The independence of our nation began first as a tax protest in Boston Harbor. “No taxation without representation!” That protest evolved into something much greater: an American political philosophy that no government “gives” rights to people but that people are born with unalienable rights and actually should be able to decide, by mutual consent, how much power government should be given.
The founding fathers' promise that our great experiment in democracy would be based upon the rights and freedoms of our citizens and the consent of the governed is being tested right now in the people’s ability to affect the public policy decisions of their elected leaders. Unheard of levels of debt now require the future taxation of generations of Americans not yet born. To many, this is taxation without representation all over again. Like the Boston Harbor protest, the test of whether the American public can have a strong voice in the direction of our government is again beginning as a tax protest these many years later.
Every taxpayer knows, as do many in Washington, that the income tax system, once expressly forbidden by our founders, is broken. It is broken because the growing powers of government and the increasing focus on what is best for those in and around government has eclipsed the will and the best interests of the people and the nation. The income tax system has become a baldly political auction of the tax code, irrespective of the national interest, to a cadre of well-paid lobbyists, something seemingly beyond the reform reach of ordinary Americans. This must change.
Too many American have become numb to the fact that hundreds of billions of dollars are spent annually to comply with an almost indecipherable federal tax law. We grimly chuckle when we learn that not even the IRS can answer taxpayer questions correctly. We routinely celebrate when a fraction of what is withheld from our weekly paychecks is returned to us in the months after filing our returns. And we have thrown up our hands in disbelief and wonderment that the tax code has made debt more favorable than wealth, married couples taxed at a higher rate than singles living together and foreign producers more favored than those made in the U.S.A.
The FairTax has the potential to unify all Americans, regardless of political philosophy or party affiliation, against the self-dealing of Congress. The merits of the FairTax can appeal to constituencies across the political spectrum because in one transparent and simple system, every worker takes home their entire paycheck, huge new investment flows into the economy and the cost of the government becomes visible once again—and connected to citizen’s earnings.
The fact that illegal immigrants, the underground economy and even 30-40 million foreign visitors a year would be supporting the federal government when they purchase goods and services and the fact that the FairTax ends taxes on Social Security earnings as well as the dreaded April 15th filing panic makes the FairTax a potent rallying cry.
The events at Boston Harbor played an important role in the first American tax revolt. Those events led to the creation of a nation now called The United States of America. The FairTax can be, should be, and will the rallying cry for the second American revolution—this one will restore much what we have lost in recent times.
The founding fathers' promise that our great experiment in democracy would be based upon the rights and freedoms of our citizens and the consent of the governed is being tested right now in the people’s ability to affect the public policy decisions of their elected leaders. Unheard of levels of debt now require the future taxation of generations of Americans not yet born. To many, this is taxation without representation all over again. Like the Boston Harbor protest, the test of whether the American public can have a strong voice in the direction of our government is again beginning as a tax protest these many years later.
Every taxpayer knows, as do many in Washington, that the income tax system, once expressly forbidden by our founders, is broken. It is broken because the growing powers of government and the increasing focus on what is best for those in and around government has eclipsed the will and the best interests of the people and the nation. The income tax system has become a baldly political auction of the tax code, irrespective of the national interest, to a cadre of well-paid lobbyists, something seemingly beyond the reform reach of ordinary Americans. This must change.
Too many American have become numb to the fact that hundreds of billions of dollars are spent annually to comply with an almost indecipherable federal tax law. We grimly chuckle when we learn that not even the IRS can answer taxpayer questions correctly. We routinely celebrate when a fraction of what is withheld from our weekly paychecks is returned to us in the months after filing our returns. And we have thrown up our hands in disbelief and wonderment that the tax code has made debt more favorable than wealth, married couples taxed at a higher rate than singles living together and foreign producers more favored than those made in the U.S.A.
The FairTax has the potential to unify all Americans, regardless of political philosophy or party affiliation, against the self-dealing of Congress. The merits of the FairTax can appeal to constituencies across the political spectrum because in one transparent and simple system, every worker takes home their entire paycheck, huge new investment flows into the economy and the cost of the government becomes visible once again—and connected to citizen’s earnings.
The fact that illegal immigrants, the underground economy and even 30-40 million foreign visitors a year would be supporting the federal government when they purchase goods and services and the fact that the FairTax ends taxes on Social Security earnings as well as the dreaded April 15th filing panic makes the FairTax a potent rallying cry.
The events at Boston Harbor played an important role in the first American tax revolt. Those events led to the creation of a nation now called The United States of America. The FairTax can be, should be, and will the rallying cry for the second American revolution—this one will restore much what we have lost in recent times.
1 comment:
The FairTax is a great idea that will have a very hard time passing through congress as long as members of congress are able to ignore "We the People" and work for themselves,their party and the special interests. To end the corruption and return the government to "We the People", and get bills that will help the country such as the FairTax passed, we must take the power to do favors away from the political parties. This can only be accomplished by replacing ALL 435 politicians in the House with average Americans who will be legally bound to vote according to the detailed platform that got them elected and do not rely on special interests to pay for their campaign funding! This may sound impossible but someone figured out how to do it possibly in 2010. Learn all the details at GOOOH.com. I believe that anyone that agrees with the FairTax, the Tea Parties, The 912 Project, or just thinks the Federal Government is out of control would be very interested in joining GOOOH.
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