The Fair Tax

[Morton Thomson Jr.]

The Fair Tax

And what’s wrong with it!

Here are the main problems I have with the proposed Fair Tax.

1. Those in favor of passing this legislation claim that it first requires that we repeal the 16^th Amendment. This is a false notion fueled by ignorance of the law. The Supreme Court said in Stanton Vs. Baltic Mining Co., 240 US 112 (1916), that the 16^th Amendment does not change Article I, section 8 of the Constitution, and “confers no new power of taxation.” Therefore repealing the amendment will change nothing and will not, in and of itself, eliminate the IRS. Therefore, even if one could successfully repeal the 16^th Amendment, the proposal is doomed from the onset. Other Supreme Court case law as in Brushaber Vs. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 240 US 1 (1916),  is being used as the legal backdrop for the authority to continue the fraud known as the Income Tax, so repealing the 16^th Amendment will not be enough.
2. The proposed sales tax claims to be “revenue neutral”. This means that it will do nothing to change the amount of money going into the coffers of the federal government. This does absolutely nothing to make the feds more fiscally responsible, which is what they claim to be trying to do with the Fair Tax proposal.
3. Because this is a sales tax and is “revenue neutral”, it’s too easy for everyone to lose track of how and where they are taxed, thus allowing the government and the public at large to easily forget that there is a tax being levied in the first place, and;
4. This makes it too easy for the tax to be increased by fiat, any time they feel like it. And don’t tell me that it will have to be voted on, because when you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the support of Paul. In other words, those constituents who benefit from government giveaways will always vote in favor of increased taxes. Eliminating giveaway programs is first and foremost at the heart of the problem, not eliminating the IRS. And:
5. Wasteful spending by the fed will not change just because the money comes from a different place. Reform needs to be based in correcting the problems that we know exist now, not in changing the source of revenue.
6. In addition, there must be serious reform of the corrupt cycle known as lobbying. When a politician can be persuaded to vote in favor of passing a law for a particular corporation to receive money based on the amount of begging and influence peddling they engage in, this is a problem. The Fair Tax will not change this.
7. Also, the government is in the habit of ignoring the will of the people in the first place, so what will stop them from simply printing more fiat money any time they feel like it? The answer is NOTHING. And:
8. Last but not least is the fact that taxes, like the economy, trickle down to the bottom. When corporations are taxed, industry wide, they do not actually pay the taxes directly. They either move the operation to a tax free environment, thereby eliminating American jobs, or they simply increase the cost of the end product to cover the increased taxes and the CONSUMER pays a higher price at the end of the line. So poor people end up paying the increased taxes levied against the “evil rich and competition will not keep corporations from raising the price of their products, due to the fact that the regulation or tax that increases those costs for a product are levied against an entire industry all at once, in order to make it “fair”. Some perfect examples are cigarettes, alcohol, beef, milk, etc. You name it, the fed has found a way to tax or regulate it, INDUSTRY WIDE. They don’t just tax or regulate one company, they tax them ALL, and the CONSUMER PAYS THE BILL. The Fair Tax WILL NOT CHANGE THAT. That’s trickle down economics 101. If you need proof, check the latest tax returns filed by Goldman Sachs, AIG, etc. You’ll see that not only were they able to differ an income tax liability of TWO BILLION DOLLARS by shipping jobs over-seas, they actually qualified for a TAX CREDIT of over ONE BILLION DOLLARS MORE, on top of that! We must eliminate the IRS AND STOP THE PAYMENTS. Not change the way they get the wealth.

In conclusion,

It is safe to say that the Fair Tax will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to change what’s wrong with our federal government in terms of how they borrow and spend and print new FRN’s (Quantitative Easing), anytime the Fed says it’s the right thing to do. Not to mention the Fair Tax does nothing to address the fact that they routinely ignore requests now for freedom of information and Redress of Grievances in regard to taxes and other issues. The fed will not change their attitude until “We The People” force them to.

Stop the "voluntary compliance" with the misapplication of the current Internal Re-Venue Codes. This would immediately cripple the fed and wake them up. The Fair Tax WILL NOT! Instead, it will bury the issue of an overblown and corrupt government and put it on the back burner of the American conscience. People will continue to fund a corrupt, wasteful, SOCIALIST government. That’s why I don’t like the Fair Tax.

Comments?

[Morton Thomson Jr.]

You're right Bob,

And as Lysander Spooner pointed out,  "(the Constitution) has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it."

[Bob Podolsky]

Thanks, Morton. I'm glad you agree.

I'd go a little further than Spooner did. In addition to the possibilities that the Constitution "authorized" or failed "to prevent" corrupt government, I'd suggest that it enabled and augmented the corruption of government by legitimizing the fiction of "authority" while presuming to confirm government's superiority to the individual by supporting the power of taxation.

For a deeper look at this subject, I suggest reading Ethics, Law & Government on the Titanians.org website.

[Mike]

John, I like your tax and spending description. I have a suggestion how to get it under control.

1.) take ALL money away from Congress. They get NOTHING!!!

2.) Allow the states to collect ALL their Citizens tax payments.

3.) the states forward ONLY the money to pay for what the federal government is Constitutionally permitted to have.( The military for example.) The states will audit the federal government's budget and application of funds.

4.) close absolutely ever federal department and agency that IS NOT Constitutional.

5.) ....of those departments that the people deem valuable and necessary, the states will fund directly. The states can manage their own affairs. Some will fail as others succeed. They will be examples to each other, to prove what methods work or don't work. Just like we do now, to a lessor extent.

The result is that the states will be in control of the cash flow, just as parents are in control of THEIR children's allowance. And that's what it really is, isn't it? The states and people created the federal government, didn't we? We The People are the parents of our offspring! Treat them as such.

Naturally, our local politicians will also attempt to skim and steal. However they are so much closer to the public and can be held accountable much more swiftly. While they will try, one criminal act isn't likely to ruin the nation. We can keep an eye on OUR money and responsibilities if it's under scrutiny closer to home.

Did anyone notice that step four creates a smaller federal government? Yeah, we just saved our nation from unelected bureaucrats and regulations. All those overblown agencies are already within our states right now anyway. No need to open new ones. Just delete the ones we don't want.

[Bob Podolsky]

I agree. The term "fair tax" is an oxymoron.

It is the nature of taxation that it confiscates money from its owners by means of the coercive threat of violence. I would ask, "What can be 'fair' about that?"

[Mike]

I feel that many of these recent taxing schemes are just that schemes. If any are enacted, what prevents some future Congress from hiking up the tax rate whenever they feel the need to extort more money?

The income tax has always been unlawful, any new attempts can be seen as a modern version to make it legal by giving our consent this time.

There's nothing wrong with paying taxes, but we need to be in control of who and how they are being spent. Otherwise, why not give them a no limit credit card, and we are on the hook for the account.

Oops, sorry! That's what we have today with THEIR unlawful federal reserve.