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Plans Afoot to Shift Taxes from Wealthy to the Poor!
According to an article in the Washington Post, the Bush Regime is working on ways to justify shifting the tax burden away from the wealthy to the poor and middling class. Suggestions provided for regime change in the US and what they can do with their taxes!
Provocative discussions are underway within the Bush Regime
about shifting some of the heavy tax burdens from the richest
Americans to the poor and middle-class. It is argued that
Social Security taxes are not really taxes and that poor people
don't care about tax cuts or the cost of an exploding budget
deficit because they don't pay spit anyway.
Read this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59577-2002Dec15.html
The Bush Regime and its puppet masters are either cynically
disingenuous or they are out of touch with what people really
think. People I communicate with are quite unhappy about the
U.S. spending $500 billion a year or more on the military,
and that is just one boondoggle.
They don't take into account the sales tax of 7 percent,
which is taken from after-tax paycheck earnings, and is
therefore compounded -- really equal to about 9.3 percent
or more of gross pay! Add in the hidden taxes such as
user fees and gas, utility, phone taxes next. Then figure
your property taxes. You pay those even if you rent, you
just don't see them. All in all, many poor or low-middle
class people may not ever see a doctor unless they are
nearly dead or dying.
So yes, we do care about the cost of government and
the amount of taxes we pay. Maybe we think the government
is building too many prisons to hold non-violent drug
users. Maybe we think the Senate shouldn't automatically
get pay raises every year. Maybe we don't want to pay
for military imperialism that only makes the world a
worse place for everyone!
* * *
By the way, here is something you can do to help bring
about political regime change in the US: stop generating
taxes as much as possible, and in particular, stop
spending money, which also generates sales taxes and
mostly goes to the corporations which are bribing the
government and corrupting democracy! However, this
advice to be frugal and to boycott US as much as possible
does not mean to go naked, to starve or to not own a
computer! It is wise to invest in people, to invest
in yourself and in knowledge and skills.
One investment that may be wise is to purchase a
new computer -- now! They are dirt cheap right now.
This is definitely the right time!
Here's why: if you buy a fast new cheap computer
with 256MB memory and maybe 6GB hard drive space,
even on a Windows machine you will be able to
download tons of free, open source software. In
a sense, making a small investment in hardware
will enable you to then participate in the
Revolution and avoid spending money in the future.
Free software that works with Windows XP:
Internet Browser and Email -- http://www.mozilla.org
Open Office -- http://www.openoffice.org
Database -- http://www.mysql.com
Data Security -- http://www.pgpi.com
And for learning programming, free(!!!):
Perl Language -- http://www.perl.com
Java Language -- http://www.java.sun.com
For the intrepid, willing to invest more time
learning, consider a free alternative to
Windows: http://www.linux.org
So consider investing some time and saving money
and taxes!
There are plenty of people willing to assist you,
an entire community of people!
Remember: Money and hypocrisy are the great
lubricants of political and social intercourse!
Therefore, keep your wallet shut, your ears
open and your hands busy!
Viva La Revolucion!
about shifting some of the heavy tax burdens from the richest
Americans to the poor and middle-class. It is argued that
Social Security taxes are not really taxes and that poor people
don't care about tax cuts or the cost of an exploding budget
deficit because they don't pay spit anyway.
Read this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59577-2002Dec15.html
The Bush Regime and its puppet masters are either cynically
disingenuous or they are out of touch with what people really
think. People I communicate with are quite unhappy about the
U.S. spending $500 billion a year or more on the military,
and that is just one boondoggle.
They don't take into account the sales tax of 7 percent,
which is taken from after-tax paycheck earnings, and is
therefore compounded -- really equal to about 9.3 percent
or more of gross pay! Add in the hidden taxes such as
user fees and gas, utility, phone taxes next. Then figure
your property taxes. You pay those even if you rent, you
just don't see them. All in all, many poor or low-middle
class people may not ever see a doctor unless they are
nearly dead or dying.
So yes, we do care about the cost of government and
the amount of taxes we pay. Maybe we think the government
is building too many prisons to hold non-violent drug
users. Maybe we think the Senate shouldn't automatically
get pay raises every year. Maybe we don't want to pay
for military imperialism that only makes the world a
worse place for everyone!
* * *
By the way, here is something you can do to help bring
about political regime change in the US: stop generating
taxes as much as possible, and in particular, stop
spending money, which also generates sales taxes and
mostly goes to the corporations which are bribing the
government and corrupting democracy! However, this
advice to be frugal and to boycott US as much as possible
does not mean to go naked, to starve or to not own a
computer! It is wise to invest in people, to invest
in yourself and in knowledge and skills.
One investment that may be wise is to purchase a
new computer -- now! They are dirt cheap right now.
This is definitely the right time!
Here's why: if you buy a fast new cheap computer
with 256MB memory and maybe 6GB hard drive space,
even on a Windows machine you will be able to
download tons of free, open source software. In
a sense, making a small investment in hardware
will enable you to then participate in the
Revolution and avoid spending money in the future.
Free software that works with Windows XP:
Internet Browser and Email -- http://www.mozilla.org
Open Office -- http://www.openoffice.org
Database -- http://www.mysql.com
Data Security -- http://www.pgpi.com
And for learning programming, free(!!!):
Perl Language -- http://www.perl.com
Java Language -- http://www.java.sun.com
For the intrepid, willing to invest more time
learning, consider a free alternative to
Windows: http://www.linux.org
So consider investing some time and saving money
and taxes!
There are plenty of people willing to assist you,
an entire community of people!
Remember: Money and hypocrisy are the great
lubricants of political and social intercourse!
Therefore, keep your wallet shut, your ears
open and your hands busy!
Viva La Revolucion!
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But say that the externally forced depression occurs anyway due to these autocrats foolishly deciding to get rid of vestigial social programs such as social security, or they cancel medicare and just wheel the elderly out in the woods to die (an east german once accused me, as an american, of this) or, they follow up on this stupid idea and decide to impose these taxes, forgetting that the working class already pays much more in social security taxes and state and local taxes than the rich, and forgetting that so many people who work for a living already can't make ends meet so they are maxxed out on credit cards to pay rent (right now, the economy is buoyed by people spending $1.22 for each dollar that is earned). These conservative rulers will have forgotten that these weak social programs are what keeps their regime from being toppled.
The reason that people continue to pay taxes is first a natural sort of honesty and accountability to their peers- if there is a perception that everyone pays taxes, you would feel like a cheater for not paying.
However, if there is a perception, fueled by Bush's defunding of the IRS's enforcement unit, that lots of people cheat, then people will fill like suckers for paying. Perhaps this should be encouraged.
The US is well on its way to becoming a big empire nation. Historically, every empire has collapsed because they become bulky and too expensive to maintain compared to the increased booty that is brought in from the colonized nations. Compounded by the fact that Bush is practically encouraging corporations that benefit from the empire to move to offshore havens in the Bahamas where they don't pay taxes etc. it seems pretty clear that the way to make the united States a regular nation-state rather than an empire is to starve it- a goal we are halfway to achieving.
There are many ways to avoid paying Federal taxes to fund the military budget (it's fascinating that those conservatives like Lawrence Lindsey keep acting like federal taxes all go to 'welfare')- although it's most difficult if you are a regular employee at a middle income job where your wages are withheld. Here is a guide: http://www.nacc.info/wtr-fly.htm
I am not enthusiastic about 'War Tax Resistance' . For one thing, a citizen claiming to be performing an act of civil disobedience is likely to be mocked as simply a tax cheat. The whole topic is fraught with difficulties because money is fungible, and reasonable defensive capabilities are generally agreed upon as a) within the domain of the Federal Government, and b) prudent.
For the record, I advocate paying 100.00% of all taxes owed. I just advocate generating less tax revenues and obligations.
I appreciate the feedback. But reducing spending seems to me to be solid and good as a political statement. After all, if our votes don't count or just go to the lesser of two outrageous evils, then we have the right to vote with our dollars. And even those who disagree with us must admit that right, especially because it is totally non-violent. Like Gandhi.
I was recently shocked to learn that many companies that I thought were 'good-doers' were in actuality spending vast sums to bribe politicians (they call it political donations). While a company may need to work the corrupt system in order to get their position heard by the criminal enterprises we know as Congress and the Executive Branch, the result of donating these vast sums of money by the large mass of corporations is to drown out the voice of the people -- and to help maintain a corrupt political system that just finished passing laws to gut the Constitution (USA PATRIOT Act and Homeland Security.) I don't like that one bit.
There are many ways to spend money, and One Dollar = One Vote according to my theory.
Not spending money at large corporations is just one idea. There are many others. Some positive, such as buying at local businesses and some negative, such as not driving so much.
Plus, if money controls politics then it may be wise and advantageous for 'the Opposition' to accumulate as much of the stuff as possible.
Peace, and Merry New Year!