The Tea Party amazes. It confounds. But will it “work”?
First… what does it want? I’d submit, two things, primarily:
- a fiscally controlled government
- a constitutionally controlled government
Both, by the way, I agree with whole heartedly.
But… what if the two conflict? How can we have a fiscally controlled government when the Constitution that runs it gives it unlimited taxing and commerce regulatory powers? The two can’t co-exist.
Ultimately, the Tea Party has to change the Constitution, mainly the 16th Amendment. But it should also add in, perhaps in the 16th’s replacement, perhaps in a separate, a direct and detailed limit on the governments “Commerce” and “Common Good” roles.
Tactically, I think the focus on state government assemblies is brilliant. That is where an Amendment must pass 2/3rds. They are tantalizingly close to having a lock on that many, by the way.
My preference is a new Amendment, passed by the Congress, and sent to the States that reads like this:
* The 16th amendment is repealed.
And a second new Amendment, passed by the Congress, and sent to the States that reads like this:
* An income tax may be levied on adult individuals only. Such tax shall be proportionally equal, there will be no deductions, and no credits. The Congress shall set a minimum fee that any adult, competent, citizen must pay set at the proportion of the governments spending to the Census national based population. Any non-tax fees charged to individuals or businesses must be simple and equal.
Finally, a third new Amendment, passed by the Congress, and sent to the States that goes after the culture of careerism in politics:
* No individual may hold political office more than 2 terms without at least a 2 year interim not in office or in the employ of the public.
There, that about does it. We can fund government, but all share the pain. And more of us will be serving in government, and it will be service, not career.
If the Tea Party got that done… they would rank with George Washington, Plato, and Newton in terms of service to humanity.
December 30th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Taxes are so entertaining. Everyone has a grand plan for reducing his taxes in the name of some grand principle called fairness. The continued flow of such ideas makes for endless political speech and keeps the tax structure in turmoil which in turn discourages long term thinking.
The poll (per head) tax ended the career of the great conservative Maggie Thatcher when the public found out it meant them. Equal tax for queen and miner didn’t go down well. Half the problem in taxation is explaining it to anyone who has to pay more.
December 30th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need” –Karl Marx
A quaint idea that cannot succeed and we should stop trying it. People will always convince a bureaucracy that their need is greater than their ability. People are smart enough to game the system. Look at any young child for proof positive.
We are propagating an unequal society in which the poor man is treated better by the government than the rich. How is that distinct from racial or gender discrimination? I’m not allowed to get government benefits because I make too much money!
In a society where anyone can gain wealth with enough effort and skill we are being told to believe that those people deserve to have that wealth stolen from them at gunpoint to help those that did not give the effort or could not gain the skill.
A flat tax is the closest we can come to an equal society. No deductions, no loopholes for the clever or the well informed, no credits for any “group” that would deem themselves special.
I am going to have to spend the next 3 months figuring out how to minimize the taxes that I have somehow “earned” by getting an education and a job and buying a house.
December 31st, 2010 at 9:26 am
When conversation lags, elders talk about their medical experiences and middle agers complain about their unfair taxes. Except among the poorer who have only one worry topic – survival.