What About Taxes?

Yesterday I tried to explain the foolishness and illegality of the federal government's attempts to buy votes through social legislation.  Today I will tell you why I am against any tax reform deals in conjunction with the status quo on the assessment and collection of taxes.  The cartoon above shows what a mouse trap would look like if it was designed by the IRS.  Our U. S. Constitution gives the government the power to tax when they need to in order to pay for expenses related to the four areas in which they have the primary legal role for jurisdiction.  One of these areas is taxation.  The other three are National Security, Interstate Commerce, and the Manufacture of Currency.  Here's how that plays out.  Keep us safe from foreign and domestic threats to our National Security so that we can pursue our lives in freedom and relative safety.  Set up rules so that our 50 separate states can engage in commerce with each other without undue interference. And, let the Treasury Department manufacture a uniform currency to allow us to engage in commerce.

That's not so hard is it?  (Enter the lawyers, legislators, and federal judges)  From this simple formula we have devolved into a quagmire of unbearable administrative costs and ineffective management never imagined or intended by the founders of our great nation.  Just read their comments related to how the government was intended to function.  The Federal Reserve now manufacturers our currency on an as needed basis with no viable backing.  It is an economy built on huge and ever growing debt.  This is illegal according to our constitution.  The Federal Reserve is illegal.  Their manufacture of our currency is illegal.  If you did the same thing you would most certainly be charged with counterfeiting.  Funding social welfare programs was never intended or authorized by our constitution and yet it was incrementally sewn into the fabric of government to purchase votes for whatever party happened to be in charge of the reins of government at the time.  Now it has become a self perpetuating parasitic blob which threatens the continued existence of our republic.

Remember, the party who holds the presidency doesn't always have the legislature.  So, when you are trying to unravel this mess of who's responsible during any political period, remember to look at the party who holds the legislative reins.  The administrative branch can't legislate.  It also takes years for simple changes to show their effectiveness (or not)  and provides ample opportunity for politicians to capture statistics and give erroneous interpretations that favor their party.  The truth is neither party has operated in an honorable and just fashion.  Therefore, when we talk about deals on whether to raise taxes or leave them the same we are once again being hoodwinked.  Our constitution is all about fairness in the administration of its legal requirements.  All people are to be treated fairly regardless of their status in life.  So a graduated scale of taxation is unconstitutional.  All citizens should be taxed at the same rate.  We could do away with a goodly portion of the IRS and its uninterpretable tax code.

This deal on maintaining the status quo is a ruse.  The deal will be fraught with selfish earmarks and legislative issues that couldn't pass the smell test if exposed to the nostrils of the majority of American voters and should be stopped until we can straighten out the process.

Everyone talks about the breaks the rich get.  Folks, they pay the majority of the taxes now anyway.  This is unconstitutional.

Summary of Latest Federal Individual Income Tax Data

Table 1
Summary of Federal Individual Income Tax Data, 2008
(Updated October 2010)

	Number of Returns with Positive AGI	AGI  ($ millions)	Income Taxes Paid  ($ millions)	Group's Share of Total AGI	Group's Share of Income Taxes	Income Split Point	Average Tax Rate
All Taxpayers	139,960,580	8,426,625	1,031,512	100%	100%	-	12.24%
Top 1%	1,399,606	1,685,472	392,149	20.00%	38.02%	$380,354	23.27%
1-5%	5,598,423	1,241,229	213,569	14.73%	20.70%		17.21%
Top 5%	6,998,029	2,926,701	605,718	34.73%	58.72%	$159,619	20.70%
5-10%	6,998,029	929,761	115,703	11.03%	11.22%		12.44%
Top 10%	13,996,058	3,856,462	721,421	45.77%	69.94%	$113,799	18.71%
10-25%	20,994,087	1,821,717	169,193	21.62%	16.40%		9.29%
Top 25%	34,990,145	5,678,179	890,614	67.38%	86.34%	$67,280	15.68%
25-50%	34,990,145	1,673,932	113,025	19.86%	10.96%		6.75%
Top 50%	69,980,290	7,352,111	1,003,639	87.25%	97.30%	>$33,048	13.65%
Bottom 50%	69,980,290	1,074,514	27,873	12.75%	2.70%	<$33,048	2.59%
Source: Internal Revenue Service

The bottom line in all this is, we should adopt a tax system that taxes all citizens equally and requires a balanced budget and real fiscal accountability when legislation is proposed that requires federal spending.  We should also immediately examine the constitutionality of all programs and federal agencies and those found to be illegal and unconstitutional should be targeted for elimination.

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
  - Donald H. Rumsfeld