OK. So the first lesson was for working people to learn to limit the
access the Federal Government has to the cash in your pocketbook.
The second lesson would be to limit (or eliminate) the money the
Federal Government can collect and/or spend on programs that
are constitutionally the responsibilities of the state or local
governments.
Politicians love to piggy-back on spur-of-the-moment, hot button,
emotional issues they can use to gain votes, face-time on
television, and attention on the Internet.
The first question working Americans ask should be "Whose
responsibility should it be to fix the problem?". Then, "Does the
Federal Government really need to collect taxes from everyone to
give back to the states to give to the local governments to solve
this problem?".
Why couldn't local governments raise the funds to fix this problem
if it were important to their constituents? Collecting Federal taxes
to give to local governments seems to be designed only to make
the local governments financially dependent on the Feds and the
strings that come attached to the funds.
Take the Department of Education as an example. I can see
using this department to do things that the states can't do for
themselves. National tests to measure achievement in basic
educational skills (reading, writing, math, science, and logic) seem
to be an impartial, proper way to compare state and local results
against others, so that parents and educators could measure their
results against others, and decide if improvements need to be made.
But I can't see using this department to set standards on everything
from school nutrition, to the curriculum, to anti-bullying policies, to
political correctness, to union issues, to anti-violence policies, etc.,
etc., etc.
I'm not trying to say that these aren't important issues. I'm saying
that it is the local school districts who should be funding and deciding
these issues, not the Federal Government.
I feel the local citizens can decide these issues for themselves just as
well, or better, than the Republican Senior Senator from California can,
or the Democratic Representative from the State of Alabama can, or the
President of the United States can.
Lesson Number Two for the working person...stop giving money from
your pocket to the Feds to decide things that you can be, and
constitutionally should be, spending and deciding on your own.
I know. I know. You're busy, you've got a life to live, kids to take care
of, you don't have the technical training, yada, yada, yada. They must
know better than you do what's the right thing to do.
True, some of them do know better than you. But to the vast majority,
the right thing to do is for them to get re-elected. They will say what
they have to say, they'll cave to the special interest groups, they will play
on your emotions, and they'll stick it to you if you let them.
Do not let national politicians game the system to take your money and use it
to gain power in areas where they don't belong. Vote for those who are willing
to limit the ever-increasing takeover of local decisions by the Federal
Government.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Some lessons from the 2012 Election
Almost everyone realizes that big money influences politics today.
Politicians need votes to get elected, and they need money to reach
out to the voters.
Special interest groups need access to politicians in order to push
their private agendas onto the general public...and are more than
willing to offer money or bloc votes to gain that special access.
It can be a marriage made in Heaven, as it was when it helped
correct the days of child labor, unfettered pollution, and other
human, ethical, and environmental problems.
It can be a marriage made in Hell, when it is used to prevent the
correction of injustices, or when it continues to push further and
further beyond a solution of fairness and common sense on problems
that have already been solved.
The problem today is that most Federal politicians are so wedded
to the special interest money that they spend scant, if any, time
worrying about Constitutional limitations, State's rights, or individual
rights and liberties, or the fiscal impact of their promises.
Republicans and Democrats alike spend the majority of their time
raising campaign money by promising tax or regulatory breaks for
their favorite constituencies, while playing lip service to the
"middle-class American", who continues to get shafted.
The career Republicans and Democrats both know that their key to
remaining in power is to use the tax system as a tool to fund the
promises they make to their supporters, or as a method to threaten
their detractors. They are virtuosos at playing the existing system to
their benefit.
But now, this system of tax increases and increasing exemptions
has expanded and expanded so much over so many years, it has
become bloated and unmanageable. It is close to burying the nation
in debt.
Who pays for all this? You do, if you work for a living. The
Federal Government alone withholds income taxes, social security
taxes, and medicare taxes out of your pay stub, as well as
additional social security taxes from your employer for you.
And if they don't take enough money from you to pay for the
promises they make, they'll go ahead and borrow the money, so
you, or your children, will be paying it back later.
You may think you're making out on this deal. You're a union
member and you've got political friends who are covering for you.
Or, you're a Wall-Street banker, or, a farmer. Maybe you're a
manufacturer, or a small businessman. You might be interested
in protecting the environment. You could be in the one percent,
or in the ninety nine percent, or in the middle-class.
If you're in any of these groups, or any other group, you may
think the politicians are looking out for you. True, they're giving
your group something. They're also promising all the other
groups something...and they're taking all of it out of your pocket.
If you work for a living, your family is paying for the promises
they make. It doesn't matter if you earn $20,000 a year or
$2,000,000 a year...you are paying for it. You are the individual
working person, and you are paying for ALL the special interest
groups the politicians are favoring.
So, the first lesson learned is to start thinking of yourself as an
individual who is paying for all the special interest groups, and
start demanding that politicians justify how they are spending
your money and where it is going.
Use your influence to support candidates that promise to
support a simpler tax plan with lower tax rates and fewer
deductions. My preference would be a plan similar to that
described in my "Tax Overview" and "Five Ten Begin Again"
posts.
With any plan, the general idea should be to simplify the tax
code and prevent politicians from using the code to reward
or penalize individuals and/or organizations, and to force
them (the politicians) to live within a budget, just like the rest
of us do.
Even if you think that tinkering with the tax code was justified
in the past, it has gotten so bloated and inefficient that it has to
be reset before we implode in the future.
If you work for a living, you're being played, one against another.
In order to distract you from asking why anyone who earns less
than $20,000 should pay any federal income tax, or why anyone
at all should pay almost a 40% tax rate, they have you arguing over
which rich guy should pay more than you or which special interest
group should get a special tax break.
The question should be "Why should politicians take so much
money from my family, and give so much of it to other people?".
Even the Social Security Trust Fund is used as a piggy bank to fund
government spending through special issue treasury bonds at low
interest rates.
A simpler, fairer tax code at lower rates would help impose fiscal
discipline in Washington, would help discourage social tinkering and
political cronyism, and would help prevent politicians from using
the threat of tax consequences to extort political contributions and/or
to silence political opposition.
Politicians need votes to get elected, and they need money to reach
out to the voters.
Special interest groups need access to politicians in order to push
their private agendas onto the general public...and are more than
willing to offer money or bloc votes to gain that special access.
It can be a marriage made in Heaven, as it was when it helped
correct the days of child labor, unfettered pollution, and other
human, ethical, and environmental problems.
It can be a marriage made in Hell, when it is used to prevent the
correction of injustices, or when it continues to push further and
further beyond a solution of fairness and common sense on problems
that have already been solved.
The problem today is that most Federal politicians are so wedded
to the special interest money that they spend scant, if any, time
worrying about Constitutional limitations, State's rights, or individual
rights and liberties, or the fiscal impact of their promises.
Republicans and Democrats alike spend the majority of their time
raising campaign money by promising tax or regulatory breaks for
their favorite constituencies, while playing lip service to the
"middle-class American", who continues to get shafted.
The career Republicans and Democrats both know that their key to
remaining in power is to use the tax system as a tool to fund the
promises they make to their supporters, or as a method to threaten
their detractors. They are virtuosos at playing the existing system to
their benefit.
But now, this system of tax increases and increasing exemptions
has expanded and expanded so much over so many years, it has
become bloated and unmanageable. It is close to burying the nation
in debt.
Who pays for all this? You do, if you work for a living. The
Federal Government alone withholds income taxes, social security
taxes, and medicare taxes out of your pay stub, as well as
additional social security taxes from your employer for you.
And if they don't take enough money from you to pay for the
promises they make, they'll go ahead and borrow the money, so
you, or your children, will be paying it back later.
You may think you're making out on this deal. You're a union
member and you've got political friends who are covering for you.
Or, you're a Wall-Street banker, or, a farmer. Maybe you're a
manufacturer, or a small businessman. You might be interested
in protecting the environment. You could be in the one percent,
or in the ninety nine percent, or in the middle-class.
If you're in any of these groups, or any other group, you may
think the politicians are looking out for you. True, they're giving
your group something. They're also promising all the other
groups something...and they're taking all of it out of your pocket.
If you work for a living, your family is paying for the promises
they make. It doesn't matter if you earn $20,000 a year or
$2,000,000 a year...you are paying for it. You are the individual
working person, and you are paying for ALL the special interest
groups the politicians are favoring.
So, the first lesson learned is to start thinking of yourself as an
individual who is paying for all the special interest groups, and
start demanding that politicians justify how they are spending
your money and where it is going.
Use your influence to support candidates that promise to
support a simpler tax plan with lower tax rates and fewer
deductions. My preference would be a plan similar to that
described in my "Tax Overview" and "Five Ten Begin Again"
posts.
With any plan, the general idea should be to simplify the tax
code and prevent politicians from using the code to reward
or penalize individuals and/or organizations, and to force
them (the politicians) to live within a budget, just like the rest
of us do.
Even if you think that tinkering with the tax code was justified
in the past, it has gotten so bloated and inefficient that it has to
be reset before we implode in the future.
If you work for a living, you're being played, one against another.
In order to distract you from asking why anyone who earns less
than $20,000 should pay any federal income tax, or why anyone
at all should pay almost a 40% tax rate, they have you arguing over
which rich guy should pay more than you or which special interest
group should get a special tax break.
The question should be "Why should politicians take so much
money from my family, and give so much of it to other people?".
Even the Social Security Trust Fund is used as a piggy bank to fund
government spending through special issue treasury bonds at low
interest rates.
A simpler, fairer tax code at lower rates would help impose fiscal
discipline in Washington, would help discourage social tinkering and
political cronyism, and would help prevent politicians from using
the threat of tax consequences to extort political contributions and/or
to silence political opposition.
Complex Problems
The original purpose of the Federal Government was to protect the
rights of the individual from the over-reaching tyranny of an
all-powerful federal executive AND from the tyranny of an
all-powerful majority vote.
That's why it was set up as a democratic republic and not set up
as a pure democracy. That's why the Federal Government had its
powers limited by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. That's
why competing power centers were created to diffuse the central
accumulation of power.
The members of the House were elected by popular vote to represent
the people's will.
The Senators were appointed by state politicians to represent state's
rights in Washington. The election of Senators has since been
changed to popular vote, with the effect of lessening the influence
of state's rights in Washington.
The President was elected by Electors appointed by representatives
of the states, to carry out constitutional duties and to enforce proper
laws and regulations. The Electors have since been chosen to
represent the popular vote for President in the states.
Finally, the Supreme Court was created to adjudicate the
Constitutionality of Federal laws and regulations.
Over the years, the increasing reliance on the popular vote has
increased the political importance of achieving majority vote and
decreasing the importance of state's rights or individual rights.
The country has moved closer to a pure Democracy and further
from a Republic.
At first blush, most would think this shift has been a good thing,
but there's a darker side as well. Power has been gradually
shifting away from States and individuals to the centralized power
of the Federal government...the polar opposite of what the founders
intended.
To get elected in Washington, one has to deal with power centers
that are more concerned with the welfare of their members than
with the welfare of the Country, the individual States, or any
individuals outside of their membership.
Eisenhower once warned about the rising influence of the
Military/Industrial Complex. Today we've progressed to the
Federal Government Complex, the Banking, the Public
Union, and the Environmental Complexes, as well as the
Healthcare and Welfare Complexes...and who knows how many
more?
There used to be many competing car companies and banks. Now,
maybe two or three US car companies, and maybe five or six giant
banks, all becoming bigger and bigger until they become "too big to
fail"...protected by the federal government and feeding off taxes paid
by working American citizens.
Millions of Americans wonder "how we ever got in this mess"?
Others wonder "how we're ever going to get out of this mess?'. It
started with the well-intentioned shift towards centralized Federal
control.
Some suggestions for getting out of this mess will follow.
rights of the individual from the over-reaching tyranny of an
all-powerful federal executive AND from the tyranny of an
all-powerful majority vote.
That's why it was set up as a democratic republic and not set up
as a pure democracy. That's why the Federal Government had its
powers limited by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. That's
why competing power centers were created to diffuse the central
accumulation of power.
The members of the House were elected by popular vote to represent
the people's will.
The Senators were appointed by state politicians to represent state's
rights in Washington. The election of Senators has since been
changed to popular vote, with the effect of lessening the influence
of state's rights in Washington.
The President was elected by Electors appointed by representatives
of the states, to carry out constitutional duties and to enforce proper
laws and regulations. The Electors have since been chosen to
represent the popular vote for President in the states.
Finally, the Supreme Court was created to adjudicate the
Constitutionality of Federal laws and regulations.
Over the years, the increasing reliance on the popular vote has
increased the political importance of achieving majority vote and
decreasing the importance of state's rights or individual rights.
The country has moved closer to a pure Democracy and further
from a Republic.
At first blush, most would think this shift has been a good thing,
but there's a darker side as well. Power has been gradually
shifting away from States and individuals to the centralized power
of the Federal government...the polar opposite of what the founders
intended.
To get elected in Washington, one has to deal with power centers
that are more concerned with the welfare of their members than
with the welfare of the Country, the individual States, or any
individuals outside of their membership.
Eisenhower once warned about the rising influence of the
Military/Industrial Complex. Today we've progressed to the
Federal Government Complex, the Banking, the Public
Union, and the Environmental Complexes, as well as the
Healthcare and Welfare Complexes...and who knows how many
more?
There used to be many competing car companies and banks. Now,
maybe two or three US car companies, and maybe five or six giant
banks, all becoming bigger and bigger until they become "too big to
fail"...protected by the federal government and feeding off taxes paid
by working American citizens.
Millions of Americans wonder "how we ever got in this mess"?
Others wonder "how we're ever going to get out of this mess?'. It
started with the well-intentioned shift towards centralized Federal
control.
Some suggestions for getting out of this mess will follow.
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