goes into a Ponzi scheme.
Everyone should pay something but tieing the vote to taxes is a dangerous path.
Why?
It must be a flat tax where all pay the same percent, or it must be a consumption tax where all pay the same percent.
Every tax cut removes people from the tax roll. It might jump start the economy, but it also means that a smaller and smaller percentage of the country is carrying a larger and larger share of the burden.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"
Government's very existence is owed to the consent of the governed. Simply put, if my consent is not deemed necessary, I don't consider myself governed, period.
Now what of the issue of taxes?
Look at the sole (legitimate) purpose of government as stated in the DOI: to secure the rights of men (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness). Now take a good look at the government's budget. It doesn't matter which one, federal state or local, take your pick. In each case you will find the vast majority of taxes are not used to secure anyone's rights. Rather, they are used to fund entitlements, which is a euphemism for socialism.
Now you say if I don't pay for someone else's free lunch, I am no longer a citizen. In which case we have gone 180 degrees from the intended purpose of government. Instead of securing my rights, government violates it by stealing my income to redistribute it to others. And you say if I don't cooperate, it even steals my right to consent. This is typical of a socialist democracy, where votes are bought with other people's money and rights are irrelevant. Remember, that's exactly the reason we're supposed to be a republic, not a democracy.
The answer is not more taxes, or stealing people's rights. The answer is in returning our government to its rightful, legitimate purpose. Then most all functions will be handled by the private sector. The only business the government will have is in securing your rights, and it won't have a problem funding only those even if we paid a fraction of the taxes we pay now.
I think you should be able to vote if: you are now or have ever been a member of the armed forces; currently working; a retired person who's worked enough quarters to qualify for social security. Or if you're not working but NOT receiving governmental assistance that's OK too.
But I think if you're reaping the benefits of someone else's money (students with loans, grants, work-study), or on any form of government assistance (food stamps, welfare, medicaid)then you shouldn't be able to gang up and vote to take my money.
An alternative would be to weight votes so that if you're recieving government assistance then you're vote only counts for half or something.
What I think is very dangerous is for the many who don't pay the freight to be able to continue voting themselves benefits. Very soon when there are more riding in the wagon than pulling the wagon there is going to be a big revolt. Since we've very nearly hit equal numbers of contributors to the tax system and takers from the government soon it will be too late to change things without that revolt
I've already started working less. I'm choosing to be less productive for several reasons but among them is the fact that I got really sick of working all the time knowing most of that money was going to be taken from me. I had enough to save some and pay my bills. I may as well enjoy my time rather than work for the government.
At some level, things like a progressive tax, and affirmative action actually exist to protect the lives and property of wealthy people.
It's a shame ... but it's also probably true. Just something to think about during ths debate.
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