Sunday, April 18, 2010

How Was Your Tax Day?

Did you throw a party this April 15? Do you enjoy getting taxed for your hard work? Isn't that an odd concept? Getting taxed for hard work? (or not so hard in some cases but profitable)

According to taxfoundation.org the percentage of non income tax payers is on the rise.

http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/25962.html

There's a 47% of non income tax payers rumor floating around out there for 2009 taxes. I don't know if that's true or not, but the above graphic should be of concern to you and here's why.


1. Baby boomers are all in the process of retiring or making plans to retire and while many of them have saved a nest egg for retirement, they will all still be planning to get their social security checks and medicare benefits while retired. If we have fewer people paying into the tax system than are relying on benefits and programs that income taxes pay for, we have an unsustainable system.


2. Unsustainable systems encourage and result in negative population growth which makes the number receiving services to paying for the services get larger and larger over time. See Europe as an example which has had this problem since 2000.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_decline for more information and sources.

3. Where there is a decrease income to the federal government from income taxes, there are 2 options; Make cuts to programs and services (which I'm on board with across the board including Medicare and Medicaid) and/or increase taxes. We currently don't have leadership willing to make cuts across the board to everything. We as a nation are apparently to dependant on the Government to privatize social security. Look at your SS statement next time it comes in. Big cuts are on the way in just a few years if it doesn't get fixed.

4. If the health care bill that was passed doesn't get overturned and is successfully funded, that will mean a lot more people will be receiving services from the government which is funded by we the people left paying taxes. I don't know about you, but I already pay more than my fair share. I don't want to pay any more. Those of you willing to pay more than your fair share, go right ahead. There's no law against paying more.

These are just some examples of why this statistic should concern you. What is my solution you ask? Please visit http://www.fairtax.org/. The fair tax repeals the income tax established in the 16th amendment and instates a consumption tax. That means everyone that consumes pays taxes whether they are here legally or illegally, doing business within the law or under the table, earning currently taxable income or not, and receiving government services or not.

Article I Section. 8. of the U.S. Constitution
Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

The 16th Amendment was ratified by the states in 1913 allowing for collection of income tax. I don't know about you, but this amendment sounds unconstitutional to me.

A vote for Lola is a vote for sanity that has been long absent from our government.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

We Should All Hold our Congressmen Accountable

Some of you may or may not have seen or heard about this video. This is a citizen holding Frank LoBiondo, Republican from New Jersey, accountable for knowing the constitution as part of his job. He was elected in November of 1994 and has been 'serving' ever since. I do believe it's his job (and all congressmens' job regardless of party beliefs) to know the constitution they take an oath to uphold and defend.



The other part I like is the point he makes that it's our civic duty to know it. I'll admit I don't know it to the level of detail he does, but we should make an effort to read it on a regular basis to stay familiar with it so we can hold those accountable who are supposed to be representing us in Washington DC.

So if you need a refresher, here's the link to the U.S. Constitution. Read it...More than once.

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