The ‘Fair Tax’ is an interesting concept that would appear, at least on the surface, to eliminate some layers of government bureaucracy. It would also seem to get government out of the business of rewarding certain lifestyle choices with tax breaks or credits. Why, for instance, should I be able to have a larger pile of money simply because I elect to live in a house with a mortgage rather than an apartment (or, for you recently registered Democratic voters, under a freeway over pass in a refrigerator box). Earned income credits?
I guess if a person really earned income, he wouldn’t need a tax credit from the government. Credits for this and credits for that. Just a way for the politicians to use the police power of the state to confiscate money from one group and give it to another group.
The real issue here isn’t how the tax is collected, its why and how much is collected. Flat tax. Payroll tax. Income tax. They are all ways the government uses its police power to redistribute income. So, your proposal for a ‘Fair Tax” (close to being an oxymoron, boys) is just giving me a choice of how I want to be mugged by the government.
Sort of like walking down the street and being able to select your mugger’s weapon of choice. Gun or knife?
The bottom line (wow, is that phrase overworked) is not how they collect taxes, but why they collect taxes. Our government is using the police power of the state to redistribute income. This allows for politicians to buy political power with someone else’s money. ‘Police power’ is not an exaggeration.
If, for instance, I think subsidizing Amtrak is not a legitimate function of government, I can’t simply withhold that portion of my tax bill. Even if it were $3.00 out of $80,000, the government would try to collect it. The amount due would soon rise due to interest and penalties. Eventually, after all collection attempts failed, the government would send people with guns to my house to collect the money. Some would call it a home ‘foreclosure’. It might take years, and the method (judgments, liens, foreclosure by the state) would ultimately result in the police power of the state being used to take money from me.
I guess if a person really earned income, he wouldn’t need a tax credit from the government. Credits for this and credits for that. Just a way for the politicians to use the police power of the state to confiscate money from one group and give it to another group.
The real issue here isn’t how the tax is collected, its why and how much is collected. Flat tax. Payroll tax. Income tax. They are all ways the government uses its police power to redistribute income. So, your proposal for a ‘Fair Tax” (close to being an oxymoron, boys) is just giving me a choice of how I want to be mugged by the government.
Sort of like walking down the street and being able to select your mugger’s weapon of choice. Gun or knife?
The bottom line (wow, is that phrase overworked) is not how they collect taxes, but why they collect taxes. Our government is using the police power of the state to redistribute income. This allows for politicians to buy political power with someone else’s money. ‘Police power’ is not an exaggeration.
If, for instance, I think subsidizing Amtrak is not a legitimate function of government, I can’t simply withhold that portion of my tax bill. Even if it were $3.00 out of $80,000, the government would try to collect it. The amount due would soon rise due to interest and penalties. Eventually, after all collection attempts failed, the government would send people with guns to my house to collect the money. Some would call it a home ‘foreclosure’. It might take years, and the method (judgments, liens, foreclosure by the state) would ultimately result in the police power of the state being used to take money from me.
And, let’s us not forget :
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury."
(While we don’t have a pure democracy, its close enough so that the above quotation is applicable. )
The tax system, ‘Fair’ or otherwise, is the way of collecting on that vote.
Fair Tax? Hardly. Less painful way of getting mugged? Yes, I’ll give you that.
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