that's the problem with RATS... they know EVERYTHING, but they don't know NOTHIN. taxes are VOLUNTARY!!! (at least that's what the irs says) and they are FREE TO PAY AS MUCH AS THEIR CONSCIOUS DICTATES AND THEN STFU!!!
Posted on 01/24/2008 4:42:42 PM PST by wastedpotential
Even with the economic recovery underway, state lawmakers nationwide are finding it tough to balance their budgets. As a result, many have been lobbying for - you guessed it - higher taxes.
They haven't made much headway in Arkansas, though. Gov. Mike Huckabee has refused to sign off on tax hikes, provoking howls of protest from those who warn of cutbacks in "vital" state programs.
Gov. Huckabee prefers to do what real-world people do when faced with tight budgets: Cut spending. (It's not as if the average citizen has the option of taxing someone when it looks as if he or she won't make this month's mortgage payment.)
But the governor doesn't want to stand in the way of those who want to pay more. "There's nothing in the law that prohibits those who believe they aren't paying enough in taxes from writing a check to the state of Arkansas," he said.
So in December, Gov. Huckabee created the "Tax Me More Fund," so people who consider themselves undertaxed can donate more to the state government.
Sounds reasonable. Surely those who derided the governor for his opposition to tax hikes would open their wallets for the sake of the "vital" programs they hold dear.
That's the theory, anyway. But things have worked out differently: At last report, the fund had raised about $1,900.
The Arkansas story illustrates what we already know: We're not undertaxed. In fact, we're overtaxed. And it costs us: According to the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), Americans shell out an average of 35 to 40 percent of their earnings each year in taxes. A relentless array of federal, state and local taxes chip away at our paychecks, while sales taxes and registration fees siphon off even more. The mortgage, utilities, food, etc., come out of what's left.
Most financial planners say it's smart to create a "rainy day" fund equivalent to six-months' worth of expenses. But most people have little disposable income after the government takes its share, so saving that much money could take years. Meanwhile, the car needs new tires. The washing machine breaks down. The roof starts leaking.
Now, it's clear that Gov. Huckabee didn't expect his "Tax Me More Fund" to do more than highlight the hypocrisy so prevalent among the tax-hiking elite. It seems that was the goal in Kansas, too, where state legislators opposed to Gov. Bill Graves' plan to raise taxes -- rather than cut unnecessary spending -- set up a "Tax Me More Fund," too.
It's an attractive idea. Lawmakers in Arizona, California, Massachusetts and Virginia also have considered creating "Tax Me More" funds. We encourage more.
The lesson these funds teach is simple: Americans don't want to pay more taxes. An NTU poll found that, by a margin of 63 percent to 26 percent, Americans prefer to accelerate the tax-rate reductions President Bush signed last year-or enact additional cuts.
But tax-hikers don't see it that way. While most families and individuals peg their spending to their income, tax-hikers do the opposite. They figure out how much they want to spend and then find creative new ways to gouge it out of us. It stems from a flawed belief that taxpayers exist to serve government.
Deep down, though, most Americans understand that it's really the other way around. Otherwise, Little Rock's "Tax Me More Fund" would be overflowing.
Right.
The “Undertaxed Fund” is just another schlock gimmick, like the “I might not know anything about foreign affairs, but i stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night” answer he keeps repeating over and over again.
It’s the same thing conservatives have said for years about Streisand, Soros and the like - if you like taxes so much, send yours in voluntarily.
Come on, he cut spending rather than raise taxes in this situation. I thought he was a tax and spend socialist. Why do such a thing in 2002?
I completely forgot about that move. That was awesome at the time. Kudos to Huck on that one.
This fund was a publicity stunt to give him political cover for what was otherwise an sub par performance in safekeeping the state’s finances during his governorship.
Anyone who uses this specific law to hawk Huckster isn’t worthy of being given the time of day, let alone be part of a conversation on the presidential primaries.
Look - isn’t this what Limbaugh has said for years? That if Streisand and that bunch want taxes to go up, just send their money in? Why is it great when El Rushbo says it (who I agree with 99.9% of the time), but not when Huckabee says it? Why is Duncan Hunter the greatest conservative in the field until he supports Huckabee?
that's the problem with RATS... they know EVERYTHING, but they don't know NOTHIN. taxes are VOLUNTARY!!! (at least that's what the irs says) and they are FREE TO PAY AS MUCH AS THEIR CONSCIOUS DICTATES AND THEN STFU!!!
Yeah, the witholding out my check every week is certainly voluntary.
You know...I’m still very undecided, but had leaned toward Huckabee. I have been very surprised by the vitriol on this board that is directed at him. I keep reading threads about Huckabee to find out what the anger is all about but have yet to see solid reasons why I should vote for any of the others over him.
Thanks for this article, because it at least gives me a solid reason why I should vote for him.
Romney strikes me as a plastic politician and the fact that he was elected to anything in Mass. doesn’t bode well.
Guiliani...he did a good job in New York, but I don’t see him for the country.
And McCain, well the ‘no torture’ legislation was the final straw for me with him. He will not get my vote even if he is the nominee.
Geez...what a year.
Yeah, in campaigns, opposing sides tend to morph their competition into the worst possible extremes. It is just unusual to see it happen in the Republican nominating process.
Probably for the same reason that Ron Paul was regarded here as the greatest congressman until he opposed Bush on the Iraq war...then all of the sudden he's a nutjob.
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