The statist’s strategy will fall short because of this famous Margaret Thatcher quote:

They [socialists] always run out of other people’s money

When they run out, their coalition will be very unhappy. I think that time is pretty near. The only question is how bad will their failure be for all of us.

In other writings on this blog I write that I don’t see how it CAN’T be bloody. I hope not, but can’t see ways around it.

Robert,

How in the world can you be so wrong-headed? How can you miss the huge contradiction inherent in your own words? You tell us not to reflexively blame government, because it’s actually big biz that’s the problem. But you also say that big biz games the system–which is government. Doesn’t that tell you something? It tells me something, something very basic that it seems everyone else on this board recognizes:

Government was, is, and will always be corruptible, because people are always corruptible. It’s not, “If we could just have saints like the Big O in government, all would be well,” because there ARE no saints. Just men–flawed, greedy, self-interested men, who are entrusted with coercive power to maintain a somewhat level playing field for society.

We have no choice but to have government if we are going to have a civil society. But we recognize that coercive power corrupts, and so we severely limit government’s powers, and we keep our politicians under intense scrutiny, because we know that each and every one of them is likely to abuse this power in virtually any way they can get away with, eventually. That goes for if I become a politician, or if you do, or if your sainted grandma does.

Big biz (and small biz) can be fraudulant and manipulative on their own, but can’t be coercive except through the government. As a consumer, it is my responsibility to combat the manipulative part by not being a credulous weenie, and I can require my government to punish fraud. If I ask the government to do anything else with respect to business–or more properly WHEN I ask it to, because being a flawed mortal, it’s sure as the sun rises in the morning that I’ll try to game the system if I can–I’m essentially asking it to use its coercive power for my benefit at the expense of another consumer. Which makes me part of the problem, and part of the reason why government always gets too big, and must be pruned by reform or revolution.

I’ve run on too long, but here’s the gist: the world is full of bastards, and always will be. Coercive power accumulates within government, composed of bastards, and so it is government that must be most actively monitored, constrained, and mistrusted. QED.

The corporation I own pays hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes.

They certainly are a cost. Your statement that customers pay taxes is sort of true. But cost does not drive price. Market drives price. Cost determines if I can stay in business selling things at the market arrived at price. I do not pass tax costs on to customers, I take them from money I could give shareholders or that I could spend reinvesting in company operations.

Politicians love levels and layers of obfuscation in the costs they impose. Perfect, for them, is a tax on the future (printing money, promises, so forth). Better is a tax on an entity that doesn’t vote. This can be out of staters (Vermont likes to do this), or corporations.

I would say that this is already true. No corporation ever has, or ever will, pay any taxes of any kind.

The customers of the corporations pay the taxes, just like they pay the salaries, rent, electric bill, etc.

Taxes are just another expense, perhaps one of little benefit.

I’m okay with 18 year olds voting. My main point would be that you can’t hold office until age 45. Which, btw, I just turned a few days ago. This would force people to do something prior to politics. Then, once in it, they can only hold ANY office for 4 years. The goal isn’t to hurt Democrats, or Republicans, but to have a precise strike at the political CLASS that is ruining us by using other people’s money to further their careers.

States could make these rules now – as they control who can run for their federal offices. But I would prefer to simply codify it in an Amendment.

This is the shaft that needs to be behind the Tea Party groups killer arrow. The political class, not one particular party within it is to blame for our woes.

What would you say about my belief that corporations (big and small) should pay no taxes?

The largest cost is health care, but that is mainly because it is tax shielded, so I can be generous there. A close second is FICA. Unlike my health care spending, I and my employees are not getting any value for our FICA spending. 15% of payroll, peed away.

If you read other posts, you will see I’m not a fan of Obama. And if you go back in time you”ll see I wasn’t a big fan of Bush either.

Don’t put your hopes in politicians. They take, not produce.

I think we are doomed unless we get them under control – mainly by making political careers impossible.

As a percentage of the taxes and payroll deductions you mention what is the largest percentage? Is it the health insurance? What is the largest increase? Is it the health insurance?

For one to think that the government is in and of itself responsible for all of this economic turmoil know nothing about how the poltical process works in thsi country… special interests with puppet politicians (both democratic and republican) runs this country, and they do so because the majority of Anericans dont care enough to get involved in the political process or to challenge the special interests (large corporations) and their army of puppets.

President Obama has been a strong advocate for all Americans to get involved in the political process… He is dynamic and poised… a motivating leader… something we have not had in quite a while.

As small business owners you should be aggesively pursuing your elected officials to stop the bipartisan bickering and get serious about health care… that is the largest percentage of your payroll costs…