Don't Be A Sheep!: October 2007

[touched up on 11/12/07 for grammatical errors and clarity]

The problem with this country is that we are so busy that we sometimes do not stop to say "Do we really need to do this?". If you ask individual politicians if they believe that the citizens are smart, they will say of course, but the truth of the matter is that they hope that we do not really pay attention to them. Sadly only a handful of citizens really do pay attention to our Government. When these dutiful citizens question the unjust practices of our Government, they are labeled as unpatriotic or a traitor. So once something is in place and ingrained in our culture, we rarely fight against it (think Light Beer, the Macarana, and beany babies") Congress clearly should have declared war on all of these items, but choose not to do so. On a serious note, I believe this is true. The problem with our government is that once something is entrenched, the people in power have to do very very little to keep the ball rolling and the money rolling back in. So I took it upon myself to do some research. If you think I came to the wrong conclusion then feel free to email me, and I'll share it back with the group.

Facts about the IRS, Income Tax, and the 16th Amendment

So, now let me give you some interesting facts about the IRS. Before 1913 the federal government ran completely on Tariffs and other revenues (ie no Income Tax), in fact, if I'm reading it right the constitution did not allow an Income Tax. Yes you heard me right, Income tax was UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!! This is how our founding father set this up because they knew that once the government opened the cookie jar it would not be able to stop eating.

A landmark case was heard about this very fact, and the Supreme Court upheld this fact.

Since the Congress really wanted more money, they decided to pass an amendment to the Constitution, and so now the Congress has the ability to tax our incomes.

Sixteenth Amendment to the US Constitution [wikipedia]

What about now?

Doesn't this sound crazy? We gave our government the ability to reach in our pockets and take our money? But even worse, does it not bother you that you have to tell the government how much you make per year? That just tells them how much more they can tax us before we cry uncle. But I digress...

So now fast forward to our current times and get ready to cry. Our federal government is expanding powers and spending at an alarming rate. (So much for fiscal conservative Republicans eh?) So putting your personal views of the war aside, to to pay for the war other programs should have been cut, but because of the pork and mandated spending nobody would budge, so instead they just spent money they did not have (more on that in a minute)

So our current Debt our Government owes? $9.1 Trillion (yes with a 'T')

How did we get in the mess? Well remember the cookie jar? Enough said. Give a 3 year old a box of Oreos and tell him to only eat 3 and put the rest away, doesn't work right?

Here is a quick bit of knowledge to arm yourselves take a look at the graph at the top:

federalbudget.com
Federal Budget, US [wikipedia]
Federal Budget, US, 2006

Last year the Government spent $390 Billion more than it took in. So we need to ask ourselves where did this $390 billion come from? Thin Air, our pockets, Space Aliens? All 3 are some what correct, the third if your replace space with foreign.

Money out of Thin air and the Chinese

So what happens is that the needed money is requested from the Federal Reserve (which requires an entirely different email to explain), but it then turns it into debt and issues the money back to Congress. So where does the Federal Reserve get the money? Well, they are the same folks that print the money, so well, they just make it up, seriously! That do that with about 50% of the debt, and the other 50% they issue Government bonds. Who do you think buys them? Other countries do. Right now China hold 50% of our out standing bonds:

The Mechanics of U.S. Government debt [wikipedia]

In recent years, the debt has soared and inflation has stayed low in part because China has been willing to accumulate reserves denominated in U.S. Dollars. Currently, China holds over $1 trillion in dollar denominated assets (of which $330 billion are U.S. Treasury notes). In comparison, $1.4 trillion represents M1 or the "tight money supply" of U.S. Dollars which suggests that the value of the U.S. Dollar could change dramatically should China ever choose to divest itself of a large portion of those reserves

So what if Congress is still short? Well remember Social Security and Medicare/caid that we all love to pay into? Social Security is actually not part of our federal budget, instead it is a separate account. So what happens is, Congress says "We will not need that money for a couple more years, so what we will do is borrow against it". The problem is that they borrow against it every year!!!!

So what does this mean? Well, in short, our Government overspends every year, and at this point, our yearly interest payments are $409 billion! Wow!

If you were a CEO and ran your business like this you would be fired! But if you are congress, you are reelected!

I don't know about you all but once I put these pieces together, I started to feel a little bit sick.

What to do about all this? The answer is simple: Elect Ron Paul

So what to do about all this? Well, here is where my personal opinion comes into play. Vote for a President who will try and put a stop to all this junk. Seriously, do any of the "top" 8 candidates say anything about fiscal responsibility? The Republican's love to bring this up in debates it makes good sound clips, but give me a break, they had the full control of our government, and during that time Bush did not veto a SINGLE spending bill.

So how do we get rid of the IRS? Well, it is actually pretty simple:

ronpaul2008.com - Cough-Up

But could America exist without an income tax? The idea seems radical, yet in truth America did just fine without a federal income tax for the first 126 years of her history. Prior to 1913, the government operated with revenues raised through tariffs, excise taxes, and property taxes, without ever touching a worker's paycheck. Even today, individual income taxes account for only approximately one-third of federal revenue. Eliminating one-third of the proposed 2007 budget would still leave federal spending at roughly $1.8 trillion-- a sum greater than the budget just 6 years ago in 2000! Does anyone seriously believe we could not find ways to cut spending back to 2000 levels? Perhaps the idea of an America without an income tax is not so radical after all. It's something to think about this week as we approach April 15^th.

In short, look up Ron Paul, donate to him, and help him get elected.

Here are the facts about Ron Paul:
He has never voted:
* To raise taxes
* for an unbalanced budget
* to raise congressional pay
* for a federal restriction on gun ownership
* to increase the power of the executive branch

Also:
He has never taken a government-paid junket
* is not accepting a government pension
* he returns a portion of office budget every year
* he introduces more useful legislation every year than probably any other member of congress
*was voted the "Taxpayers' Best Friend"
* Has been married to his wife for 50 (yes 50) yes. Ask Guiliani that question ( Giuliani - Personal life [wikipedia])
* Served as an Air Force surgeon for 6 years
* If it is not in the constitution, then he views it as illegal for the Government to do.

In short, he is a man of principals.

Now, i don't agree with everything he says. I feel differently about Immigration than he does, but he is the only one who speaks his mind, so by far he is head and shoulders above the other candidates.

Here is his latest commercials:

Here is more information on him:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RonPaul2008dotcom

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/video-network?channel=2

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

http://ronpaul.meetup.com

Get involved, I have. I went and held up signs on the street corner here in Georgia and handed out pamphlets. I'm planning on going door to door this week. One sign I saw said "Dr. Paul curred my apathy". Amen brother...

MONEY MONEY MONEY
So how do we get somebody like this elected? Well it take cash and lots of it, so if you are comfortable with the 4 front runners of the republicans (ugh) or you are happy with another Clinton presidency, then feel free to sit back, but instead why not an alternative, take a look at

http://www.thisNovember5th.com

and see if we can make a difference.

The clock is ticking. The primaries may start as early as Dec 11th, and will be over by Feb 5th. So even though the Presidential election is not until end of next year, the candidates will be picked by Next Feb!!!!! Don't wait.