1. when the income tax was implemented (required a constitutional amendment, at least back then if they wanted to do something in violation of the constitution they amended same... they didn’t just inaguarate an enemy alien agent into the White House, for example)
anyway, sorry I got diverted... but when the income tax was started, the politicians promised the American people that “the American working man will never have to pay a dime in income tax!” (it was pushed through as a leftist “progressive” measure to attack the handful of “fat cats” in the steel and railroad industries)
2. the tax form really did fit on the back of a post card
3. the govt did not confiscate your wages before your taxes were even due (no withholding until during WW2 as a wartime only emergency measure, supposedly)
4. imho, what we need is to eliminate the income tax entirely (it is inherently a major depressant on the economy and jobs, plus any economist can tell you that levying taxes on productivity only stifles, reduces, impedes, discourages productive enterprise and creativity, etc).. as taxes go, an income tax Economically Sucks
more than most
5. and then let the 2 or 3 million people who make their livings doing or processing income taxes... help them find other... PRODUCTIVE stimulating chalenging and well-paid jobs in the Real economy
imho.
finally,
6. we have learned just how a dictatorally-minded President can mis-use the IRS to suppress political discourse and attack political opponents... its been turned into a tool of oppression ... very, very Anti-American
Damn straight, FHC! I have been saying for years that all these half-measures of “reform” are missing the point. It does not matter if you pay no tax, small tax, or if you spend 5 minutes or 5 weeks doing your taxes. It is not about convenience or redistributing the burden. Income tax is inherently immoral and unconstitutional. It’s simple stealing. It’s extortion. The government decides how much to take from you, and if you don’t give it, they grab your bank account, and if you don’t cooperate, they send you to jail. This is against every principle of the dignity of the human person. It’s a human rights violation, yes I’m serious.
And the American people have themselves to blame. They approved this, they marched in the streets shouting “tax the rich!” Just like the occupiers of today, everyone wants to take from someone else they imagine has it easy. That is the same rationale that got us Obamacare and gets Democrats elected. The poor little guy just needs a fair break, and the big guy has to pay for it. Except we all pay, we all suffer. Yet people are so ignorant and greedy, we keep electing people who say this.
It makes no sense to blame politicians, the IRS, the establishment. We the people put them there! Every person who has ever voted Democrat over the past century has contributed to the current economic malaise and class warfare. Why do we blame politicians when we put them in place? It’s not bankers or billionaires who cause poverty; it’s the socialist system we’ve now had in place for so long.
Here is my idea for “tax reform”: NO income tax, period. Other taxes that are directly related to what they support, such as drivers pay for roads (which already happens). Privatize everything, get the govt out of schools, research, healthcare, social insecurity, pretty much everything except the national defense, physical infrastructure, and basic administration.
Finally, make it voluntary! That’s the radical transformation that might salvage democracy. Instead of govt imposing taxes on individuals, people contribute what they want. We would still have congress to decide what nonsense to implement, and if people really want it, they will pay. (Keep in mind their take home pay will have increased by 20-50%.)
When people see a filthy delusional man stumbling down the street, they think, “Why doesn’t the government do something about these destitute and mentally ill drug addicts?” The same question for decades! You would think that would be the top priority of our tax dollars, take care of the weak and sick and hungry. But government by definition cannot do it. Govt is not a charity and does not have the motivation of a charity. Only a socialist says, “Can’t the govt...” NO! It cannot. That is the mindset of a leftist.
In another era, a church or civic group or charity would take that man in. Private citizens, motivated by compassion or pride or duty. Give people a chance and usually they will rise to their better self. That is what happens in a land of liberty. The best emerges in man, as each man knows he is part of the whole. In socialism, each man is a dependent who must lose his dignity and act in a groveling manner so the state will take care of him.
Let’s not ask, who me? Groveling? YES. What is it but to grovel when we meekly turn over a huge chunk of our earned money to the govt, thereby depriving our own families?
Eliminating the wretched and misguided income tax is the only way to save this nation in the long run. I know everyone says that’s impossible and I have lots of ideas I won’t bore everybody with herein. Social programs, immigration, foreign relations, “the economy,” employment, religious freedom... all these are crucial issues, yes! But we are not free when we stand idly by and let ourselves be robbed, and worse yet, humiliated, by the power of the state.