The Chairman's Report October 30, 2020

PASSING THE FAIRTAX WILL MAKE POLITICIANS FOCUS ON WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT

On November 3rd, we will be electing the President, the Vice-President and Members of the Senate and the House.  According to OpenSecrets.org, nearly $11 billion will have been spent on this election.

The compensation for most Senators and Representatives is $174,000. The Speaker of the House receives a salary of $223,500.  The President pro tempore of the Senate and the majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate receive a salary of $193,400.  The President receives $400,000 and the Vice-President receives $230,700.
 

On average, $20,484,171 is spent on the Congressional and Presidential races combined.  The majority of that is spent in the Presidential race, but that’s still a huge number.  Note that in Maine and North Carolina, spending on the Senate races alone is higher than the combined average.
Many people contribute money because they strongly believe in a candidate’s positions on the issues.  However, most of the money is coming from contributors who have a more self-serving interest at heart.  They think that they will profit if the side they are contributing to wins.  This has been true since the first contested presidential election in 1796.

UNNECESSARY TAX DEBATE DISTRACTIONS THAT AVOID REAL ISSUES

If you listen to the rhetoric and watch the ads, there is a lot of attention given to the federal tax proposals favored by one side or the other.  Some politicians promise that if we vote for them, they will lower our federal taxes.  Others say that they are going to raise taxes but only on a small group of people and the rest of us will not be affected.

Of course, federal tax policy is important to all of us.  Since we can only support our families with what’s left over after the government extracts its share of our income, we have to be concerned about how big that government share is going to be.

We also know that the income/payroll tax system can be changed at any time.  A business or personal decision that makes sense today can become a terrible decision next year because the rules changed in the middle of the game.

This is what politicians love about the income/payroll tax system.  They don’t have to actually change anything in order to profit.  They can just hint at either offering or taking away a tax break for a special interest, and the money comes flowing in.  Of course, when they do provide a tax break for one group, the rest of us have to make up the difference.

While this may be a great system for the politicians, the Ruling Class and their minions in the Swamp, it’s a horrible deal for the rest of us.  It’s past time that we the people rise up and demand that the income/payroll tax system be replaced by the FAIRtax.

We all know that when the FAIRtax is enacted:
 

While these are huge benefits, there is another benefit—the politicians will have to address issues that are actually important to our very survival.  Most of us agree that our federal government should:
 

Obviously, there can be valid disagreements on how each of the above things should be done.  Isn’t this really what the candidates should be debating?  Isn’t this more important than keeping a terrible and corrupt income/payroll tax system that only benefits the Ruling Class and their minions in Congress and the Swamp?

CONCLUSION

A corrupt regime always tries to get its subjects to focus on other issues and not their corruption.  The Romans did it with games and food for the populace.  Other regimes have used war to mobilize people and distract them.

We have a corrupt regime, the Ruling Class and the Swamp, that is constantly trying to direct our attention away from their corruption.  One of their most effective tools is keeping us focused on our own pocketbooks.  They know that for many people, even a relatively small reduction in their income could be catastrophic.

The income/payroll tax system is the perfect tool with which to keep people worrying about how much of our money the government is going to confiscate.  That tool goes away when the FAIRtax becomes law.

The first step in eliminating corruption is recognizing the corruption.  When people are no longer distracted by threats to their pocketbooks, we will more easily notice what the Swamp and the Ruling Class have been up to and demand a change.

Benjamin Franklin was a significant figure in the success of our battle for independence from England. He also participated in the convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution.  Today, passions are high.  People on both sides of the political spectrum seek to suppress speech that expresses an opposing opinion.

Freedom of speech was one of the primary reasons Franklin and others were willing to risk everything to fight England.  We should remember these words from Franklin:
 

If you have friends who don’t know about the FAIRtax send them to FAIRtax.org.  Have them watch the white boards under “How It Works” and, if they agree, ask them to please join us.

Then contact your Members of Congress and the President and demand that Congress pass -the FAIRtax—the only fair tax.

Remember, if we don't continue to tell the truth and demand a change, then this quote from George Orwell's 1984 may foretell our children's future:

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.”

Is it hopeless?  When confronted with a seemingly impossible problem, remember the statement attributed to the author George Bernard Shaw who wrote, You see things; and you say “Why?”  But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why not?”

Isn’t it time for us to ask, “Why not?”