Tuesday, July 25, 2006

The "Fair Flat Tax"

Oregon Senator Wants to Take On the Burden of Fixing the Tax Code



This is a Washington Post news article printed yesterday. The article talks about the plan of Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR.) for a "Fair Flat Tax" to reform the current tax code. There are so many things wrong with this, not the article, but the plan, that I don't even know where to begin.

To start, I want to talk about the name. I don't want to make the fact that it is a total misnomer the center of my argument, but the fact that it takes the names of the two top tax reform plans and combines them. I believe this is an attempt to pretend at being "moderate." Moderates are viewed as those who look for a medium ground in every conflict. Moderates try to compromise everything. They look for ways to make everyone happy. This seems like such a noble goal, who can speak against peace and general "getting along?" I can... for one... but I am saying that this is an attempt to look good in the public's eyes by acting as though he is a moderate. One look at his voting record, and one would easily recognize he is no moderate. He is simply playing politics to get across his agenda. He believes the American public to be so naive, so ignorant, so gullible, so trusting, and so easily duped that he would dare name his plan in such a way. It is obviously a throwback to the FairTax and the Flat Tax. He is hoping that people will be ill-informed (thanks to our government schools) so that when election time comes, he can say he is in favor of the "Fair Flat Tax," and by throwing those at you like buzz-words and cliches he hopes to win your vote.

Senator Wyden. We are no longer ignorant.

We are no longer stupid.

We are no longer slaves to the main-stream media.

We are our own media. We do our own research. We know what is going on. We know what you have done, what you are doing, and what you want to do.

You won't get away with it any more...

This plan is not a compromise between two plans, but a bastardization of both. It implements the taxes without getting rid of anything at all. The tax loopholes are still there (although they are less numerous, and who is to say they won't come back like last time?). The corrupt IRS still exists (upsetting the FairTax) and the graduated income tax gets more severe and even more punishing on corporations (upsetting both the FairTax and the Flat Tax).

The Flat Tax is a plan to eliminate tax breaks and loopholes from the tax system, and make the number of tax tiers a minimum (only two I believe, 17% and zero%). The plan is designed to be revenue neutral, and it is supposed to eliminate the corruption that goes on within the current tax system. The FairTax eliminates the entire current tax system (including the IRS), and replaces it with a National Retail Sales Tax (NRST) rebated up to poverty level spending for all American households. It is designed to eliminate the punishing tax structure of taxing corporations and "soaking the rich." It ends up being highly progressive because of the rebate, and it is also revenue neutral.

The problem here, is that both plans are now easily manipulated. There are loop holes in not only the income tax code, but in the sales tax code as well. This is not even close to either the Flat Tax or the FairTax. This is a plan to take your money from you in an even more discreet and secretive way than before. Sen Wyden wants control of your money and to tell you what to do with it. To him, all money earned is property of the government, and what they don't take in taxes is what they are giving you as a gift. Thus comes the idea that tax-breaks that are across the board are really just "gifts" to the rich because they benefit more from it. They get to keep more total money because the percentage is of a higher amount.

I am not going to get into tax-breaks, and graduated income tax brackets, and deductions, etc. I am going to say that this is a Senator playing politics and waging class warfare. He is creating tensions between the classes and using that tension to stir hatred, a sense of competition and urgency. He wants to get our blood boiling and he wants us to vote for him to make sure those rich bastards don't take more than they deserve of the giant American (economic) Pie. He wants those of us who do not have as much as Bill Gates to think that he is stealing it from us, and that because he has so much, we don't have enough. It is his fault we don't have enough money to buy those rims for our new car, or that its his fault that we can't get that extra media package on our cell phone. He wants us to believe it is Sam Walton's fault that we couldn't quite afford to get the house with the second study, or that its his fault that the man begging on the side of the street lost his job.

I say enough is enough. It is time to take that power out of the hands of the politicians and put it back into our hands. They have manipulated our vote for far too long, and we have bought into their lies and deceit one too many times. It is time for change. It is time to get rid of the income tax and the IRS. It is time to let how you live, rather than the government, determine how much you pay in taxes. If you live richly, and way beyond your means, you will pay a higher percentage in effective taxes. If you only buy new what you need new, and buy everything else second-hand or make it yourself, you will pay virtually no taxes. If you invest or save your money on things that will bring a return, you will pay no taxes on that. Things like expensive cars and grills will lose some of their appeal to those who know how to handle their money. They will realize they can make more money with the money they have, rather than imply spend it.

America is ready for the FairTax.

America rejects the "Fair Flat Tax."

America demands Fair Taxation Now!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hallelujah! Brother John! Hit some nails on the HEAD! And HEAD ON at that!