Randy Weaver was an example of a tax rebel, Now first before I go on, I in no way live that kind of life or endorse it to anyone, but Weaver lived off his land, used nothing of the tax infrastructure to support his family and all that taxation did was land the Feds at his front door of his property and get two of his family blown away by zealot sharpshooters of the FBI. Also the major fraud of current taxation for the states is if the states to adhere to federal guidelines, they do not receive the money that their own constiuents put in the coffer in the first place. Taxation is now about power and control. Reagan proved the lie of taxation when he imposed tax cuts and it was incredible. When Reagan cut taxes federal revunues quadrupled, only problem is the democratic congress spent beyond reason. No president can spend a dime of tax money without congressional approval. Along with the tax cuts came charitable contributions which rose higher in Reagans presidency than in any before or after him. These numbers can be found in the archives of the OMB and various other reporting agencies including liberal endorsed agencies. So when Dan Inouye wants to use American tax dollars to fund building a Mosque in Hawaii, stay the hell out of my pocket, anyways isn't that falling under separation of church and state? Not when it's democratic endoresed!
And Yes I am a tax rebel and I have used little known secrets to send tax auditors out of my home especially when I pissed of a congressman in Indiana and I was audited by the IRS that following May, Maybe it
was just a coincidence, but I don't think so. Go to a flat tax or National Sales tax then I'm a player. Incremental income tax was one of the planks of the communist manifesto!!!!!
Sorry be in the extreme, but I consider all taxes a form of theft. If we had the constitutional republic we started with, I might not be as extremist as I am, but year after year of growing entitlement systems tend to have that effect on me.
Scott you picked the homerun bat out of the bat rack. It just pisses me off to no end, especially socialism security, hell if I had that money to invest in mutual funds, or IRA, my retirement payoff will be better than the 1400 a month they project for me. I'm tired of taxes going for lame policies that do nothing but endorse socialism.
But this whole enterprise of preaching about the Constitution, as conservatives and libertarians have been doing since at least the 1930s, is utterly futile. It has had no effect whatsoever, yet Cato, Heritage, and many other institutions continue to churn out essentially the same old arguments about how the Constitution can limit government.
The reason all these efforts are useless is that those who partake in them invariably ignore any serious discussion of how constitutional restrictions on government can be seriously enforced. They typically implore the public to educate itself, as though politicians will then magically transform into dutiful tribunes of the people, take their advice, and shut down most of the government. Or they believe in the pie-in-the-sky notion that the federal judiciary could somehow be reeducated and turned into modern-day Thomas Jeffersons, writing such things in their judicial decisions as "that government is best which governs least."
This is all extraordinarily naïve. The government has had an iron grip on the American educational system for generations, and it's not about to ease up on that grip by teaching American school children about the virtues of limited government. This is true of all levels of education, including – and especially – the law schools. Furthermore, elementary public choice theory, which Cato Institute scholars should be aware of, suggests that this crusade will inevitably fail. The reason is straightforward: The parties who are interested in limited constitutional government are widely dispersed and not very well organized politically (i.e., the general public); whereas the advocates of ever-expanding legal plunder (the state itself, and all of its special-interest groups) tend to be much more concentrated and well organized. Therefore, it is the nature of politics that the enemies of constitutional limitations on government will win out, as in fact they have in the U.S. for well over a century.
Scott,
Even as imperfect, unfair and corrupt as it may have become under the modern governments, US inmigration entry applications continue to soar year after year.
Despite the choking, poisoning, kidnapping and amputations our constitution may suffer today at the hands of the various government arms, this country is still seen as a haven for opportunity for individuals.
Do not confuse the evergrowing worldwide resentment born from what the US 'does'.
Worldwide, most people still want a chance at having a piece of what the US 'is'.
This has nothing to due with resentment by other countries. It has due to with a government performing actions it's not responsible for, controlling critical aspects of the economy that it has no business being in, and paying for all of it with abnormal taxation, inflation, and deficit spending with no realistic restraints.
Alexander Tyler said "A democracy can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury". Author, Alexis de Tocqueville, added to this idea, "The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money."
As I stated earlier, people generally think we live in a democracy, we don't. We live in a Constitutional Republic. However, as the article states above, you have to live by the restrictions of that constitution. With no enforcement, you have more of what Tyler and de Tocqueville add.
It will not be that long until existing taxation can't handle interest payments on the debt.
Tax breaks are an illusion without a reduction in spending. The government has effectively taken out a loan to give you that money back.
Regardless of what is possible in our country today, my greatest concern is for tomorrow.
The FAR, FAR, FAR SCARIER issue is that when it happens, it will dwarf the "Great Depression". At this point, the economy of the United States is so entrenched in world banking and other countries, that if it fails, the cascade effect will be beyond what most can imagine. We DID have a taste of this when the Asian economy NEARLY collapsed a little over of a decade ago.
My personal opinion will be that unless things change, we'll see the start of the collapse within 30 years.
www.lewrockwell.com
www.independent.org
www.reason.com
All have extensive archives. Choose a subject important to you, and I'm sure someone has already spoken up on it.
There ARE government official out there that want to limit government, but they are few and far between (when it really comes down to talking the talk AND walking the walk).
I am one who has always believed two things the US should get out of immediately, One is the UN and the second being the IMF. We have become enslaved by our own devices.
I will disagree with one thing though Scott my friend. There are many americans, myself included do not believe in WWIII as Toad made a reference, but I do believe there will be a revolution in our country to take back the control of our nation, whether I will be to old to participate is yet to be seen.
I don't believe in WW III in the classical sense. I DO believe that if a global economic collapse occurs, that many smaller wars will occur. Those will mainly be becuase the "super powers" can't afford to enforce the peace. This would be similar to the situations that occured in the former Czech republic. I ALSO think some very limited nuclear exchanges could occur. Again, I don't think what we view as the major powers would be involved, but small countries or factions that get their hands on such weaponry. With an economic collapse, keeping track of such materials will make it all the harder to try to enforce who has them.
Regarding your last comment, I truly doubt that in a single action we could take back our country. What I DO believe, and Dilorenzo made this comment as well in a different sense, is that areas that continue to produce, but receive no value for their "enslavement" by government will seceed. If they have the military force to protect themselves.
This is slightly in line with a Rand'ian view of the producers shrugging off the looters.
Looters cannot exists without producers, and if the producers refuse to be slaves any longer, then they too must eventually fall. Only at that point do I think we can be the United States again as intended.
If we stay the course we are on, I see the above happening.
However, all of this may have little to do with finding a wife in the former FSU! :-)