It’s Negative 24 Degrees and the Wind Isn’t Blowing. This is Why We Need Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power, Not Renewables

South Bend Mayor and Possible Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Decries "Endless War"

Bill Nye’s Latest Climate Warning: The Us Will Have To Grow Its Food In Canada

Florida Gov. DeSantis signs executive order scrapping Common Core

The 16th Amendment: How the U.S. Federal Income Tax Became D.C.'s Favorite Political Weapon

Whatever Mueller Finds, Gag-Orders and No-Knock Raids Should Appall EVERYONE.

What the Press Missed About Vanguard Founder's Fortune

Venezuela Finds Out The Hard Way That Only Bitcoin Is Unconfiscatable

VA announces new rules giving veterans access to private providers

Primetime CNN, MSNBC Ignore Virginia Dems Supporting Late, Post-Term Abortions

PRESIDENT PELOSI? House Speaker holds public bill signings — to compete with Trump?

Noncitizens registered to vote in Pennsylvania and Texas show vote fraud is real

Dems Are Shocked, Shocked To Learn That 'Medicare For All' Outlaws Private Insurance

No-Knock Warrant for Deadly Drug Raid Describes Heroin and a Gun Cops Didn't Find

Yoho’s ‘Zero-for-Zero’ Sugar Plan To Curb Foreign Subsidies Returns

Water From the Air and Power From Trash

Politico: Liberals Developing New Phraseology to Hype 'Climate Change'

Europe 'coming apart before our eyes', say 30 top intellectuals

South Carolina Police Hauled in $17 Million Through Civil Asset Forfeiture Over Three Years

France’s Red Scarves: Ready-Made Counter-Protest and New Media Darlings

Howard Schultz Shoots Down Liz Warren Attack With Passionate Defense of the American Dream

An American Nightmare

Don't Expect The EU To Cave On May's Brexit Deal Until The Very Last Minute

Chaos has reportedly erupted inside Facebook as employees find themselves unable to open the company's apps on their iPhones

After 4 Cops Shot in Houston, Police Promise to Go After and ‘Track’ Those Who Criticize Police

‘I’m Not Going to Enforce That’: Sheriffs Disobey New Anti-Gun Laws—Refuse to Disarm Citizens

When 'Former' Spies Run Wild, Bad Things Happen

84% of 18-24 year olds don’t know how to change a light bulb… but they think they can run the economy?

Entrepreneurship Lifts Cambodia from the Clutches of Extreme Poverty in a Single Generation

NANCY? Pelosi botches words, suffers face spasms, confuses Dems, GOP while vowing no border wall funding

Roger Stone faces a gag order. He has a plan to resist it.

The Unseen Costs of Humanitarian Intervention

Rep. Ilhan Omar calls for sharp tax increases on the wealthy: 'We've had it as high as 90 percent'

Tags: humanitarian ∙ interventionism ∙ Cambodia ∙ entrepreneurship ∙ spies ∙ gun control ∙ Houston ∙ police ∙ Facebook ∙ iPhone ∙ Apple ∙ EU ∙ Brexit ∙ Theresa May ∙ FBI ∙ Roger Stone ∙ Howard Schultz ∙ Elizabeth Warren ∙ France ∙ red scarves ∙ theft ∙ South Carolina ∙ civil asset forfeiture ∙ Europe ∙ climate change ∙ water ∙ power ∙ trash ∙ sugar ∙ subsidies ∙ Ted Yoho ∙ Democrats ∙ Medicare ∙ vote fraud ∙ Pennsylvania ∙ Texas ∙ Nancy Pelosi ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Virgina ∙ late term ∙ abortion ∙ VA ∙ private providers ∙ Venezuela ∙ bitcoin ∙ currency ∙ John Bogle ∙ Robert Mueller ∙ gag order ∙ no-knock raids ∙ 16th Amendment ∙ income tax ∙ Ron DeSantis ∙ Florida ∙ Common Core ∙ Pete Buttigieg ∙ South Bend ∙ endless war ∙ Bill Nye ∙ cIimate panic ∙ renewable ∙ fossil fuels ∙ nuclear power ∙ severe winter

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Top 3% of U.S. Taxpayers Paid Majority of Income Taxes in 2016

Gore: Jet Stream 'Getting Loopier and Wavier,' So 'We Have a Global Emergency'

Trump snubs Feinstein, Harris to nominate conservative judges to liberal 9th Circuit

Mary Robinson on climate change: ‘Feeling “This is too big for me” is no use to anybody’

Italian Interior Minister prepares legislature for self-defence: “No trial for those who defend their property”

‘Bitcoin and Guns, That’s the Only Way to Save This Country’

Libertarian and Police Accountability Pages Deleted in Facebook Purge

Facebook has lost 30% of its value since July

500,000 Afghan migrants are ready to enter Europe via unprotected Turkish-Greek border area

Bear spray, bloody brawls at Patriot Prayer 'law and order' march in Portland

Dozens of Witches Gather to Place Public Hex on Brett Kavanaugh

Black Man Cuffed on His Own Property While Moving Into New Home

Venezuela Has Lost 13% of its Population in a Mass Exodus from Socialism

Fight Fizzles Before Police Arrive; Cops Start Tasing and Arresting People Anyway

Violence, Public Anger Erupts In China As Home Prices Slide

Lawsuit: KSP trooper attacks man after Facebook post

Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson in 'real legal jeopardy', GOP investigator says

Toronto's Sick Kids hospital preparing policy for euthanasia for youth over 18 that could one day apply to minors

Human 2.0 Is Almost Here: The Transhumanism Agenda Just Went Mainstream

The view from Saudi Arabia as world holds its breath

Thousands line up for zero-down-payment, subprime mortgages

How the Heir of the White Nationalist Movement Learned to Let Go of Hatred

Congress Can’t Create an Independent and Unaccountable New Branch of Government

Tags: income tax ∙ fair share ∙ Al Gore ∙ fear ∙ jet stream ∙ Donald Trump ∙ Dianne Feinstein ∙ conservative ∙ 9th Circuit Court ∙ Mary Robinson ∙ Italy ∙ gun rights ∙ Ukraine ∙ bitcoin ∙ Facebook ∙ censorship ∙ libertarian ∙ police ∙ accountability ∙ Afgan ∙ migrants ∙ Europe ∙ Turkey ∙ Greece ∙ invasion ∙ witches ∙ Brett Kavanaugh ∙ racism ∙ Venezuela ∙ sociaism ∙ police misconduct ∙ China ∙ housing ∙ Kentucky ∙ Fusion GPS ∙ GOP ∙ hospital ∙ euthanasia ∙ Saudi Arabia ∙ transhumanism ∙ Jamal Khashoggi ∙ subpprime mortgages ∙ white nationalism ∙ hatred ∙ CFPB

❝❝Did I ever mention how the income tax isn't designed to produce revenue, but to spy as needed on American citizens?

---

Yep.

You can start with how the IRS is the "go to" agency whenever someone does something the Federal government doesn't like.

You can continue with the fact that your employer and any financial institution you do business with are required "under penalty of law" to report any transactions on demand. There's a reporting threshold for "as they happen," but the IRS still has the (questionable) power to demand any and all going back for years.

Speaking of penalty of law, have you read that bit on the 1040? In fact, take a close look at the entire form. It doesn't say you are required to report your income, it just says that it must be accurate reported on the form before you sign.

No one, including the IRS understands the tax code. It can be manipulated and interpreted as needed. And remember, the first few levels of the tax courts are administrative courts run by the IRS with their own rules of evidence. The presumption of innocence doesn't apply. You have to prove the IRS wrong, and then you might get your seized money back.

By definition, a "standard" deduction means taxes are too high.

---

What, you wanted it stated in the authorizing law?

Everything I said was drawn from truth.

From Al Capone on, the IRS has been used against those the Federal government doesn't approve of. Or occasionally found politically inconvenient. Any other uncovered crimes are just a bonus.

Reporting financial transactions have proven so useful in so many cases that it has become literally the reason the IRS exists.

The 1040 form is unusually and carefully worded.

Since at least the 1970s, IRS agents and supervisors have been shown to have a very focused knowledge of the tax code and an appalling ignorance about the rest.

The IRS does have it's own court system with it's own rules of evidence. And you are not presumed innocent until proven guilty.

More importantly, look at how Presidents have used the tax code against their enemies.

---

Al Capone went to jail for tax evasion because they couldn't get anything else to stick.

You tell me, if you were a prosecutor and you knew you had a guilty man and you had the evidence, would you want to charge them with murder or tax evasion?

Prove me wrong instead of labeling it conjecture and innuendo. It's right there, I showed you were to look.

Remember, it took amending the Constitution to make a Federal income tax legal.

---

Going after him for tax evasion wasn't even part of the plan.

Pay attention, because that is a critical point.

Did you know that the IRS was used to enforce Prohibition?

That was a critical point too.

I understand your confusion. Many assume that Government is a Good Thing. It's not commonly acknowledged that taxes can be some of the worst abuses of government authority. Might I suggest Adams' For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization as a starting point?

---

No I am not.

I'm stating that law is not good in and of itself, and that law is more likely to be abused than not.

For example, people are usually taught that the progressive income tax in particular is a way to get the rich to pay "their fair share." That's not true and it never has been. We know that whole histories industries have grown up to help people use tax loopholes. What's more, we know that politicos and technocrats benefit from selectively applying the law.

Which returns to my comment, that the income tax as designed is intended to spy on American citizens. It's not uniformly applied. It's subject to change and political influence. And the majority of the public is locked out of changes. And for what? A mala prohibita law. Not paying taxes is does not harm someone, it's just bad because government has declared it to be bad.

The graduated income tax has done more harm and destroyed more freedom than any other law in American history. "Innocent under proven guilty" stopped because of the income tax and no longer applies in American law.

I should have warned you. Never argue taxes with a libertarian.

---

Yeppers.

That standard deductions line makes people think. And it should.

That's usually when I point out that if they are getting a refund, they just gave the government an interest free loan.

---

Oh my, that's just so adorable!

Look at it this way.

Taxable income = 100 dollars
Standard deduction = 17 dollars
"Taxed" income = 83 dollars

You are still paying taxes. It's only on paper that there is a difference. They messed with the rate, not with the tax.

They lie.

Don't even get me started on itemized deductions.

ETA: I'm the one with the line of "by definition, a standard deduction means taxes are too high." I'm proud of it, so I want credit.

---

Yep, and the claim stands.

The politicos and technocrats are playing word games to convince people that the IRS is looking out for the little guy.

They don't reduce the tax, they tell you that there is a standard deduction.

Speaking of which, let's look at that word standard. As in, everyone gets it. If it were really about "giving something" to someone with lower income, you'd think the deduction would be less for higher incomes. But then it wouldn't be a standard deduction.

Nope, we give everyone a standard deduction.

And that certainly looks like taxes are too high.

---

The fact is that the government hides to actual tax rate to make people think they are getting something for nothing.

The tax rate is too high, so they play word games.

The graduated tax is another issue.

The point is, the mere existence of a standard deduction means that the standard is to deduct. Hence, by definition and the admission of the government, taxes are too high.

---

That's the same form that is worded to hide the fact that they don't care about you paying your taxes as much as they don't want you to lie about it and make sure that it is correct, right?

The whole thing is deceptive from the payroll deduction to the falsity that a progressive tax that impacts higher tax brackets more to which deductions may be allowed this year if you are lucky enough to know about them.

Not to mention the undeclared interest free loan that many make to the government every year without realizing it.

If it were really just about the income, the whole thing could be done on half a postcard.

Including the instructions.

---

But this US doesn't do it simply. The code is created to distract, to obfuscate, to hide what government wants.

It's not about the revenue.

It's about tracking the flow of money. Something which isn't authorized by the Constitution.

The whole business of a "standard deduction" is just another way to confuse citizens and convince them that they are getting something for nothing.

It's three card monte by government regulation. You aren't supposed to look close.

Meanwhile there is a surveillance system that is the envy of tyrants all over the world. And Americans accept it even as they complain about it.

---

Tax income, but not track money.

The 16th was a product of the time, and NO ONE at the time expected it to be used against the poor and the (emerging) middle class. It was sold as a way to make the rich pay "their fair share." I'm pretty sure that if people knew then what the income tax would become, there would have been another revolution.

The graduated income tax was intended to foster class envy. At that point, the upper class did not have the political clout to protect themselves.

Don't you find it interesting that a sales tax doesn't require nearly the administration that an income tax does?

Don't you find it even more interesting that no one understands the tax code and just accepts that is how it is supposed to be?

And then there is the fact that in the name of "protecting" the poor, they still have to declare their income under penalty of law.

---

As I said and have shown, the American income tax system is more about spying on the American people than producing income.

All you are doing is saying that the system is necessary.

---

One of the things I quickly learned as a Corporate Clone is that the budget expands to consume the sales income. It's always easier to spend someone else's money.

Remember I said that taxes are too high.

Still, I stand by my point. The spying on the American public is more important than the revenues.

---

If you state a tax rate and then give everyone a "standard deduction," then taxes are too high.

Taxes are too high for many other reasons, but I agree that distracts from this argument.

---

A standard deduction goes to everyone, not someone on a graduated scale.

Deductions have nothing to do with a graduated tax, especially since most deductions go to the middle and high end income groups.

---

It's not a reduction of tax on graduated income, it's deliberately confusing what the rate is.

Which isn't necessary for the higher ends of the income scale who can afford to have someone do their taxes. On the very high end, that means hiring a professional accountant to minimize tax liability.

Deductions are not intended to help the poor. Even if they are standard.

Of course the easiest thing of all would be actually lowering the tax without deductions.

---

Not true.

The modern version of the income tax started as a class tax. It was not expanded to a mass tax until WWII. Even then (in 1944), the "standard deduction" started as ten percent of taxable income. When the standard deduction was changed to a flat fee, that fee deliberately wasn't linked to the rate of inflation. Which means that over time, people on the lower end of the income scale paid more. But that wasn't the justification in 1964 when the deduction was changed from a percentage to a fee.

Because the fee amount wasn't linked to inflation, inevitably people started falling through the cracks. Meanwhile the income tax provided an unprecedented (and expanding) monitoring of cash flow (not the economy). That monitoring power could not be sacrificed.

And that is where the Earned Income Tax Credit came from. A direct payment from government that did not interfere in the existing tax structure or the government's ability to monitor cash flow. If anything, it expanded the latter.

---

And if you lower taxes, you don't have to lie about deductions to convince people that they are getting something that they are not. The actuality is that it's easier to manipulate a fee than a percentage all while hiding that people are paying more and getting less while being told what a Good Thing it is.

Reagan signed the expansion of the EIC, but it was originally created in 1975. It's also constitutionally questionable.

---

And if you eliminate the standard deduction and lower the tax rate to 8%, they pay less.

Manipulating the process is not the answer.

---

Um,yes.

Because now we are going to talk about the unintentional side effects of a graduated tax system.

Higher taxes aren't just absorbed by businesses and those with more income. The higher costs are passed on. In the case of a business, that means higher prices. In the case of an individual, that means they will buy less, which means few jobs creating or selling.

All this results in lower economic opportunity overall, but especially on the margins. That in turn means that those trying to increase their income will be most affected, especially if they are on the lower end of the income scale.

These are well known second order effects. Look them up.

Simply put, modifications and exceptions to the rules usually benefit those most able to influence the system. Or, as I like to put it, government authority tends to be used against those least likely to resist.

The more complex and convoluted a law is (any law), the bigger negative impact it has on the lower levels of income.

---

Extra rent and utilities due to displaced costs $50 per month or $600 per year.

Extra costs of food $15 per month or $180 per year.

Extra costs of clothing and miscellaneous $60 per year.

Company downsizing and freezing salary, adjusted for inflation $200 per year.

Just for the stuff I've listed, $1040 additional costs per year due progressive and distributed taxes.

---

Taxes are costs. They certainly aren't revenues to the people who are paying them.

The costs I provided were approximately middling. See, it's not just the amount of the tax that is shifted. It's also the cost of collecting and administering the taxes. Not to mention all the other costs of government, from the salary of Congressional pages to the paperclip allowance in the Department of the Interior.

Economies are based on the movement of value, we usually talk cash flow as a shorthand. The movement of value acts a lot like water. You can block it off, you can divert it, you can tap it, and you can channel it. Every change influences the whole system, you can't isolate one bit from the other without removing the cash flow. Think water pressure and you're close to the mark. The more you mess with the pluming, the more unstable the system becomes.

Governments tend to use the myth that the economy can be managed and controlled. But it is a myth. The only reason some governments can get away with it is because the cash flow is usually high enough to compensate for the really stupid things.

But if the goal is more money and not lower taxes, then the people with the lowest cash flow (i.e. water pressure) will be most impacted by any changes.

That's why lower taxes alone is a false and misleading measurement.

---

If you reduce taxes and costs go up, then there is no benefit to a "standard deduction"

Manipulating the system at a higher cost is going to hurt the people the deduction is supposed to help. The government sells a line, "We're going to reduce your taxes." But the politicos never admit the obvious, it's going to cost more.

Revenues are not neutral, that is another lie. There is an increased cost to administer the system. Any changes in process will increase this cost. And government has no incentive to reduce this extra cost.

So in the name of compassion, the system screws the people least likely to resist.❞❞

Tags: spying ∙ taxes ∙ IRS ∙ tax code ∙ tax courts ∙ politicos ∙ Prohibition ∙ income tax ∙ technocrats ∙ goverment ∙ standard deduction ∙ Constitution ∙ Al Capone ∙ economics ∙ movement of value ∙ cash flow

❝❝\s\ In a TOTALLY unrelated fact that has nothing to do with government abuse of power, including weakening 4th & 5th Amendment protections to the point of uselessness, today is the anniversary of the 16th Amendment and the modern American income tax.

Your government needs to know what you are doing so it can protect you. No need to worry, Citizen, government knows what is best for you at all times. \s\❞❞
     — NeoWayland

Tags: maxims ∙ sarcasm ∙ Fourth Amendment ∙ Fifth Amendment ∙ Sixteenth Amendment ∙ income tax ∙ government ∙ protect

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: FedGovs ∙ income tax ∙ spends too much money ∙ immigration reform ∙ regulation ∙ smaller government ∙ occupational licensing ∙ California ∙ pension ∙ shitholes ∙ government ∙ people ∙ Margaret Atwood ∙ Michael Wolff ∙ Donald Trump ∙ truth ∙ Jeff Flake ∙ press ∙ responds and escalates ∙ profit ∙ utilities ∙ loss ∙ shareholders ∙ racist

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: Export-Import Bank ∙ taxes ∙ Obamacare ∙ data breech ∙ Chappaquiddick ∙ Ted Kennedy ∙ Senate ∙ crony capitalism ∙ GMOs ∙ United Nations ∙ Jerusalem ∙ Sweden ∙ gang rapes ∙ tax bill ∙ income tax ∙ public schools ∙ fake history ∙ Facebook

❝❝OK, taxes. According the the OMB, the top 20% of taxpayers pay 95% of income taxes. In 2015, the WSJ reported that the top 20% paid 84% of income taxes. In 2015, the top .1% (yes, that's one-tenth of one percent) of families paid 39.2% of income taxes. In 2015, all but the top 20% of taxpayers paid more in payroll taxes than they owed in Federal income tax, effectively giving the Federal government an interest free loan. Meanwhile, the bottom 20% of taxpayers have the Earned Income Tax Credit, a negative income tax. The government pays them. The thing is, smart rich people don't stuff their money in mattresses. They put it to work. If their money doesn't earn more than the rate of inflation, they've lost money. So they look for ways to maximize returns. Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are the most common methods. This pumps money back into the economy. Lower prices, more companies hiring, and better distribution of goods and services are direct results. In other words, cutting taxes at any level gives people more choices and more economic power. It's not cutting taxes for the rich, it's cutting taxes. If you like, I can show how a progressive tax system locks people into income tiers and suppresses the natural movement up in income.❞❞

Tags: OMB ∙ Wall Street Journal ∙ income tax ∙ Federal government ∙ inflation ∙ competition ∙ progressive tax systems

Headlines that don't merit their own entry

Tags: Bernie Sanders ∙ 2016 election ∙ land deal ∙ Democrat corruption ∙ prison ∙ Seattle ∙ income tax ∙ anal sex ∙ teenagers ∙ Massachusetts ∙ secret car compartments ∙ California ∙ socialism ∙ NYPD ∙ Bill de Blasio ∙ FedGovs ∙ Montana ∙ hemp farm ∙ Connecticut ∙ civil forfeiture ∙ decline of marriage ∙ Las Vegas ∙ RadFem

““Everything not forbidden is compulsory.””
     — T. H. White, The Once and Future King

Once upon a time, the old saying applied. “Everything which is not forbidden is allowed” illustrated the freedom of the English citizen while “Everything which is not allowed is forbidden” applied to English authorities.

Today I want to recognize two societies, the liberty society and the permission society.

The liberty society assumes that people take responsibility for their choices. Unless it harms someone or their property, you are free to do what you choose, when you choose, and how you choose. You choose.

But you are responsible for the consequences.

The permission society forbids people from acting without permission. Or license. Or approval.

Sadly, America has moved well into being a permission society. And our politicos want to move us further.

Your income must be reported under penalty of law. Spend too much, and it is reported. Save too much and it is reported. Take it out in cash and cross state lines and it is confiscated.

You're free to take what drugs you need as long as you have a doctor's permission. Except some drugs can't be legally sold. And some you must sign for because government assumes you might be making other not so legal drugs.

You can buy alcoholic beverages usually. But some states require that you buy from the government. And some wines and beers can't be sold across state lines.

You can buy insurance if your state government has approved the policy in advance. Don't like what's offered in your state? Sorry, you don't have permission to buy anything else.

You can carry a gun or not as your state decides. You might or might not need a license. You might or might not be able to carry a concealed weapon. Oh, and just because you can do it in your state doesn't mean you can do it in another.

You can start your own business. If you get the proper permits and occupational licensing. And sometimes, if your would be competition doesn't object.

You can rent out your house. If the local hotels and motels don't raise a fuss.

You can use your car to drive people. As long as you don't charge them if you don't have a taxi medallion.

How is this freedom?

Where is the harm?

Why do you stand for this?

Tags: forbidden ∙ allowed ∙ liberty society ∙ permission society ∙ responsibility ∙ consequences ∙ income tax ∙ cash ∙ drugs ∙ doctor's permission ∙ alcohol ∙ beer ∙ wine ∙ state lines ∙ insurance ∙ gun ∙ rent out your house ∙ taxi medallion ∙ ☆

We’re at the point where the American republic may fall.

At this point, I’m honestly not sure it can be saved.

I’m not sure it should be saved.

There are some ideas I have been playing with the last few years or so. I’ve tried to talk these out with people I trust. And now I am putting them here. All are Constitutional amendments.

Remember that the Constitution was designed to restrain the actions of government, not citizens. Remember too that many of the checks and balances have been removed over the years. And finally, the Federal government was never intended to run smoothly and efficiently. The checks and balances were designed to protect freedom.

Liberty is the goal, not democracy.

• Repeal the 16th Amendment

The income tax is one of the biggest threats to freedom ever enacted. With it, the Federal government assumes you are guilty unless you can prove that you are not. This is a complete reversal of the rule of law prior to the amendment.

With the 16th, the Federal government is not restrained by the need for a warrant. Your employer, your bank, any financial company that you do business with, all are required by law to report transactions over a specific amount or any “suspicious activity.” There are “rewards” if other citizens turn you in. Effectively, everyone around you is required to spy on you and penalized if they do not.

Tax cases are heard in an administrative court run by the Internal Revenue Service with it’s own rules of evidence. Your money and property can be seized and the only way you can get it back (less interest) is to prove that the IRS is wrong by it’s own regulations. Regulations that are so complex that it is literally beyond the ability of any one person to understand.

The “progressive” tax system is designed to foster envy and “class” disruption. The income tax is one of the most despised Federal laws in American history. The only thing that keeps Americans from hanging IRS agents is that citizens think the “system” hits someone else worse. It fosters scapegoats so it seems “fair.”

An income tax system inevitably leads to political corruption. Unpopular groups find themselves under extra scrutiny. Politicos use it to keep their enemies and rivals in line.

There are technicalities that I could spend pages and pages examining. For example, if there is a “standard deduction,” then by definition taxes are too high.

The income tax took away your freedom. You have to acknowledge this every year by signing a Federal form. Under penalty of law.

• Repeal the 17th Amendment

Brought to you by the same merry madcaps who gave us the 16th, the 17th Amendment reduces freedom in the name of popular democracy. The 17th has made Senators political bosses in their own states, with control of the Federal money spigot and a guaranteed spot high up in the political parties.

The popular election of Senators took away some of the oversight the state legislatures were supposed to have on Congress. But since Senators no longer answer to their state legislature, they have become tools of their party.

This does not serve freedom.

This part of popular democracy destroys freedom. It’s an illusion designed to expand the major political parties while fooling the voter into thinking that they have influence.

There’s a place for popular democracy, but not unrestrained popular democracy. The Bill of Rights is the best example.

• None of the Above and Alternative Voting

Every election should have a None of the Above choice. If NOTA won, then those candidates on the ballot would be barred from serving in that office for that term.

One choice that people should always have is the choice to walk away.

We should never assume that the default is to elect someone. Especially if the voters aren’t picking who gets to run.

Alternative voting just means ranking the candidates in order of your favorites. The biggest advantage is that the minority candidates have a better chance of being elected and major parties are forced to pay closer attention to all the voters. Instead of voting against a bad candidate, voters could choose someone closer to their beliefs and priorities.

• Laws and Regulations

As things stand now, there will always be more laws and regulations unless Congress takes direct action. Think about that carefully.

The default state of the American Federal government is more government.

That is not freedom.

I suggest a three pronged attack.

First, ALL government regulations would sunset within three years unless made law by Congress and the President.

Second, state legislatures would approve Federal regulation before it applies in that state. This approval could be withdrawn at any time. Congress has the power and authority to pass laws for the nation, but it can’t delegate that power. Every single Federal regulation that governs individuals and states is unconstitutional.

This would reduce Federal regulation to it’s proper scope and shift coercive power away from millions of unelected technocrats.

I know this seems excessive, but it is actually well within Constitutional principles. There’s nothing in the Constitution that provides for regulatory agencies except the much abused and overused commerce clause. Certainly there is nothing that provides for administrative court systems outside the Federal courts.

Third, each state legislature could choose one Federal law annually for referendum at the next Congressional election. Each Congressional election, there could be up to 100 Federal laws on the ballot. And if a law does not get a national majority voting to retain it, it would be gone.

Practically, this would effectively be automatic repeal. Unless it was a very good idea, I can’t see a majority voting to keep a law. But the possibility is there. The automatic repeal means that Congress would have to convince voters of the worth of each and every law. And if the state legislatures are canny, one carefully chosen law could defang dozens of others.

In other words, this proposal gives the states direct oversight of Congress.

There are other things that I would love to see done. But these four would do wonders. I welcome your comments and ideas.

Tags: American republic ∙ repeal ∙ amendment ∙ technocrats ∙ Constitution ∙ President ∙ amendment proposal ∙ referendum ∙ 16th Amendment ∙ income tax ∙ IRS ∙ 17th Amendment ∙ Senate ∙ none of the above ∙ alternative voting ∙ Congress ∙ more government ∙ Federal regulation ∙ default state ∙ sunset clause ∙ exempt ∙ automatic repeal ∙ commerce clause ∙ Republic ∙ classic ∙ favorites

Not all feminists & not all lesbians

Tags: libertarian ∙ immigrants ∙ Mexico ∙ War on Drugs ∙ commenting ∙ armed toops ∙ amnesty ∙ E-Verify ∙ income tax ∙ welfare ∙ Detroit ∙ employer ∙ California

Keep law simple and absolute.

Tags: Official Authorities® ∙ for your own good ∙ uniform rule of law ∙ deductions ∙ waivers ∙ progressive rates ∙ abatements ∙ incentives ∙ special recognition ∙ government grants ∙ government funding ∙ private enterprise ∙ special rights ∙ bad law ∙ progressive ∙ income tax ∙ exceptions ∙ legislators ∙ campaign contributions ∙ non-profit foundations ∙ charity ∙ ☆

Nothing to do with morality and everything to do with vote pandering

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ classic ∙ Prohibition ∙ Great Depression ∙ income tax ∙ skimmed ∙ War on Drugs ∙ taxes

Does the secret Downing Street memo really tell us anything new?

Tags: Original Vigil ∙ George W. Bush ∙ Bill Clinton ∙ presumed guilty ∙ classic ∙ nothing to fear ∙ favorites ∙ income tax