The FairTax Book

On my sidebar is a link to Amazon.com where you can purchase the FairTax book by Neal Boort and Congressman John Linder.

You can also purchase the audible tape version and pre-order the soft cover. That will be out in a few weeks.

I truly suggest that if you are unsure of just what the Fair Tax is about, get a book, get a tape and pre-order the soft cover. Read, or listen, with an open mind and you'll find out just what we're talking about. This is an issue that will effect you for the rest of your life, the lives of your children and generations to come. You really need to be aware and knowledgeable about what taxes you pay, what taxes are hidden, and just who pays taxes, anyway.

Even if you are not a proponent of scrapping the current system and replacing it with a system that is fair to all, please read it. You might change your mind. Or at least understand what the other side is all about.

AND JUST HOW BIG IS YOUR TOTAL TAX BITE?

The Georgia Public Policy Foundation steered me to a rather interesting (though not shocking) facts on taxation in America. The source is an article by Michael K. Evans posted on IndustryWeek.com. Do you have any idea just how huge your total tax load is? Take a look at these facts.

First -- and this fact is now beyond debate -- all taxes are paid by individuals. All taxes are levied against wealth, and only individuals hold wealth. For those of you who attended government schools, and are thus a little slow on concepts like this, corporations are not wealthy. Corporate shareholders hold that wealth. Individuals. So ... for the sake of Evan's article, he says that the taxes are paid by employees or proprietors, the owners of small businesses. Now .. the tab:

*Total federal income taxes collected last year: $932 billion. That works out to $6,650 per employee.
*In addition to income taxes, the federal government collected another $1.286 trillion in taxes, mostly Social Security taxes.
*The total state and local tax burden amounts to $1.14 trillion.
*The grand sum here -- paid by employees and proprietors -- is $3.358 trillion. That's $3,358,000,000,000.00
*This works out to $24,000 per employee.
*The total compensation earned by employees and individual proprietors last year was $8.2 trillion.
*This means that 40% of income goes to taxes of some sort.
*That rate, of course, is much higher for those earning higher incomes. Much lower for those in low income brackets.
*Nice, huh?

Now ... grab this fact. Where did most of this money go? National defense? Homeland security? Hardly. In terms of Federal expenditures you have:

*$495 billion for national defense.
*$272 billion spent by the federal government for the purchase of goods and payment of employees
*$1.69 trillion sent to someone else. $1.69 trillion in income redistribution.

This is just fine with those on the left who believe that income is distributed, not earned. For the rest of us? Well, I don't know about you, but I have a wee bit of a problem with all of this.

The above taken from here
.

You've Got a Refund Coming

You open your email inbox and find an email from the IRS saying that you have a refund due. Wow! How great is this? So you click on the link to get more information. You're asked to give information, say a credit card and bank information to prove your identity. Maybe even your Social Security number. You gleefully supply the information and sit back to wait your refund.

Guess what? You've been phished.

Phishing (pronounced "fishing") is when you receive an email requesting certain information such as credit card numbers, bank account number, Social Security number, address, birth date, and so on.

DO NOT GIVE THIS INFORMATION OUT!

Not even to the IRS! Because it ain't the IRS asking for it. It's a low-down, greedy, lying, cheating, stealing, thief looking to get either your money or your identity or both. And believe me, I have stronger words to describe these scammers, but this is a cuss-free zone and if I used the language I want to use, I'd have to ban myself.

CNN did a story on this today. I saw the story and realized I just had to warn my readers. I know that you are much too smart to fall for such a scam, but I worry about my other reader. You know, the one who is so very sweet and nice, but a little . . . uh . . . naive.

So, if you get an email, from the IRS, a bank, credit card company, a business, asking for personal information, or asking you to click on a link to another page where you are asked for information, please, unless you initiated the email, don't click on that link.

On your tool bar, go to the address box and type in the link (do not copy and paste) and go to the site yourself. If the email is for real, there will be a contact link and you can go there and ask if the email is for real. If it is, you're out only a little bit of time. If it's phishing, then youre only out time and not money or your identity. You can also notify the company that they are being used in a phishing scam. I promise they will not like this and will be happy for your report.

Oh, and if you don't know how to type an address in your address box, you shouldn't be clicking on links anyway! You aren't computer literate enough to be left unsupervised. Do not do anything without asking permission.

I'm not being silly and I'm not exaggerating; I'm trying to protect you.

Most Americans Still Say Tax System Unjust

By WILL LESTER

WASHINGTON (AP) - Taxes rise and fall from one administration to the next, but the unpopularity of the income tax system is constant. An Ipsos Poll finds that almost six of 10 people say the system is unfair, a percentage virtually unchanged from two decades ago.

The perception of unfairness is spread fairly evenly across income groups - though their reasons may differ. More than half of those who make less than $50,000 a year said it's unfair, and more than six in 10 of those who make more than $50,000 felt that way.

In fact, unhappiness with the tax system was spread fairly evenly across income groups, age groups and education levels.

A majority of people said the middle class, the self-employed and small businesses pay too much in taxes, the poll found. And they think those with high incomes and big businesses don't pay enough.

The survey was conducted in the days before the mid-April deadline for filing income tax returns.

Some complain the income tax burden remains unfairly placed on those with high incomes - saying the top 5 percent pay an inordinate share. And some grouse about the wealthy getting too many tax breaks.

When the government held hearings almost a year ago on how to make the tax code simpler and more fair, complaints ranged from overly complicated laws to inequitable tax breaks to undue influence of lobbyists.

Dissatisfaction remains high after numerous changes in tax law since the late 1980s.

The Reagan administration led a tax overhaul two decades ago that significantly lowered tax rates and eliminated or reduced several deductions. The first President Bush abandoned his "read my lips, no new taxes pledge" in a 1990 budget deal that raised taxes.

The Clinton administration won passage in 1993 of a deficit-reduction measure that blended tax increases, budget cuts and rebates for the working poor.

And the second Bush administration pushed successfully for tax cuts that lowered the top income tax rate to 35 percent and slashed tax rates for individuals and manufacturers.

More than half in the poll, 58 percent, said middle-income families pay too much income tax. People were almost as likely, 54 percent, to say that about low-income families.

Six in 10 said high-income families were paying too little in taxes. Two decades ago, almost eight in 10 said high-income families were paying too little.

The poll of 1,005 adults was conducted April 11-13 by Ipsos, an international polling firm, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

T-Day

April 15th. You know what that means. If you haven't filed your taxes you'd better knuckle down and do it. Luckily, for those procrastinators and other last minute filers, you don't have to have your return postmarked until April 17th this year. April 15th, the traditional tax day, falls on Saturday. I guess because the Post Office is closed on Sunday and Postal Workers won't be at work to process those returns, you got a break. Or maybe because Sunday is Easter Sunday. I really don't know and do care. I've already filed and got my return.

Yes, I know, I'm giving the government a tax free loan for a year by having too much taken out in taxes. I understand this, but if I have to pay taxes, I would just as soon be sure that we don't owe taxes. It's my choice. I don't say anything about you paying just exactly enough now, do I? And maybe having to shell out a few buck? In addition to what you've already paid? I think that's the real reason why I allow my employer to take more out of my paycheck every payday than really needed. It would really get to me if I paid taxes all year, then had to pay even more.

But then, that's me.

In the meantime, here's a link to the Talkmaster who can more articulately discuss taxes than I could ever hope to. Believe me, I wish I had the way with words that he does. I'd not only have you convinced that the FairTax is the only way to go, I'd also convince you to stop smoking, lose 50 pounds, and go back to school.

That line is sort of a paraphrase of one I heard on an old TV show. Does anyone know what show it was? Here's a hint: the show and the Talkmaster have something in common.

For The Ladies

He said - Shall we try swapping positions tonight?

She said - That's a good idea... you stand by the ironing board while I sit on the sofa and fart.

Perspective on Politics and Economics

Part 2

Captialism - American Style

You have two cows.

You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

Bureaucracy - American Style

You have two cows.

Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

American Corporation

You have two cows.

You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one.

You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows.

You are surprised when one cow drops dead.

You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.

Your stock goes up.

from the Talkmaster

T-G-I-F vs. S-H-I-T

A business man got on an elevator. When he entered, there was a blonde already inside who greeted him with a bright, "T-G-I-F."

He smiled at her and replied, "S-H-I-T."

She looked puzzled and repeated, "T-G-I-F," more slowly.

He again answered, "S-H-I-T."

The blonde was trying to keep it friendly, so she smiled her biggest smile, and said as sweetly as possibly, "T-G-I-F."

The man smiled back to her and once again, "S-H-I-T."

The exasperated blonde finally decided to explain.

'T-G-I-F' means 'Thank Goodness It's Friday.' Get it, duuhhh?"

The man answered, "'S-H-I-T' means 'Sorry, Honey, It's Thursday'

In Honor of Stupid People . . .Part 8

Actual label instructions on consumer goods

On a Swedish chain saw --

"Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals."

(Oh my God..was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)

I used to think drinking was bad for me, so I gave up thinking!

And that's all folks!

Senior Citizen Test - Answers

Okay, I remembered to post the answers. Did you remember to come back?

1. What do you put in a toaster?

Answer: Bread

If you said "toast," give up now and do something else. Try not to hurt yourself. If you said, bread, go to Question 2

2. Say "silk" five times. Now spell "silk." What do cows drink?

Answer: Cows drink water.

If you said milk, don't attempt the next question. Your brain is over-stressed and may even overheat. Content yourself with reading a more appropriate literature such as Auto World. However, if you said "water", proceed to question 3.

3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from?

Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass.

If you said "green bricks," why the heck are you still reading these???

4. It's thirty years ago, and a plane is flying at 20,000 feet over Germany (if you will recall, Germany at the time was politically and geographically divided into West Germany and East Germany). Anyway, during the flight, TWO engines fail. The pilot, realizing that the last remaining engine is also failing, decides on a crash landing procedure. Unfortunately the engine fails before he can do so and the plane fatally crashes smack in the middle of "no man's land" between East Germany and West Germany. Where would you bury the survivors? East Germany, West Germany, or no man's land"?

Answer: You don't bury survivors.

If you said ANYTHING else, you're a dunce and you must stop. If you said, "You don't bury survivors", proceed to the next question.

5. Without using a calculator - You are driving a bus from London to Milford Haven in Wales. In London, 17 people get on the bus; In Reading, six people get off the bus and nine people get on. In Swindon, two people get off and four get on. In Cardiff , 11 people get off and 16 people get on. In Swansea, three people get off and five people get on In Carmathen, six people get off and three get on. You then arrive at Milford Haven. What was the name of the bus driver?

Answer: Don't you remember your own name? It was YOU!!

PS: 95% of people fail most of the questions!!

Now, tell all your friends and relatives that you answered all the questions right and challenge them to come here, take the test, and see if they did as well as you did. Hey, even if you got all the answers wrong, you're the only one who will know and it's a Senior Citizen's prerogative to "forget" that you actually failed to get any of these questions right.

My Mexico Trip

The President of the United States of America
Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC

RE: My trip to Mexico

Dear President Bush:

I'm about to plan a little trip with my family and extended family, and I would like to ask you to assist me. I'm going to walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico, and I need to make a few arrangements.

I know you can help with this. I plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here. So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Vicente Fox, that I'm on my way over? Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.
2.English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.
3. All government forms need to be printed in English.
4. I want my kids to be taught by English-speaking teachers.
5. Schools need to include classes on American culture and history.
6. I want my kids to see the American flag flying on the top of the flag pole at their school with the Mexican flag flying lower down.
7. Please plan to feed my kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.
8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.
9. I do not plan to have any car insurance, and I won't make any effort to learn local traffic laws.
10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from Pres. Fox to leave me alone, please be sure that all police officers speak English.
11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.
12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, and don't enforce any labor laws or tax laws.
13. Please tell all the people in the country to be extremely nice and never say a critical word about me, or about the strain I might place on the economy.
14. Eventually I want to be able to vote and have all election materials and notices sent to me in English with Spanish as a second language.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all the people who come to the U.S. from Mexico.

I am sure that Pres. Fox won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely. However, if he gives you any trouble, just invite him to go quail hunting with your V.P.

Sincerely,

Max B. Ruch

Any form of government, no matter how great - forced upon the unwilling is not freedom.

From email, of course

Compare the FairTax, the Flat Tax and the Income Tax
Part 2 - Complexity

Current Income Tax: Very complex. 20,000 pages of regulations.

IRS incorrect over half of the time.
Flat Tax: Withholding continues.

Individuals and businesses must still track income and file income tax forms.
FairTax: Individuals do not file.

Businesses need only to deal with sales tax returns.

The current tax code is extremely complex. It’s been revised over 9000 times in something like ten years (I might be wrong about the number of years, but I'm not too far off). The code is so complex that not even the tax “experts” at the IRS understand the code. More and more people go to tax preparers every year. It’s gotten so complex that those of us who want to file our own taxes could miss deductions or fail to declare some type of income.

Most people think that having a mortgage is beneficial when filing income tax. After all, you can deduct your mortgage interest from your adjusted income. Well, it’s become known that most people end up using the “standard deductions” because they didn’t pay enough in interest for it to make a difference to them. When I had our taxes done recently, my CPA told me that even with all we paid in medical expenses and mortgage interest didn’t bring us up to the standard deduction. In other words, if the FairTax were imposed tomorrow and we lost the mortgage deduction, it wouldn’t make a difference to most of us in the “middle” and “lower” classes. It might make a difference to people who are paying mortgages on hundreds of thousands and million dollar homes. To the vast majority of us, that deduction is not worth the paper it’s written on.

The Flat Tax is simpler, but you still pay a tax and file a return and you still have money withheld from your paycheck.

There would be no Federal taxes withheld from your paycheck under the FairTax. Under the Fair Tax, you get your whole paycheck (less deductions such as insurance and union dues). Businesses would not be required to keep track of amortization of equipment and inventory. No need to keep track of capital gains or profit on sales. Businesses would be in the “business” so to speak, of collecting sales tax, which most businesses already do. It would be simply another line of code in the software, or another line on the sales receipt.

The FairTax. Everyone pays the same amount. It's based on lifestyle, not earnings and it's simple. You buy and item and the tax is listed right on your receipt. Unlike now, there are hidden taxes that you don't see.

For more information, go to www.fairtax.org

You'll be glad you did.

Martha vs. Maxine

Martha's Way

If you accidentally oversalt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant "fix-me-up."

Maxine's Way

If you oversalt a dish while you are cooking, that's too bad. Please recite with me the real woman's motto: "I made it and you! will eat it and I don't care how bad it tastes!"

from email

Compare the FairTax, the Flat Tax and the Income Tax
Part 1 - 16th Amendment

Current Income Tax: No Change.
Flat Tax: No Change.
FairTax: Proposes repeal.

Under the current tax code we can expect only more and higher taxes. Congress will decide that they need more revenue to fund a project or entitlement of some sort and, instead of cutting funding from another source, will decide to raise the income tax. Oh, maybe only a percentage of a percentage, but it comes out of your paycheck. And perhaps there will be tax cuts at some point, but if you remember, tax cuts have a way of disappearing.

Let’s look at the Flat Tax. I have no expectation that income taxes will ever go down appreciably, much less stay down. Why do I think that? Look at history. When the Income Tax was established in 1913 it was a nearly Flat Tax. Since then, it’s been revised thousands of times (that’s not an exaggeration). It’s become such a tangled weave of bureaucracy that I doubt that there is anyone, included employees of the IRS who understand it. Call the IRS, talk to several different people about one question and I’ll bet you get different answers. It’s the same with tax attorneys, CPA’s, and anyone else who deals with taxes.

The FairTax proposes repeal of the 16th amendment. The main contention among FairTax supporters is whether the amendment should be repealed before or after the Fair Tax is enacted. I believe that we have to get the FairTax passed before we can repeal the 16th. There has to be something in place to “collect” taxes before the current system can be done away with. The government has to have revenue and that means that there has to be a way to collect the taxes before we can even think of burning the tax code behind us.

Good Police Officers

never miss a beat.

The 7 Ups

1. Wake Up !! Decide to have a good day.

This is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalms 118:24

2. Dress Up !! The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
I Samuel 16:7

3. Shut Up!! Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking.

"He who guards his lips guards his soul."
Proverbs 13:3

4. Stand Up!! . . . for what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.

"Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..."
Galatians 6:9-10

5. Look Up !! . . . to the Lord.

"I can do everything through Christ who

strengthens me".
Philippians 4:13

6. Reach Up !! . . .. for something higher.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."
Proverbs 3:5-6

7. Lift Up !! . . . your Prayers.

"Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING." Philippians 4:6

DID YOU KNOW?

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said:

"Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?

Part 10