The Fair Tax and The Lies Opponents Tell

If you pay taxes, then you try to minimize your taxable income for income taxes or your assessed value for property taxes. This is counterproductive to a growth economy, and also leads to an underground economy and much fraud. The Fair Tax taxes consumption. With a Fair Tax, frugality is rewarded.

There are many half-lies about the Fair Tax – the most prevalent is omitting a discussion of the prebate. Most detractors tell you that it is a regressive tax which will hurt the poor and elderly the most. The prebate corrects that such that all truly poor and low-income elderly will pay no tax at all. The prebate refunds the sales tax up front up to the poverty line. Another lie is that the Fair Tax adds another tax onto existing taxes. The Fair Tax repeals the 16th Amendment, replaces Federal payroll taxes - including F.I.C.A. Social Security and Medicare taxes – and ends capital gains taxes and inheritance taxes. If you live in one of the states with no income tax, then you will get 100% of your pay on payday. The Fair Tax is also “progressive”. The person who spends only $1,000 will pay only $230 (and get it back with the prebate) and the person who spends $1,000,000 will pay $230,000. So the “rich” who the United States has “rewarded” more will have to pay more.

Many who criticize the Fair Tax – even commentators - have never read The Fair Tax or its sequel. In both these books the authors counter arguments brought up against the Fair Tax while explaining how it works.

If you still dislike the Fair Tax, then keep paying taxes every payday; keep up with changes to the 77,000-page tax code – or pay someone else to -, keep accurate records and worry about IRS audits.

Just for fun, Google “16th Ratification”, and read about Philander Knox commiting fraud by certifying the 16th Amendment as ratified although less than ½ of the states legally approved rather than the ¾ required.

United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST)

Email to Sen. Graham (Jim DeMint already supports American sovereignty):

Please vote against the Law of the Sea Treaty and any treaty which will transfer United States sovereignty to the United Nations. We also should pay no more to the United Nations than any other Security Council member - like Togo. We should remain a member since the UN is useful for international debate. If threatened, then we need to respond with the words of Jean Kirkpatrick's deputy "I and my entire delegation will be on the Wall Street pier to wave a fond farewell."

Capital and Jobs Require Carbon-Based Energy

Suppose that I want to start a business. I will need to buy land for my widget factory, get permits and pay fees, pay for the construction, buy the machines to make widgets and hire competent workers and train them to make the widgets. I will need to advertize my widgets for sale. All of this takes capital – generally money – to accomplish. I can provide the capital myself if I am wealthy, or I can get capital from others – by borrowing, partnering or by incorporating and selling stock. This process creates jobs for myself and others.

Our government has turned its back on carbon-based fuel – which we have in abundance – and has used our money (capital) to stimulate “alternative energy.” These energy sources have been around for many decades and sometimes centuries. The high energy content of carbon-based fuel and relative cost has made it the vast majority source for energy use.

It is wood and coal that heated early homes. It is coal that provided energy for our steel industry. It is natural gas that heats and cools our homes, makes our electricity – along with coal, water and nuclear – and powers a growing number of vehicles. Natural gas is also used to make fertilizer and plastics. Gasoline and diesel fuel still power 95% of our vehicles.

We have been importing about 9 million barrels of oil each day at about $100/barrel. This is capital that has been producing jobs for other countries instead of Americans. This is great for OPEC, but bad for us. Fortunately we have reduced our imported fuels, and the price of oil has decreased. However massive tax increases face us in 2013 if the government's fiscal policy is not changed. Inflation is inevitable because the Federal Reserve has been printing more dollars than necessary (in order to buy debt – Treasury IOUs – that few want).

What about pollution? The most prevalent greenhouse gas – by far – is water vapor. This is produced when our Sun heats water (oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.). This is part of the “water cycle” that we studied in Physical Science. Carbon dioxide is produced by exhaling. Plants take in the carbon dioxide and “exhale” oxygen. If this cycle didn't work, then mankind would have died out long ago. Our ancestors had little regard for conservation and cut trees for log cabins and fuel. Our atmosphere is much cleaner – even with a much larger population - now that we have realized the consequences. We still harvest trees, but we replant 100 for each 1 that we use.

If we will continue as the planet's greatest nation, then we will have to use the great natural resources that we have been given. Placing moratoriums on oil production while loaning $2 billion to Petrobras through the Export/Import Bank, lengthening the permitting process for drilling and placing our land off-limits for developing and production helps OPEC – not us! Placing unreasonable regulations on carbon-based fuel producers helps OPEC – not us!

If creating jobs for Americans is really important, then stop subsidizing OPEC and keep the capital we send them each day and use it to create American businesses that provide Americans with jobs!

Conservatism Texas Style

This was written by a 21 yrs. old female who gets it. It's her future she's worried about and this is how she feels about the social welfare big government state that she's being forced to live in! These solutions are just common sense in her opinion. This was in the Waco Tribune Herald, Waco, TX Nov 18, 2010:

Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your "home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the “common good.”

Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self-esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self-esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

AND While you are on Government subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes that is correct; for you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Government welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.

Who Should Select the Next Justices to SCOTUS?

Justice Scalia just turned 78

Justice Kennedy will turn 78 later this year

Justice Breyer will be 76 in August

Justice Ginsburg turned 81 about a week ago.

The Fallacy of Taxing the Rich

As Facebook goes public, Eduardo Saverin, a co-founder, has renounced his citizenship and will live in Singapore. He will avoid $67M in U.S. taxes since Singapore does not tax capital gains. Sen, Chuck Schumer (D,NY) is trying to force him to pay U.S. taxes. The State of New York is suing Derek Jeter because he has claimed Florida as his state of residence while playing for the New York Yankee baseball team. Florida has no state income tax, and other taxes are lower than New York.

These examples show the flaw in the “tax the rich” mantra. The rich can buy a first-class airline ticket to anywhere in the world and run their businesses by Internet while they have lawyers handle interactions with the government. Warren Buffet's wealth is mostly in Berkshire-Hathaway stock. Any time he needs some pocket money, he can sell a share of BRK.A for $120,850. He will pay 15% on the capital gain (selling price – cost basis). Since Berkshire-Hathaway has paid income taxes at 30%, the cash that Buffet receives has been taxed at 30%+15%=45%. This is probably more than the tax rate paid by his secretary. In his speeches Obama has claimed that Buffet pays a lower tax rate than his secretary, but then later claims that he pays less in taxes than his secretary – an obvious lie, but good for dramatic effect.

The same tax avoidance process occurs at the state level. California has a huge deficit, encourages abortions and allows sodomy. Texas has much better finances, has implemented tort reform and has much more conservative social laws. Americans living in California (or NY, IL, etc) can move to Texas. Many physicians have moved to Texas because of no state income tax and lower malpractice insurance costs. The practice of moving from one state to another even has its own phrase, “voting with your feet.” Folks in the CSRA do this to a lesser extent when Georgians fill their gas tanks in South Carolina.

This all may sound un-patriotic to some, but I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. The Constitution is the Law. If our Federal Government ceases to follow immigration and defense of marriage laws and continues to enact un-Constitutional laws (like NIRA, 1933 and PPACA, 2009), then it has exposed itself as a domestic enemy. I would list Social Security, a forced ponzi scheme, and Medicare, but these have been popular although un-Constitutional.

Many big-government politicians talk about the United States as a democracy. It is not. It is a constitutional republic where our representatives are democratically elected. Since 47% of our “population” pay no income taxes, and 70% receive a payment from taxpayers, we are well on our way to “democracy fails when people realize they can write checks to themselves.”

The New Cabinet in 2013

Instead of simply nominee X against Obama we would have Nominee X vs Obama

VP: Congressman Allen West vs Joe Biden

State: John Bolton vs Hillary Clinton

Energy: Sarah Palin vs Stephen Chu

Defense: General Petreaus vs Leon Panetta

AG: Pam Bondi vs Eric Holder

Treasury: Michele Bachmann vs Tim Geitner

Fed: Ron Paul vs Ben Bernake

Interior: Bobby Jindal vs Ken Salazar and

Homeland Security: Sheriff Joe Arpaio vs Janet Napolitano

Labor, Commerce, Education, HHS, HUD vacate

EPA: Newt Gingrich