Massachusetts No-Brainer: End Taxes

The Laissez Faire Electronic Times ^ | George F. Smith

[Sir Gawain]

Massachusetts No-Brainer: End Taxes

by George F. Smith

Dear Massachusetts,

You do realize, don't you, that if you vote to end the income tax on Nov. 5th the world will collapse about your feet? At least that's the impression one gets from the big party gubernatorial candidates Romney and O'Brien, who wouldn't be in the race if they couldn't carve out large chunks of your income for their special interests.

Here's a question for you: Which one is the Republican and which the Democrat?

I'll wait.

And here's a follow-up question: Does it make a difference?

Over in Iraq, we hear that Saddam skunked his opponent, 11 million to nothing. That the opponent failed to exist didn't hamper the election's usefulness for maintaining the people's illusions about their government.

We do things a bit differently here. Our ballots are emblazoned with candidate names, providing a semblance of choice. But look closer. Get behind the candidates' smiles, coiffures, and rhetoric. Do you see a significant difference? Not when it comes to taking your money. We have two major parties, but only one greedy hand. That hand's reaching deep into your pocket whether you vote Republican or Democrat.

Question 1 on your November 5th ballot will ask if you want to end the state income tax. Clear your eyes, take a deep breath, and read it again: END the income tax. Not raise it. Not lower it. But killing the contemptible thing once and for all. You, dear people of Massachusetts, have a real choice in this election.

The next time someone uses the phrase "no-brainer," think of this ballot question. Would you like to keep an additional $3,000 of your income each year? Would you like the state economy to be more attractive to business? Would you like to see more jobs created? Would you like to put a major dent in government waste and corruption? Do you want to help put an end to the state monopoly on education? Voting "Yes" will do that.

If you can stand it, listen to what Romney and O'Brien are saying. They argue over such critical issues as the tone of their opponent's campaign ads. Why aren't they discussing political principles? And the answer is, they don't differ on principle — Mitt Romney and Shannon O'Brien believe your money really belongs to the government. Don't believe me? Ask them.

But if your money belongs to you, what right have they to take it by force? By virtue of a ballot victory? I don't have a right to vote money from your pocket any more than you do from mine. We don't condone theft. You say, "But this goes on all the time. It's the nature of politics." It didn't use to be. Consider this: If a majority of the people in your neighborhood voted to take away your car, would that give them the right to do so? I trust you would consider that theft. How is that different than those same people, and others, voting to withhold a portion of your income?

Whether you vote "Republican" or "Democrat" the outcome is the same: the big party candidates assert the right to take what you earn and spend it according to the pressure exerted on them from their supporters.

In everyday language, it's called gang warfare. It's a war among looters fighting over the money you own.

You might be thinking, "Well, Romney and O'Brien say if we don't have the income tax, the schools will close and old people will die. Only a monster would want something like that."

There's nothing like fear and falsehood to stir confusion.

For over a hundred years Massachusetts had no income tax. No other state had one either, and neither did the federal government. The quality of education before the income tax was far superior to today's schooling, as comparison tests have shown.

You can see for yourself. Below is a link for an eighth-grade exam given in 1895 in Salina, Kansas — before any government imposed an income tax:

http://www.ivbe.org/SpgSum_2000_8thGrFinal.htm

Here are some of the exam's categories and questions:

Grammar:

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.

Arithmetic:

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

U.S. History:

1. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
2. Show the territorial growth of the United States.

How'd you do?

As for the desirability of having the state educate our children, consider these remarks from Chapter Three of Sheldon Richman's book, Separating School & State: How to Liberate American Families. Richman quotes William H. Seawell, professor of education at the University of Virginia in 1981, on government's role in educating our children: "'Public schools [Seawell said] promote civic rather than individual pursuits'" Why the emphasis on civics? Seawell provides a clear answer: "'Each child belongs to the state.'" Did anyone take issue with his claim? "There was no outcry from the public," Richman notes. [1]

If the state can take your income, who's going to stop it from laying claim to your kids? The answer is you. For starters, vote "Yes" to end the income tax.

Before the income tax, people accepted responsibility for their lives. Most didn't know any other way to live and understood that acquiring knowledge of the real world was necessary to prosper. Teachers were motivated as well as their students. In today's America, everyone's gone entitlement-crazy because government has pooled our income and put it up for grabs. Learning has become a matter of learning to play politics.

Seven other states today have no income tax. Kids attend public schools in those states with the usual results. Regarding the elderly, as a group, they are the most prosperous people in our society. If they feared states without an income tax they wouldn't flock to the sunshine state in such droves. It's no accident that Nevada, Florida, and Texas lead the nation as entrepreneurial hot spots [2] — and have no state income tax. [3].

If we don't end the income tax now, the day will soon arrive when there won't be an income tax to end. The government will simply take the next logical step and confiscate every cent you and I earn and pay us an allowance based on how cooperative we are, or how needy, or who we know. "Allowance" is an appropriate term — we're all children to the state. If you think this projection is unrealistic, think again. Much of what it does today was envisioned only in the worst nightmares of our Founders.

Massachusetts, know this with absolute certainty: voters in every state with an income tax are positively green with envy over your opportunity. To get rid of this oppressive measure, this attack on decency, all you have to do is vote "Yes" on question 1 on election day.

You don't have to spend a winter at Valley Forge freezing and starving to death. You don't have to march barefoot in a sleet storm at four in the morning to surprise mercenaries at Trenton on the day after Christmas.

You just have to vote "Yes" on question 1.

Libertarian candidate for governor Carla Howell and her supporters have done all the work to get the question on the ballot. Vote "Yes" on question 1 — and vote for Carla Howell for governor and Michael Cloud for U.S. Senate. They are the candidates who have put choice on your ballot, by fighting for you to keep what is rightfully yours.

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References

1. Separating School & State, Chapter 3, Sheldon Richman, http://www.sntp.net/education/school_state_3.htm

2. Best and Worst States for Business, http://www.bcentral.com/articles/harper/141.asp?cobrand=msn&LID=3800

3. States with no income tax, http://www.govspot.com/know/incometax.htm

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A certified Toastmaster, George F. Smith is a freelance writer who welcomes the opportunity to address your group or organization. Send him email at gfs543@bellsouth.net.

[Sir Gawain]

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[Principled]

End the income tax everywhere!

[unixfox]

Roger that !!

[theDentist]

It'll be my luck that it will pass just at the same time I'm moving to Va. But even so, it'll make no difference.

Why? Because after the election, the Governor's Council must validate the election results. We have had other questions pass overwhelmingly in the past, only to have the Council, Sec of State, and/or members of the Legislature "invalidate" the question.

I hope it passes, just so you can see what happens when it does. The chicanery will stun you.

[theDentist]

By the way:

Massachusetts No-Brainer

Another Oxymoron.

[sawsalimb]

In everyday language, it's called gang warfare. It's a war among looters fighting over the money you own.

Bump!

[lasereye]

Have there been any polls on the Senate race in MA? Is there a Republican candidate on the ballot or is it just Kerry vs. the Libertarian?

[Protagoras]

You must be crazy! No matter how good the idea, just look at who is responsible for bringing it up, those crazy Libertarians! You can't vote for them, are you nuts? Don't you know what would happen to the world if these crazy, drug addled, pornographers get their way?

Boy, where are CJ, kevvie boy, and the rest of the HY when ya need em?

[ServesURight]

Kevin Curry will say that ending the MA income tax will cause more people to spend the extra money on drugs, especially hard, addictive drugs such as marijuana.

[Protagoras]

Kevin Curry will say that ending the MA income tax will cause more people to spend the extra money on drugs, especially hard, addictive drugs such as marijuana.

The person who posts under that name is one of a group of people on this forum who advocate ever expansive, abusive and brutal government as the answer to every problem. They pose as conservatives and Republicans. They give the whole site a black eye. They are truly evil people. (most of them are mentally unbalanced as well)

[Protagoras]

As of right now, there have only been a dozen posts to this thread. Where are all the Republicans and conservatives when it comes to supporting REAL tax cuts? They claim that they stand for that. But they are AWOL as usual.

In fact, their candidates OPPOSE this tax cut. Sad.

[dheretic]

People who support the WoD IMO should be regarded with the same contempt that lay-supporters of the NAZI party received. AFAIAC they are a bunch of boot-kissing fascist thugs that deserve to become victims of their own pet program. The supporters of the WoD cannot be reasoned with because their position is inherently opposed to reason. You try pushing for abolishing welfare, medicare, etc to take the support infrastructure out from under the users and they denounce you as a heartless bastard. You call for the execution of anyone found guilty of murdering someone intoxicated and you're a violent person. The only reason why they support the WoD is because they lack the basic strength of character to do what is right which is to not run roughshod over the public liberty because of a few miscreants. These are also the same people who do not have the testicular fortitude to profile saudis as they come in, but pull a middle aged black or white American woman with kids off a plane and strip search her because as we all know, Al Qaeda owns the hood (too bad the woman is in fact most likely bourgeiouse and lives in the suburbs). The fundamental flaw with democracy is that it lets the wolves use the state as the carving and eating utensils when they divide up the sheep among them. Republican government anyone?

[Tony Niar Brain]

The Libertarian Party, and their platform, have no place in MA politics, or any significance therein. Carla Howell, Michael Cloud, and all the other pointy-headed theorists will not be taken seriously unless they stop this damned-fool crusade to cut the hamstring of the state government.

[sawsalimb]

The Libertarian Party, and their platform, have no place in MA politics, or any significance therein. Carla Howell, Michael Cloud, and all the other pointy-headed theorists will not be taken seriously unless they stop this damned-fool crusade to cut the hamstring of the state government.

Pointy-headed theorists? A good argument can be made that pointy headed theorists are the reason that the likes of us are burdened with income taxes as we speak. And how about those pointy headed theorists that decided that paying people to be poor was a good idea? And the pointy-headed theorists(aka,"The Best and the Brightest") that thought that waging a war with a stack of balance sheets and a slide rule,from ten thousand miles away was a good plan?

Pointy headed theorists are sometimes right,and sometimes wrong-that's just the way life is. However,when pointy headed theorists are given other peoples' money to play with,and totally removed from any possible consequences of their theories going awry,I'd call that a disaster waiting to happen. In this case,it seems like one group of pointy headed theorists is trying to take away another group of pointy headed theorist's access to free money. I don't think that's a bad idea at all.