Republic Rules - The U.S.A. is a great representative republic.

Who’s Buying Votes?

Rikkus — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:48:28 +0000

Lobbying is a part of political life. The influence and money of special interest groups exerts considerable pressure on politicians to vote in harmony with their biggest campaign contributors… so, who’s buying the votes?

And who is being bought?

The Center for Responsive Politics has examined the top 100 contributors over the past 20 years and presents their interesting data here… but you can get a very quick impression of what’s going on by just looking at the top 20:

Well over half of the MOST ACTIVE special interest groups are unions… and the rest are large corporations. Here’s the notable part:

While companies tend to “hedge their bets”… contributing more-or-less equally to both Democrats and Republicans… unions are totally committed to Democrats. Not a surprise, I grant you, but think about it. As a result of this lopsided flow of money, are Democrats more likely to represent the wishes of “the people” or the wishes of the unions?

There’s an old saying that, when you want to find the truth, all you have to do is “follow the money”.

Not only are unions in bed with the Democrats, it’s worth remembering that they are, on the whole, bigger contributors than “big business”.

We Need More Adults

Rikkus — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:06:27 +0000

Childhood is great… for kids.

While their bodies are growing, minds developing, and morals being learned children are free to believe in fantasies, stretch their imaginations, play all day and bear few responsibilities. As children grow up, they take on more obligations: school and homework, household chores, and so on.

Good parents take their children to church, teach their children the difference between right and wrong, how to live up to their promises, to treat others with respect, and much more. Bad parents try to be buddies with their kids and let them behave however they want. Good parents are preparing their kids for adulthood, bad parents are shirking their own responsibilities and doing their kids no favors in the long run.

Children who grow up in a reasonably disciplined home become solid citizens who work hard, pay their bills and balance their checkbooks, save for the future, and help others as much as they can.

Children who never learn the REAL lessons of life just become “older children” who get themselves into situations they could have easily avoided, indulge themselves even though they know they will get into trouble, and look to others to help solve the problems they regularly find themselves in.

Over the past few decades, society has increasingly encouraged people to believe that their actions are either OK or not their fault… that we can do whatever we want… the distinction between right and wrong is constantly blurred, messages regarding the truth are regularly ambiguous. At the same time, government has been promoted as a savior that will take care of everyone and pay for things they could/should pay for themselves.

We’re becoming a nation of child citizens:

“We” don’t know what’s good for ourselves so the government must tell us what to do and how to do it. “We” can’t take care of ourselves so the government so the government must pay for some things or directly provide certain personal services.

The only thing “we” are doing is voluntarily handing over OUR RIGHTS to government and becoming children of a “parent” government. The “child citizens” look to the government as a benevolent parent… now. But it’s inevitable that government will become abusive… one small step at a time… as more and more is demanded of it. Then, “child citizens” will wake up one day and realize they are “slave citizens”.

Kids can be kids… but it’s time for “older children” to grow up and become adults.

Truth In Taxation

Rikkus — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:45:20 +0000

These days, you cannot pick up a product without being able to turn it around and learn how many calories it has, what daily percentage of all the vitamins and minerals in it, what the product is made of (including active and inactive ingredients), whether it meets various health, safety, and environmental standards, and so on.

I want a new piece of information to be stated on every product (or on the receipt when I buy it):

The total amount of taxes that are INCLUDED in the price.

I’m not talking about the state and local sales taxes that we ALWAYS see after the subtotal on the receipt. I want to know how much in tax is IN the product. That’s right, a summary item called “taxes” would appear and be clearly visible for everyone to see.

This might be hard, so it might be a good faith “estimate”, much like the estimated mileage you can expect to get on a new car… the big number that appears on the window sticker. It would include a proportional amount of all the taxes paid by the manufacturer, shipper, distributor, and retailer… everybody along the supply chain.

I think people would be SHOCKED to learn how much we are really paying in hidden taxes… over and above the income tax and all the other taxes we pay knowingly.

They say INFORMATION IS POWER. When the people know the truth, they will DEMAND lower taxes. At the very least, they would make better decisions… more informed decisions… and could see what direction the taxes they pay are going, up or down, sooner and easier than it is now possible.

The government requires all kinds of truth in labeling… yet requires no accountability for its own actions. How about tasting a little of their own medicine?

Income Tax (Non-)Payers

Rikkus — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:42:28 +0000

I’ve written many times about the many problems with our current income tax system and the fact that 10% of the taxpayers pay 70% of the tax.

Let’s put aside for the moment that, in 2005, “rich” meant anyone with a taxable income of more than $104,000 (which is a lot of money, don’t get me wrong… but hardly what I would call “rich”). It would be one thing, if those who are “not rich” at least had some skin in the income tax game… but when nearly half of U.S. households pay NO income tax (and some even MAKE MONEY from government programs!), then there is a structural and moral problem with the system… one that sets up a “game” that will be played and will lead to an inevitable, self-destructive end.

If you read comments after articles about the fact that “the rich” carry an inordinate portion of the income tax burden, one of the most common responses goes something like this:

So the top percentages pay income tax? The people that reap all the benefits and pleasures of America? The people that live the good life and have profited from those that do not pay income tax have to pay income tax?

I don’t see that as a problem.

I think this is at the root of the mindset of those people who think it’s OK for the “rich” to pay the bills while others (even MOST!) pay little or nothing. Very short-sighted thinking… and a morally bankrupt attitude. It seems these people think the “rich” got their money at the expense of the “poor”… that the rich are able to live a good life and the poor are not… that the rich have it all and the poor have nothing.

Look around. Sure, there are some very poor people that have a difficult lot in life… but are they HALF OF OUR POPULATION? Hardly. I’m guessing 10-15% of the people, if that, are truly in need… and I’m more than willing to help those who are, indeed, in need.

But half?

No way.

Even then, that half get to reap at least SOME of the “benefits and pleasures of America”… it’s certainly not like some third world country where 10% of the population lives in opulence and the rest are in dire poverty. We have a great nation and “the poor” still get to use the roads and libraries and receive protection from police and fire departments and enjoy liberties not found in many countries.

For the sake of argument, if 15% of the people are truly poor and should not pay income tax, that would make the rest of the half (35%) FREELOADERS.

And COMPLAINING FREELOADERS, at that.

While I have no deep problem with my tax money helping the sincerely poor, I must admit that I DO have a problem with my tax dollars supporting the 35% that don’t deserve my money. If they don’t want to work harder to earn more, that’s their choice… but they should not get any of my dollars ON TOP OF enjoying a free society with all kinds of wonderful benefits that THEY ARE NOT PAYING FOR. And I especially resent that, when you look closely, most of them spend money on a lot of things that, in any other circumstance, would be viewed as a luxury… cellphones, cable TV, and the list goes on.

The way I figure it, about ONE THIRD of our nation has been set up by politicians to be paid supporters of government programs… they know when they see a good deal for themselves… and they are foolish and selfish enough to sell their votes without thinking about what it is doing to our country… or that it ultimately hurts them more than helps them. They are IDIOTS.

Yes, ONE THIRD of our country consists of unthinking idiots who are mind-numbed slaves to their “leaders”.

It’s going to take a lot of work to overcome that momentum. I just hope we can ratchet this percentage back because, once it passes over 50%, the fools will continue to vote tax benefits for themselves until there is no more income to be taxed… and it will be too late then.

NO V.A.T.

Rikkus — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:09:03 +0000

Even if we weren’t in an economically difficult time right now, the LAST thing we need is ANOTHER TAX!

The REAL problem, of course, is too much government spending… and we really need to tie the hands of Congress to get control over this and other abuses that our “leaders” take for granted now.

The answer to the problem is not to add another tax, but for government to cut back… like the rest of us have had to do… and to spend wisely. I’m not advocating NO government, just limited government… spending only on things it SHOULD be spending and spending only as much as we can afford on those things (no matter how much we might like them).

Rather than ANOTHER TAX, which would be subject to increases and more political abuse, I like the idea of the Fair Tax… which:

NO MORE deducting federal income tax withholding from your paycheck and no more filing tax returns by April 15th.

Just a single FEDERAL SALES TAX that REPLACES all of the above. The amount of taxes would not be different, it’s just the way the taxes are collected that would be different. This is a “revenue neutral” plan (meaning, it doesn’t collect any more or less taxes… just changes the mechanism for collecting those tax dollars). So, why is this a good plan?

First, it is a simpler and less-intrusive way for the federal government to obtain taxes from citizens.

Second, WE would know EXACTLY how much we are paying in taxes (the current scheme is so complicated and there are so many different taxes that it is very hard to determine precisely how much tax each of us pays).

Third, the tax RATE would be HIGHLY VISIBLE… and any attempt to change it would be VERY CLEAR to every citizen. No longer would Congress be able to manipulate little taxes or grant deductions or exceptions to special interests.

If we allow Congress to enact a Value Added Tax (V.A.T.), it will be just one more way they can get into our pockets… and one more way they can avoid being fiscally responsible in handling the business of our country.

NO V.A.T.!!!