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Saturday, April 22, 2017

FEE: The Income Tax Implies that Government Owns You

The Income Tax Implies that Government Owns You

The income tax is enshrined into law but it is an idea that stands in total contradiction to the driving force behind the American Revolution and the idea of freedom itself. We desperately need a serious national movement to get rid of it – not reform it, not replace it, not flatten it or refocus its sting from this group to that. It just needs to go.

FEE logo
The great essayist Frank Chodorov once described the income tax as the root of all evil. His target was not the tax itself, but the principle behind it. Since its implementation in 1913, he wrote, "The government says to the citizen: 'Your earnings are not exclusively your own; we have a claim on them, and our claim precedes yours; we will allow you to keep some of it, because we recognize your need, not your right; but whatever we grant you for yourself is for us to decide.”

He really does have a point. That's evil. When Congress ratified the 16th Amendment on Feb. 3, 1913, there was a sense in which all private income in the U.S. was nationalized. What was not taxed from then on was a favor granted unto us, and continues to be so.

This is implied in the text of the amendment itself: "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."

No Limits
Where are the limits? There weren't any. There was some discussion about putting a limit on the tax, but it seemed unnecessary. Only 1% of the income earners would end up paying about 1% to the government. Everyone else was initially untouched. Who really cares that the rich have to pay a bit more, right? They can afford it.

This perspective totally misunderstands the true nature of government, which always wants more money and more power and will stop at nothing to get both. The 16th Amendment was more than a modern additive to an antique document. It was a new philosophy of the fiscal life of the entire country.

Today, the ruling elite no longer bothers with things like amendments. But back in the day, it was different. The amendment was made necessary because of previous court decisions that stated what was once considered a bottom-line presumption of the free society: Government cannot tax personal property. What you make is your own. You get to keep the product of your labors. Government can tax sales, perhaps, or raise money through tariffs on goods coming in and out of the country. But your bank account is off-limits.

The amendment changed that idea. In the beginning, it applied to very few people. This was one reason it passed. It was pitched as a replacement tax, not a new money raiser. After all the havoc caused by the divisive tariffs of the 19th century, this sounded like a great deal to many people, particularly Southerners and Westerners fed up with paying such high prices for manufactured goods while seeing their trading relations with foreign consumers disrupted.

People who supported it – and they were not so much the left but the right-wing populists of the time – imagined that the tax would hit the robber baron class of industrialists in the North. And that it did. Their fortunes began to dwindle, and their confidence in their ability to amass and retain intergenerational fortunes began to wane.

Limit to Accumulation
We all know the stories of how the grandchildren of the Gilded Age tycoons squandered their family heritage in the 1920s and failed to carry on the tradition. Well, it is hardly surprising. The government put a timetable and limit on accumulation. Private families and individuals would no longer be permitted to exist except in subjugation to the taxing state. The kids left their private estates to live in the cities, put off marriage, stopped bothering with all that hearth and home stuff. Time horizons shortened, and the Jazz Age began.

Class warfare was part of the deal from the beginning. The income tax turned the social fabric of the country into a giant lifetime boat, with everyone arguing about who had to be thrown overboard so that others might live.

The demon in the beginning was the rich. That remained true until the 1930s, when FDR changed the deal. Suddenly, the income would be collected, but taxed in a different way. It would be taken from everyone, but a portion would be given back late in life as a permanent income stream. Thus was the payroll tax born. This tax today is far more significant than the income tax.

The class warfare unleashed all those years ago continues today. One side wants to tax the rich. The other side finds it appalling that the percentage of people who pay no income tax has risen from 30% to nearly 50%. Now we see the appalling spectacle of Republicans regarding this as a disgrace that must change. They have joined the political classes that seek advancement by hurting people.

The Payroll Tax
It's extremely strange that the payroll tax is rarely considered in this debate. The poor, the middle class and the rich are all being hammered by payroll taxes that fund failed programs that provide no security and few benefits at all.

It's impossible to take seriously the claims that the income tax doesn't harm wealth creation. When Congress wants to discourage something – smoking, imports, selling stocks or whatever – they know what to do: Tax it. Tax income, and on the margin, you discourage people from earning it.

Tax debates are always about "reform" – which always means a slight shift in who pays what, with an eye to raising ever more money for the government. A far better solution would be to forget the whole thing and return to the original idea of a free society: You get to keep what you earn or inherit. That means nothing short of abolishing the great mistake of 1913.

Forget the flat tax. The only just solution is no tax on incomes ever.

But let's say that one day we actually become safe from the income tax collectors and something like blessed peace arrives. There is still another problem that emerged in 1913. Congress created the Federal Reserve, which eventually developed the power to create all the money that government would ever need, even without taxing.

For the practical running of the affairs of the state, the Fed is far worse than the income tax. It creates the more-insidious tax because it is so sneaky. In a strange way, it has made all the debates about taxation superfluous. Denying the government revenue does nothing to curb its appetites for our liberties and property. The Fed has managed to make it impossible to starve the beast.

Chodorov was correct about the evil of the income tax. Its passage signaled the beginning of a century of despotism. Our property is no longer safe. Our income is not our own. We are legally obligated to turn over whatever our masters say we owe them. You can fudge this point: None of this is compatible with the old liberal idea of freedom.

You doubt it? Listen to Thomas Jefferson from his inaugural address of 1801. What he said then remains true today:"…what more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people? Still one more thing, fellow citizens a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned."
__________
Jeffrey A. Tucker Jeffrey A. Tucker
Jeffrey Tucker is Director of Content for the Foundation for Economic Education. He is also Chief Liberty Officer and founder of Liberty.me, Distinguished Honorary Member of Mises Brazil, research fellow at the Acton Institute, policy adviser of the Heartland Institute, founder of the CryptoCurrency Conference, member of the editorial board of the Molinari Review, an advisor to the blockchain application builder Factom, and author of five books. He has written 150 introductions to books and many thousands of articles appearing in the scholarly and popular press.

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

Monday, April 17, 2017

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Leaked Docs Show How Soros Spends Big To Keep Populists Out Of Power In Europe

Leaked Docs Show How Soros Spends Big To Keep Populists Out Of Power In Europe

TheDailyCaller
Peter Hasson
Associate Editor
Leaked documents from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations reveal how Soros works to defeat populist candidates and movements in Europe.
Soros, a U.S. citizen, uses a network of nonprofits and partner organizations across Europe to try and affect the outcomes of elections in foreign countries, the documents show. (RELATED: Soros Org Secretly Paid Salaries For Moldovan Prime Minister’s Staffers)
Through advocacy efforts, education campaigns and media influencing projects, Soros does his best to affect electoral outcomes around the globe in support of his open borders worldview.

ORGANIZATIONS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS AND HIS OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS

206 U.S. organizations funded by George Soros


Organizations Funded Directly by George Soros and his Open Society Foundations
and
"Secondary" or "Indirect" Affiliates of the George Soros Network
By Discover The Networks

CLICK ON THE GRAPHIC BELOW TO REACH THE LIST:
DiscoverTheNetworks

...and they want you to think that the "Russians" are influencing elections.

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Beware Of Latest Energy Scam: Community Choice Aggregators

Beware Of Latest Energy Scam: Community Choice Aggregators


 
Other names for the same scheme include: Community Choice Energy (CCE), Municipal Aggregation, Governmental Aggregation, Electricity Aggregation and Community Aggregation. As of 2014, 1,300 municipalities were directly affected. TN Editor

So what is a CCA exactly?


Monday, April 3, 2017

House Freedom Caucus Members

Caucus Member Phone in D.C. Twitter Handle
House Freedom Caucus Phone @freedomcaucus
Mark Meadows of N. Carolina (202)225-6401 @RepMarkMeadows
Justin Amash of Michigan (202)225-3831 @justinamash
Brian Babin of Texas (202)225-1555 @RepBrianBabin
Joe Barton of Texas (202)225-2002 @RepJoeBarton
Andy Biggs of Arizona (202)225-2635 @RepAndyBiggsAZ
Rod Blum of Iowa (202)225-2911 @RepRodBlum
Dave Brat of Virginia (202)225-2815 @RepDaveBrat
Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma (202)225-2211 @RepJBridenstine
Mo Brooks of Alabama (202)225-4801 @RepMoBrooks
Ken Buck of Colorado (202)225-4676 @RepKenBuck
Warren Davidson of Ohio (202)225-6205 @WarrenDavidson
Ron DeSantis of Florida (202)225-2706 @RepDeSantis
Scott DesJarlais - Tennessee (202)225-6831 @DesJarlaisTN04
Jeff Duncan of S. Carolina (202)225-5301 @RepJeffDuncan
Trent Franks of Arizona (202)225-4576 @RepTrentFranks
Tom Garrett Jr. of Virginia (202)225-4711 @Rep_Tom_Garrett
Louie Gohmert of Texas (202)225-3035 @replouiegohmert
Paul Gosar of Arizona (202)225-2315 @RepGosar
Morgan Griffith of Virginia (202)225-3861 @RepMGriffith
Andy Harris of Maryland (202)225-5311 @RepAndyHarrisMD
Jody Hice of Georgia (202)225-4101 @CongressmanHice
Mike Johnson of Louisiana (202)225-2777 ‎@RepMikeJohnson
Jim Jordan of Ohio (202)225-2676 @Jim_Jordan
Raúl Labrador of Idaho (202)225-6611 @Raul_Labrador
Alex Mooney of W. Virginia (202)225-2711 @RepAlexMooney
Gary Palmer of Alabama (202)225-4921 @USRepGaryPalmer
Steve Pearce of New Mexico (202)225-2365 @RepStevePearce
Scott Perry of Pennsylvania (202)225-5836 @RepScottPerry
Bill Posey of Florida (202)225-3671 @congbillposey
Mark Sanford of S. Carolina (202)225-3176 @RepSanfordSC
David Schweikert of Arizona (202)225-2190 @RepDavid
Randy Weber of Texas (202)225-2831 @TXRandy14
Ted Yoho of Florida (202)225-5744 @RepTedYoho
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