Take a minute to read this wunderkind’s idea.  And we wonder why we’re in trouble.  Geeez.

I own a company myself and while my income is far less than Mr. Hastings, I would NEVER offer more of it to the federal government…never.  Instead, if he’s so caring about the less fortunate in the country and wants to “invest” into it via tax policy, perhaps he should reconsider and provide half of his salary to people in his company…even if he already has a program, he can always add more to it.  Or how about a local charity or abused women’s shelter or….you get the point.

We’re cancelling our membership to Netflix today and every reader who follows this column should do the same.  Mr. Hastings does not deserve mine nor your support with nonsense like this.  Perhaps I’ll start a taxflix company and you can rent movies from me and I’ll pledge to give my whole salary back to the people working for me, not the silliness of giving it to the least efficient most powerful entity like the federal government.

Just goes to show you that business success doesn’t always require a lot of common sense.

Unbelievable

For those of you watching and paying attention to some of the opposition to this freedom hindering stimulus bill, Governor Sanford has been an out spoken opponent.

Today, while being interviewed by John King onCNN, Sanford stood against the tide of liberalism and spoke eloquently about the need to “get this over”, not prolong it with band-aid solutions.  Gov. Sanford has been a silver lining of this whole debate as it finally seems we have a articulate spokesperson for the principled conservative viewpoint.  He’s not going to be easily demonized by the left.

So, do we finally have a conservative man of the moment?  Time will tell.  Let’s see what he does after the President Obama rams this stimulus package through.  Will he take the billions?

***Update, another reason not to put our hope in a personality or person.  I hope he does the right thing and step down and fix his marriage.  This stuff amazes me.

Unbelievable

Swallow hard everyone, this pile of pork is gonna get rammed through soon…very soon.

Obama and supporter in the House and Senate are poised to saddle my children and your children with another $900 BILLION in debt.  That’s right another $900 BILLION in debt and there is precious little we can do to stop it.

While not a fan of the Republican party, nevertheless, we owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to them in the House for standing firm but already there is a move afoot in the Senate to give Obama the cover he needs.  Lindsey Graham is laying the groundwork with this doosey “I’m asking the president not to start over from scratch, but to get people in a room” to work out a compromise.”  Good ole’ Lindsey, compromiser extraordinaire!

Listen folks, you’d better get ready for greater government control or be prepared to fight it…I really think these are the choices we’re left with.  After yesterdays symbolic gesture of capping executive pay, it’s only a matter of time before Obama tries to shame everyone who makes over $100,000.  This will be demagoguery at its worst, but that won’t stop him, Reid or Pelosi.  They have a target in view and they’re steering hard at it.  I’m not sure we can stop it.

Stay tuned; write DeMint and Sanford as they appear to be the point men on opposing this.  Don’t let them flail in the wind on this.

Unbelievable

chiv·al·ry   (sh·v’·l-ry)  
n.   pl. chiv·al·ries

1. The medieval system, principles, and customs of knighthood.
2. The qualities idealized by knighthood, such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women.
3. A manifestation of any of these qualities.
4. A group of knights or gallant gentlemen.

I’m coining a new phrase today; Economic Chivalry.  Combining economic and chivalry, I come up with this:

ec·o·nom·ic chiv·al·ry  - pertaining to the production, distribution, and use of income, wealth, and commodities in a manner that idealizes knighthood qualities such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry.

Going…going..GONE.  Honestly, is there anything brave, courteous, honorable, or gallant about what is going to be done to our children and grandchildren in the next few months.  And in case you’re not paying attention, we’re about to saddle them with TRILLIONS and TRILLIONS and TRILLIONSof dollars of debt so that we can have a pretend recovery.

I used to call my parents generation the “worst generation”, after all, they were the one’s who swallowed hook, line and sinker the promises of FDR’s “New Deal” and LBJ’s “Great Society” programs.  Throughout the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, they bought into the ponzi scheme called social security and medicare and demanded more more more.  They never gave a thought that the more, more, more was going to come out of their children’s, children’s, children’s pockets.  Well, I think my generation, the proverbial “baby boom” generation is, shall we say,…the worser generation.  Why?  Because we’re about to do whatever we need to do to avoid paying the piper.  The bill has come due, and we expect our children to pay for it by borrowing now and making them pay later.  After all, borrowing is the American way isn’t it.

Have we no shame, no conscience or are our heads really buried that far into the sand.  Sadly, the latter may be more accurate than the former if you interview any typical Obama supporter.  When I hear our big-government leaders use terms like “invest”, or “enhance”, or my favorite “put a down-payment on the future”, I cringe. 

So, what are we to do?

The Election Turn-Over Solution.  Many believe this is just the typical back and forth between election cycles, the demshave it for a while and then the republicans have it back for a while.  People who believe this say things like “you just wait til 2010 when we get the Congress back”  or “they’re gonna over-reach and then…fill in the blank.”  Little history folks; guess who ran the House from 1954-1995 (a short 41 YEARS!).  Hint, the democrats.  During the same period, 1954-1995, the democrats held the Senate 80.95% of the time, often with very and I mean VERY wide margins.  So, for republicans who think it’s just a given to “get the Congress back” when the democrats crank up the treasury printing presses, you’d better think again.  The republican party may be back in the wilderness for decades, quite honestly, they deserve it.  Personally, I don’t think they’re going to get the House back anytime soon and the Senate looks just a daunting.  Why?  Let’s just say there is a little less than inspiring leadership at the helm right now.

The Shift the Chairs on the Titanic solution.  This is one of my favorites.  Let’s just see if we can slow down the growth of spending by offering republican solutions.  Maybe, we can blunt the effects of the Obama revolution.  Of course, this is predicated on the belief that democrats play fair.  Another hint…they don’t.  Having worked on the Hill during Reagan’s term and being quite familiar with the sausage making legislation process under the eminently fair minded Jim Wright and Tom Foley, let me assure you, democrats have no stomach for fairness.  None.  Just look at what Speaker Pelosi did withthe House rules last week.  Essentially, republicans have just been sent packing and will have little if any influence on any legislation going forward.  The best they can hope for is to align with some “blue dog” democrats to alter the newest “New Deal” being proposed.  I know what it’s like in the wilderness…it ain’t fun.

The See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil Solution.  This is the scariest and one that I believe has really taken hold.  You hear it in phrases like “we have to hope Obama succeeds” or “give him a break, we don’t even know what he’s going to do yet.”  WHAT!!!  This one amazes me and really shows how much the concept of “tolerance” has deadened us.  Hope he succeeds!?  What the heck does “succeed” mean, total government control, nationalized health care, nationalized industry?  Look folks, we’re in a cultural and ideological war right now, let me emphasize the term war as in both sides are supposed to fight.  Trouble is, it appears as though the conservatives have no stomach for it and instead see no evil, hear no evil nor speak no evil.  And so, the Frog in the Kettle parable is in full affect right now.  The liberals have incrementally been turning up the heat on free markets, liberty, morality and transcendent truth for decades and the right, expressing itself though the republican party is no longer welcome there.  The water is very very hot now and conservatism is teetering, especially if we’re all going to hold hands and chant “Obama succeed, Obama succeed.”

The Constitutional States Rights Solution.  While most are sitting around the campfire chanting “Obama succeed, Obama succeed”, there are some rumblings of a States Rights solution, after all, the Constitution grants far and wide authority to the States and little and enumerated rights to the federal government.  Some are beginning to wonder aloud whether the States should reign in federal power or break their compact with it.  Lest you think I jest, just last February, as we awaited the Heller decision from the Supreme Court, the Secretary of State of Montana warned that they might secede if the Court took away an individual right to bear arms.  Others are testing with waters with ideas like “so do states have the right to seceede anymore.”  I doubt very much if this talk will decline any, in fact, it’s very likely to increase as more and more heavy-handed policy flows from Washington DC.  There are many who are weary of Washington DC dictating how people should live and robbing them of their earnings.

My Solution.  Some national stature leader will rise and state the obvious, America is broken and quite likely broken beyond repair.  What started out as a grand experiment has devolved into gaining and holding power.  The Constitution is no longer sacred and the 5th, 9th and 10th Amendments have little real bearing on federal policy.  American idealism, the now ancient idea of inalienable rights, hard work, trust, and honesty are all but gone in our march towards a HUGE centralized government where we look to DC to meet our every need.  In my view, the ideological divide is too big to repair and the citizenry and states must exercise their Constitutional prerogative and force a Constitutional Convention limited to a review of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.   We must recognize the obvious, we are not a united country any longer and we have two completely separate interpretations of this section.  There are two distinct sides now and we don’t want to get to a point where we’re itching for a fight…believe me, we don’t.  And do we really want to be at a point where whomever holds power (whether democrat or republican) in Washington DC gets to force their will upon those who don’t want to receive it?  I don’t.

So, while economic chivarly is all but gone, it’s not too late to fix the problem.  I personally don’t want to force my children and grandchildren to pay a debt that my generation wracked up on them.  Do you?

Real Change, Restore America, The Economy, Unbelievable

Well, the President’s blank slate is beginning to fill in, and it ain’t pretty.

“At this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe,”

ONLY GOVERNMENT!  You gotta be kidding me.  Hold on folks, we’re in for a very bumpy ride and quite honestly, I’m not sure we can stop any of this.  Why?  We’ve got what boils down to lapdog leadership in the House and Senate; more than willing to roll over in order to make sure President Obama succeeds.  We’ve got a very disorganized conservative movement still gummed up by our relationship to the republican party.  We’re faced with an overwhelmingly liberal government.  Look out below!!!

So, what do we do, complain, complain, complain?  Not me.

The battle lines will be drawn very quickly folks:

• Health care
• Tax increases
• Gun control
• Whatever other freedom or right they choose to take away.

To fight back, it’s gonna take sacrifice; sacrifice of time and money.  If we don’t meet the liberals forceful attempt to enslave us to a HUGE Centralized Government with equal force for liberty, it’s all over but the crying.  Rush recently stated the obvious; “they get health-care and it’s over.”  He couldn’t be more correct and based on reports over the last few days, this will be our first battle out of the gate.

The Economy, Unbelievable

Here’s the real problem, a real frog-in-the-kettle dilemma; most people embrace a belief that the government is good (benevolent) or at worst, innocuous.  How far from the truth they are.

• Benevolent: benevolence - an inclination to do kind or charitable acts
• Innocuous: Harmless; producing no ill effect; innocent; Inoffensive; unprovocative; not exceptional.

Are these the terms we should use when describing the federal government?  Certainly our Founding Fathers would not have thought of a centralized government in those terms, but how things change in a short 200+ years.  We’ve now almost completely lost any apprehension or healthy fear of the federal government and boy are we suffering from it.  In fact, most of us look to Washington DC for direction or help in time of need.  Call me Pollyannaish, call me gloom and doom, but I cannot ignore the facts that are in front of me.  Perhaps others want to bury their heads in the sand and hope everything gets better, but not me.  I don’t like getting cold-cocked or sucker punched!  No, we’ve got a mess on our hands and it’s tenuous at best to think we can turn it around.  And believe me, the worst is yet to come; we’re just in the very early stages of this.  Why?

Well, to begin with, we’ve grown complacent and comfortable with the idea of federal government involvement in every facet of our lives.  How often in the past 2 months have you heard the phrase “it will take a while for Obama to turn the economy around?”?  Just this morning I heard Professor Larry Sabato state that very thing as he talked about tamping down expectations for the Obama administration.  Did you catch the problem with that phrase; whether you’re a conservative, liberal or “moderate”?

Since when is it the responsibility of Obama or for that matter any politician to “turn the economy around”?  Do you see how far we’ve fallen?  Even as conservatives, we use the same terminology as the liberals and all our terminology points in the wrong direction…Washington DC.  Washington is, has been, and always will be the problem and until that changes, we’ll just stay frogs in the kettle.

So, step one for everyone reading this blog…stop thinking of the federal government as “benevolent” or even “innocuous” no matter whom is in charge.  Let me repeat; NO MATTER WHOM IS IN CHARGE.  

A new paradigm is needed by all of us who call ourselves conservative.  The federal government is neither benevolent nor innocuous, it’s predatory and harmful.  Because its gravitational trajectory is always towards expansion, interference, and control, it is a direct assault and affront to all things free.  Sadly, since the 1930’s, the government has encroached so much and so often that we’re hardly even aware of it anymore and we have become the generation of big government.  Instead of a healthy fear of Washington DC and a Constitutional corralling of its powers, we’ve grown to fear it. 

• Business owners - ever fear a tax audit, or an EEOC or OSHA audit?
• Home owners - Ever get a letter from the IRS, or want to add an addition to your home or build a pool near a wetland, feel uncomfortable telling the federal government how many guns you own?
• Employees - Are you afraid of talking about your religion at work, passed over for a promotion because of your race or gender?
• Dads and moms - Worried about the Department of Education interfering with your desire to home school, or odd looks from your pediatrician about guns in your home?

Now, before I’m accused of being an anarchist, let me put your minds at ease, I’m not.  If fact, I see a real need for government in our lives.  Simply hoping for the good will of our fellow man is both naive and dangerous.  That said, I’m much more inclined to support our Founders concept of government rather than what we have right now.  So, if I could wave my magic wand and change everything, I’d viciously slash the size of the federal government, perhaps by 75% and transfer the power and responsibilities to a very robust state government.  I would only allow the federal government the power to operate within the enumerated powers given to it by the United States Constitution and take everything else away.  This is in keeping with James Madison, the Father of our Constitution, in the Federalist Papers #45:

“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected.”

Thus, in my world, the federal government has the following responsibilities:

• 1. Develop and manage treaties.
• 2. Provide for the security of the states.
• 3. Put down armed insurrections.
• 4. Provide for interstate commerce.
• 5. Create a national currency.
• 6. That’s about it.

Everything else falls under Madison’s numerous and indefinite.  Now, understandably, this doesn’t sound too appealing to anyone running for national office, but isn’t that the point.  Didn’t the Founders want the source of power over people to be close to them, in the towns, communities, cities and states, not halfway across the country?  Didn’t the Founders understand that the one-size fits all approach to national legislation would just eventually lead to factions?  In their common sense approach to governance, the Founders realized that having power reside to close to you, perhaps in you neighborhood, would give you the ability to influence in ways you cannot today.  Ever try to speak to your Representative or Senator?  Never mind the President or Supreme Court Justice, not gonna happen.  You’re just an “underling” to them; a tool to remain in power.

Little secret, when you get a letter signed by your Member of Congress, guess what, he/she didn’t write it, I did as a legislative assistant.  In fact, he/she probably never even saw your letter unless you were a big contributor to their campaign or were a big player in their congressional district or state.  Another little secret, most have no idea how to vote when legislation comes to the floor and end up asking their staff how to vote.  And forget about voting in their committee, most of the time they give their proxy to the Chairman or the Ranking Member which means they’re not even there to vote.  It’s laughable what the average American thinks really happens up there by these “statesmen”.  Most spend their day with lobbyists or special interest leaders.  Some meet with their constituents occasionally throughout the day, most are rarely in their offices.  Someday, I’ll write an entire post about how legislation really happens in DC, but suffice it to say, that wasn’t the Founders intent.

In the end, we’ve made rock stars out of these politicians on Capitol Hill and we give them, through our lack of civic knowledge, all the tools they need to rule the citizenry.  How sad; what was once a great idea, self governance, has turned back into another monarchy, just this time there’s a bunch of little “kings.”

Must Read, Unbelievable

America is on the verge and it’s no joking matter.  This financial tsunami just off shore has been building for decades and is about to come crashing on beaches across the country.  Sadly, there really isn’t much we can do to stop it though one thing is for sure, even if we could, we’re not even close to the real solution.  Until someone is willing to take a stand against the tyranny that awaits us, things are just going to decline fast…real fast.

Why so gloom and doom you ask?  Well, almost everyone offering a solution is missing the real problem and in reality are just offering solutions that move the chairs around on the Titanic.  The problem is the size and reach of the federal government and republicans, like the democrats just want to control it, not shrink it.  Name a leader of national stature that has called for an ending to some agency or department…stop trying, you won’t be able to and this is why I’m gloom and doom.

In the end, it does us no good to debate republicans vs. democrats, there’s not a whole lot of difference; both platforms are predicated on a massive federal government and we end up just fighting over who controls the largess.  For that matter, our beloved Ronald Reagan wasn’t even able to shut down the Department of Education he promised he would once he assumed office.

We’re in the grips of a tremendous frog-in-the-kettle moment and unless someone with national stature is willing to call for radical change and then be able to articulate why, we’re headed for turbulent water.  Eventually, we’ll either devolve into a completely socialist state or the country will violently break apart.   The current trajectory is unsustainable.  Why?

• We have a current federal debt of 10+ Trillion Dollars - how’s that going to be paid?
• We have proposed federal deficits in the next couple of years adding up to another few trillion dollars - how’s that going to be paid for?
• We have Medicare and Social Security unfunded liabilities totalling potentially $54 Trillion Dollars - where’s that money gonna come from?

It’s going to be paid for by jacking the average hard-working slug on the street, that’s how.  But the dirty little secret is; it won’t work.  When they kill incentive for me to grow my business by taking more and more of my hard-earned money, guess what I’m going to do…slow down.  Why bust my rear-end, take risks, put up with more and more regulatory burden only to have the federal government slip their fingers into my wallet and slip out a few bucks while whispering into my ear that they’re just trying to “spread the wealth around”.  What arrogance.

It’s time people began to realize that the “government” is not just some innocuous entity.  It only exists in its current form because it can exercise the power of law over us to take our money that we’ve worked hard for.  The “government” produces nothing, has no bottom line, is accountable to no one, and contributes nothing to our GDP yet accounts for roughly 20% of the spending that occurs in our country.  In the end, our federal government only takes, takes takes.  Currently, it’s “taking” at a rate of $22,100 of your hard earned dollars not including state and local taxes and every other type of tax you pay.  Disgustingly, it can take more any time it likes and there’s really nothing you can do about it.  Feel a little helpless!  Let me pile on with some other data about taxes you pay.

Folks, the Founders of this great land gave us a great start and we plain ole’ messed it up, we’re all guilty.  But before we can resurrect the gift of freedom, we must first take an honest inventory of how far we’ve strayed, and believe me, it’s far.  And unless we’ve all become beholden to the “living Constitution” crowd, we’ve got to go back to the origins of this mess; Hoover and FDR.  Hoover and bad leadership and FDR and mischievous leadership.  Historians in some camps are coming around to Smoot-Hawley as the cause of the gigantic downturn in the economy; Hoover’s fault.  After this downturn, the stage was set for FDR to come in with his Stalin infatuated “brain trust” and massively increase federal spending under the guise of “helping”.   Would people have suffered more had the republicans in the 30’s had more courage and stopped FDR?  No one will ever know.  But one thing we know for sure is that since FDR’s administration, trillions of dollars of productive energy and effort have been sucked out of our country, gone forever.

So, a new compact is needed.  The working men and women of this country must reassert themselves in these final hours.  We must deprive the federal government of all that is needed for its survival…money.  Regardless of the reason, wisdom alone should lead you to severely restrict spending.  The side benefit to this is that If you do, you will deprive the state and federal government tax revenue.  Drive less - you will deprive them of tax revenue.  Take every single tax deduction you can to reduce the amount they can withhold.  If you own a business, talk to your accountant about taking as much of your income as allowed as a dividend - depriving Social Security and Medicare of revenue.  Any other legal ideas?  If so, post them to comments section.

In the end, politicians know one thing…power.  They only have power because the have the money to sustain power.  For me personally, I’d rather deprive myself of things I’d like to purchase rather than let the, less than honorable on Capitol Hill deprive me of it by prying it out of my wallet.  They may be able to, by force of law, compel me to give them money, but they can’t by force of law make me spend money or work any more than I need to.  Want to really bring them to their knees, participate in a long work stoppage.  These may seem like surreal ideas, but really they’re not.  There was a time not too long ago when a few brave freedom loving citizens decided to protest against the heavy hand of King George…you know the rest. 

These politicians on the Hill are not worthy of being called “Statesman”, they’re not.  They’re power-hungry elitists who would throw you in jail in a minute if you oppose their rule.  Read some of the debate during the Taxpayer Act of 1943 for a real feel of what they think of you. 

The Economy, Unbelievable

“Hey Mac, go heavy on the mayo, mustard and ketchup but hold the pickles” we tell the local NY hot dog vendor.  So are we treated to a modern version of this from our talking heads and think-tank experts “hey Mac, go heavy on the tinkering, pontificating and ranting…but hold the solutions.”

We’re a full month and a half into President-Elect Obama’s reign and to no surprise, its a pretty ugly picture; as Mark Steyn puts it: “We’re in the fast lane to Bailoutistan.”  As usual, Steyn’s use of sarcasm is dead-on; but, so is Rush, Glenn, the guys at National Review and every other self proclaimed conservative General.  But let’s be real guys, the problem isn’t that hard to see.  We’re all aware that we’ve got a DEFCON 1 threat of full-blown HUGE Centralized Government at our doorstep and just recounting how terrible things are going to get, absent solutions is, well, frankly just discouraging. 

Sadly, our generals seem to be content with incessant analysis and what if scenarios, couching it in optimism endemic to conservatives.  Yet, is there really reason to be optimistic about our future as General Beck recently assured us on his Wednesday broadcast?  Or, should we adopt General Gingrich’s strategy and not try to link Obama with the sludge that continues to drip out of Chicago politics; “The RNC should pull the ad down immediately.”  Or how about General Limbaugh’s constant reminder that elections have consequences.  No offense Rush, all 57 million of us are painfully aware of that.

Where are the solutions we conservatives ask?  It’s a bit like being told your son has an incurable disease (which, by the way, my son does), and replying “yes, yes, I understand, thanks for the information”  then getting up and driving to McDonald’s for a cheeseburger!  It’s time for our conservative leaders to stop tinkering, pontificating and ranting and then heading to the Golden Arches for a cheeseburger.  How about some solutions guys; pragmatic, practical and real solutions?

Yes, elections have consequences, but so does leadership.  Our Generals have thrust themselves into the spotlight, whether through elected office, clever radio programs, print, or websites; they asked for this mantle, now it’s time for them to play the part.  And please, stop the rhetoric about “how great America is”, or “our best days are in front of us” pabulum, none of us ground troops are buying it.  Don’t forget, we’re on the front lines here and we’re getting shot at in our homes and workplaces through taxation, regulations and government intrusion and quite honestly guys, the future doesn’t look too bright to us.  On a personal note, I’m going to lose my business if Obama implements one particular plank of his “Change” platform.  This is real to us Rush, Newt, Glenn, et al., not some high-stakes rhetorical gambit akin to moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic.

The only guy I’ve seen with the guts to pose a rational solution with any national stature is Dr. Walter Williams in his article “It’s Time To Part Company.”  At least he’s positing a solution, perhaps not too plausible, but it’s sure as heck a lot more inspiring than the incessant battle cry “our best days are in front of us” we’re treated too from our talking heads and think-tank experts.

In the end, I’m probably just a throwback trying to swim upstream, one who is too idealistic and pollyanish.  Yet, deep in me, I still want to believe there is a place for morality based free-markets and a time where a mans word was his bond.  I want to believe there can be a time where the downtrodden and people down on there luck can find help in the local churches, synagogues and temples…not the government.

Amity Shlaes in her book “The Forgotten Man” describes how the term “forgotten man” came about.   William Graham Sumner wrote about the real forgotten man in an essay in the early part of the 20th century and is a must read because it’s happening again.

Welcome to the 21st century and welcome to your new status as a forgotten man as it appears our Generals are more interested in tinkering, pontificating and ranting than offering solutions.  Enough already!

Must Read, Restore America, Unbelievable

So, how did the federal government become such an albatross that hangs around our neck?  This certainly wasn’t the intent of our Founders; they envisioned a small federal government and a more robust state government.

Answer: In 1943, the Congress in all their wisdom and in cahoots with FDR passed the Tax Payment Act of 1943.  Take a guess what this wonderful piece of legislation did?  This beauty provided the federal government with the power of law to sneak its fingers into your back pocket, lift out your wallet and slip out a few bucks…anytime it wants to.

You see, the Tax Payment Act of 1943 gave the government the power to withhold taxes from your paycheck,

all as a service to you so you wouldn’t have to bother with writing those big checks on March 15^th (that’s when taxes we due back in 1943).  Geeez, thanks for all the help.

Now why is this important?  Well, the sinister government (don’t for a minute think its benevolent) realized that if they could make paying taxes appear to be easy through removing a little bit each check, the average American would grow used to this method and not object to coming increases.  A typical Frog in the Kettle moment in history.

You can imagine what happened after they pulled this one off; the well was wide open and they (legislators) could drink from it til their hearts content.  Want to see this in practice?

Dateline November 11, 2008.  Against a overwhelming tide of opposition from the American public, legislators in both the House and the Senate today passed the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP); a $700 BILLION Taxpayer Bailout of the financial sector.

Taxpayer…hmmm, who’s that.  Oh that’s right it’s us.  So, because of the wonders of legislative sausage making in 1943, they continue to slip their fingers into our pockets and take out a few bucks whenever they need it.  And there’s NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT!  Or is there?

Sure there is.  First, quit talking/complaining and do something:

1. Stop thinking the Congress is a bunch of bums but your congressman is peachy.  Write your congressman and senator and ask them what they think about the Tax Payment Act of 1943.  Hint: they won’t have any idea what you’re talking about and some poor legislative assistant will have to spend an hour researching it.  You will then receive a form letter informing you that your congressman is very interested in your thoughts on this most important issue and then say or commit to nothing.  Send me a copy of any letter you get.
2. If you’re sick of this mess, run for office or help someone run who shares your values on this issue.
3. Help a coalition or organization that opposes this method of legalized theft.

In the end, do something.  Too often, we just sit around and whine about how bad things are…and they are bad.  But unless we do something about it, we deserve what we’ve received.  Imagine what the world would be like if African American’s just sat around and complained about their lack of civil rights?  Rather than sit back and just whine, they actually did something thank heavens.  They had the courage of their convictions and a willingness to act; something I see lacking in the conservative movement.

Are you willing to march on Washington DC?  How about a work stoppage to make sure the government understands their power to do anything rests in the majority of workers actually working?  How about opening your wallet for candidates that have the guts and courage of their convictions but don’t want to play the republican game?

Talk is cheap as they say and actions speak volumes.  Sick of those government fingers in your back pocket yet?

Must Read, The Economy, Unbelievable