78k New Jobless Claims SInce Election

It's been a bumper crops of layoff since the re-election of  Obama.  Here's a partial list of companies who have announced  significant layoffs through the beginning of the year.

Bombay - closing remaining stores
Brake Parts – laid off 75 workers
Bristol-Meyers – laid off 480 employees
Cache - will close all stores
Center for Hospice New York – temporarily laid off as many as 40 employees
CVPH Medical Center - handed pink slips to 17 employees
Darden Restaurants – will reduce workers to 28 hours per week to avoid paying for Obamacare
Dillard's - to close some stores
Disney - closing 98 stores and will close more after January
Eddie Bauer - to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Energizer - expects to shed about 1,500 employees

Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Exide Technologies - laying off 150 workers, effective no later than March 31
GAP - closing 85 stores
Hawker Beechcraft – Laid off 240 employees
Home Depot- closing 15 stores 1 in NJ
Hostess - closes 3 bakeries
Husqvarna – laid off 600 employees
JC Penney - closing a number of stores after January
J. Jill - closing all stores
K B Toys - closing 356 stores
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's - to close 150 stores nationwide
Levitz - closing down remaining stores
Lightyear Network Solutions – Laid off more than one dozen employees
Linens and Things - closing all stores
Lowes - to close down 30 stores
Macy's - to close 9 stores after January
Momentive Performance Materials – laid off about 150 workers
Movie Galley Closing all stores
OCE North America – laid off 135 workers
Piercing Pagoda - closing all stores
Providence Journal - Laid off 23 full-time workers
Research in Motion Limited - laid off about 200 people at its U.S. headquarters
Rocketdyne – laid off about 100 employees
Sharper Image- closing down all stores
Sprint/Nextel - closing 133 stores
Talbots & Pacific Sunwear - closing down specialty stores
Texas Instruments - will lay off 1,700 employees (H/T to @Repub9989)United Blood Services Gulf – will lay off 10% of it’s workforce
US Cellular – laid off 980 employees
Vestas Wind Systems – laid off 3,000 staff
Whitehall - closing all stores
West Ridge Mine - Will close down “204 American coal-fired power plants by 2014″
Westinghouse – laid off another 50 employees
Wickes Furniture - closing down all stores
Wilson Leather - closing down all stores
Zales - closing down 82 stores and 105 after January

 I suspect that we can expect this list to grow significantly of the next 45 days.  Stocks are way down, and capital is fleeing  the country in near record amounts as investers seek to sock their few profits into accounts outside the country.  The real tip off will be when the MSM starts to sound the drumbeat of stories on evil rich people hiding their dollars...away from the "great and wise Oz Obama" who only wants them to "pay a little more."

Six Months to Go Until The Largest Tax Hikes in History

By  Ryan Ellis on Wednesday, July 7, 2010 5:27 PM

In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:

 (N.B. This version of the document contains even more tax hikes than the original version did) 

First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

• The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
• The 25% bracket rises to 28%
• The 28% bracket rises to 31%
• The 33% bracket rises to 36%
• The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family. The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

Second Wave: Obamacare

There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:

The Tanning Tax. This went into effect on July 1st of this year. It imposes a new, 10% excise tax on getting a tan at a tanning salon. There is no exemption for tanners making less than $250,000 per year.

The “Medicine Cabinet Tax” Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike. This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Brand Name Drug Tax. Starting next year, there will be a multi-billion dollar tax assessment imposed on name-brand drug manufacturers. This tax, like all excise taxes, will raise the price of medicine, hurting everyone.

Economic Substance Doctrine. The IRS is now empowered to disallow perfectly-legal tax deductions and maneuvers merely because it judges that the deduction or action lacks “economic substance.” This is obviously an arbitrary empowerment of IRS agents.

Employer Reporting of Health Insurance Costs on a W-2. This will start for W-2s in the 2011 tax year. While not a tax increase in itself, it makes it very easy for Congress to tax employer-provided healthcare benefits later.

Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired. These major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be “depreciated.”

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.” This ability will no longer be there.

The National Tax System Is Failing

Falling tax revenues, sharply rising costs of Social Security, Medicaid, as well as the impending huge increase in federal spending for ObamaCare, the present recession has begun to expose the major weaknesses the American system of taxation. The millstone of entitlement programs will eventually strangle our government and cause our government to fall into bankruptcy. Several states are already on the verge of the abyss, California, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois are those nearest to the edge.
What all these states, as well as the federal government have in common are a "progressive" income tax system wherein the wealthy pay much, much higher rates than those in lower income brackets. In the instance of the federal tax system, almost half pays no income tax at all...what's fair about that? The Democratic Party has been demanding dramatic increases in the tax structure with the Mr. Obama making increasingly strident calls that the wealthy pay "their fair share." At the present time, the Republican Party in particular and conservatives in general have vehemently opposed any possible hikes in taxes, but that hasn't prevented them from supporting increased spending...something that must be accomplished in order to balance the budget and end deficit spending.

In the case of those states that have, in the past several years, significantly raised their higher rates, or have instituted "millionaire's" taxes, those who can afford to do so, fled the states in droves. Maryland past such a tax that would cover roughly 300,000 people. In the very next year, 100,000 people fewer reported incomes in the requisite income bracket. California and New Jersey have passed similar taxes and are experiencing similar flight of higher income populations.

There are two possible solutions to this dilemma, both would require a massive overhaul of the present tax system. The first alternative would be to pass a flat income tax rate applicable to ALL people and businesses, such as that which then candidate Steve Forbes proposed ten years ago during the 2000 presidential campaign. If that route is chosen, then almost certainly an exception would have to be made for those below the poverty level...but then, no other possible exceptions should then be made. This would dramatically raise the funds available to the federal government.

The other alternative would be to institute a Value Added Tax. A VAT works like this

A farmer grows wheat and sells it to the miller. A tax is paid by the farmer on the sale price of the wheat and is included in the price. When the miller sells the flour made from the wheat, a tax is assessed on that sale as well. But the miller subtracts the tax he paid when he bought the wheat. When the baker buys the flour, he pays the tax included by the miller, which also includes the tax paid by the farmer. When the baker sells bread made from the flour, the tax is assessed once again. But as in earlier cases, the baker gets credit for all the previous taxes paid.

In each case, an invoice trail shows the taxes paid at each step. Those at each stage of production and distribution have an incentive to pay the tax so that they will get credit for the taxes they paid when they purchased goods from other businesses. Thus the tax is only assessed on value added--the difference between what a producer paid for inputs and what he was able to sell that was made from those inputs.

However, that wouldn't balance the budget, nor would it end the hemorrhaging of deficit spending. The only possible solution to that would be to seriously cut spending that isn't necessary to the maintenance of the government. Only by reigning in spending will we be able to begin to reduce the monumental size of our debt. One way to control that would be a constitutional amendment that requires spending cuts in one area, spending rises in other areas. There are even some novel ideas being bandied about how to do this, 

There are even more new ideas (and political and economic benefits) to go along with this new (and superior) tax policy.

Why aren’t we talking about increasingly popular ideas like constitutional spending caps? Why aren’t we lauding the replacement of the the bureaucratic entitlement state with a yearly stipend for every American (see Fair Tax rebate or Charles Murray)?

Instead of fighting against a welfare state that most Americans still support (Soc. Sec., “health care reform,” and public education), why aren’t we framing our ideas as the “individualization” of government assistance through retirement accounts, health savings accounts, and scholarships and education savings accounts?

The real worry is that, as a nation, we are too far gone to recover from the stupidity of our politicians of the past 80 or so years. Our government cannot continue to spend money that we don't have. If I write a check, and don't have the necessary funds in my account, I can go to jail...so we are sentencing our children to several generations of severe austerity in order to pay for our lifestyle. The time has come to pay the bills, and not leave them for the future.

Obama's No New Tax Pledge Was A Lie

During the 2008 presidential campaign.  Senator Barack Obama in nearly every single speech gave this promise:

“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”  Barack Obama — Dover, NH –September 12, 2008

Here's video of that pledge:



This morning, his Budget Director, Peter Orszag has stated that wasn't a pledge, but a "preference,"

This morning at a Manhattan breakfast sponsored by Thomson Reuters, White House Budget Director Peter Orszag threw that pledge out the window. Instead, he described Obama’s “read my lips, no new taxes” pledge as a “stance” and a “preference” that is subject to study by the president’s newly-formed bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Responsibility.  “The president has been very clear about what he prefers,” Orszag said under questioning from Thomson Reuters’ Chrystia Freeland.

I guess that means that the commission that he appointed to "review" the tax code and taxation will be the cover he needs to institute ever more taxes.  It seems that his plan is getting clearer:   This "commission" of his was formed in order to raise taxes (via a VAT) and thus continue the Democratic Party's far left wing's expanding  the level of interference the government has over our lives and businesses.  Thus, it can and will be used by Mr. Obama and Congress to deflect blame away from themselves. They'll then be able to point to the commission and say, “It’s not me! I would *prefer* there not be a huge (and historically gigantic) tax increase, but the "bi-partisan commission" says there must be and so there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
But there is something we can do about it.   A number of years ago, in the 1980's there was a movie staring Richard Pryor and John Candy.  Richard P's charactor in order to inheret $300 million, had to spend without having ANY assests...$30 million in 30 days.  One of his plans was to run for Mayor of NY City...but his slogan  was "Vote NONE OF THE ABOVE!"  That sounds like a great plan, but take it in a different tack...vote against every incumbent.

Already many incumbent politicians are running scared.  In the past 5 special elections, the favorite/incumbent of the "majority party" has failed to either gain the nomination, or has lost  out right.  This is what we as a nation must do...VOTE ALL OF THE THIEVING BASTARDS OUT OF OFFICE!

Uninformed Protester Says Obama Is Not Raising Taxes

You can't cure stupid...

But you CAN vote it out...come November, let's do so...

THE ONEROUS COST of complying with the Internal Revenue Code

Hey having a hot chick teach about the tax code?  Great!

Obama Will Raise Taxes on the Middle Class

Barack Obama, who repeatedly stated during the 2008 presidential campaign that he wouldn't raise taxes on those who make less than $250,000.00 per year is setting the stage to do just that. After Congress turned down his request for a legislative panel for deficit reduction, he has appointed a number of former legislators to a "blue ribbon" panel. It's expected that this pane will recommend tax increases on the middle class.

the White House has already begun to lay the groundwork for their argument that such a recommendation by the panel should not be blamed on the president, who vowed during his campaign not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than $250,000.

“The president will not sit on the commission and the options they present will not necessarily reflect administration policy,” a White House official told The Daily Caller.

This sets a course for Mr. Obama to shed any responsibility for any recommendations that come out of this "commission".

Additionally, it allows the president to walk back his promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. I expect that the media will be in full support and to report that this "is best for the country." Of course, raising taxes in a severe recession will pretty much guarantee that these tax increases will cause a 'double dip' recession.

The real problem is that this administration has increased spending by 30% in the past two year...and refuses to curb these budgetary excesses by 1 red cent. Mr. Bush's worst budget deficit was $486 billion dollars...but that was by a Congress, both of whose houses were controlled by the legislature. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, went so far as to refuse to pass a 2009-10 budget until AFTER the 2008 election. That budget included a $1,400,000,000,000.00 deficit. It was signed by Mr. Obama in January of 2009 and included a 20% increase in spending.

Mr. Obama's 2011 increased spending a further 10%, and includes a $1,560,000,000,000.00 deficit...only now has Mr. Obama seen the light...and it's not from him. Only now does Mr. Obama give lip service to cutting the budget and reducing his deficit proposals, but not until next years budget. His proposed cuts amount to window dressing, and are not substantive in any manner.

Now, Mr. Obama is going to try and walk away from his campaign promise of not cutting taxes on the middle class. I don't think it will work...and if he forces the Democratic Party to push this through Congress prior to November, the Democrats will be LUCKY to lose only 100 seats in the House and 10 seats in the Senate.

545 vs 300,000,000

This was sent to my by a very good friend. You need to read it all...and think VERY hard about who you vote for.

EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.
Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.



545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red ..

If the Army &Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it........... Is up to you.


This might be funny if it weren't so darned true...
Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge T ax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Ser vice FeeTax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge=2 0Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'
And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!

Simplify The Tax Code NOW!

Is the American Tax Code too complicated? Is it too long? Just how long is it? Well, the length depends upon whom you ask, but taking a look at various sources on the internet, you can find various answers.

The complete Internal Revenue Code is more than 24 megabytes in length, and contains more than 3.4 million words; printed 60 lines to the page, it would fill more than 7500 letter-size pages. Or in book format, 16,845 pages in FY2006. A few others have this to say, U.S. Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN), "the Internal Revenue Code and regulations add up to one million words and is nearly seven times the length of the Bible" And then there's this, U.S. Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH) says, "The income tax code and its associated regulations contain almost 5.6 million words -- seven times as many words as the Bible. Taxpayers now spend about 5.4 billion hours a year trying to comply with 2,500 pages of tax ...and George W. Bush, the 43nd President of the US chimes in with, "The tax code is a complicated mess. You realize, it's a million pages long."

Our tax code is so complicated and convoluted that that the present head of the IRS, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said he uses a tax preparer for his own returns: "I've used one for years. I find it convenient. I find the tax code complex so I use a preparer." Even Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner failed to pay $34,000 in self-employment taxes when he worked at the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2004.

The same can be said of Mr. Tom Daschle, the former Majority leader of the US Senate and South Dakota Democratic Senator, who admitted he had not payed over $100,000 in taxes for the car and driver while he was working as after he left the Senate. This all came to light when he was nominated as Health and Human Services Secretary.
If people as august as these can't figure out the tax code, what chance does the ordinary person sitting at the kitchen table have when they are trying to crunch the numbers...not much I'd say. So, has the time come to finally eliminate all the nooks and crannies that exist in a tax code that is several million words long? Yes.

The easiest way would be to eliminate the system all together, but that won't happen, it makes too much sense. My suggestion would be to simplify it to this extent. If you make more XXX dollars per year (the poverty line, depending on size of household), then you pay XXX dollars, up until you reach a maximum rate of 20%. No other exemptions would be allowed.

The same rate would apply for business...and NO exemptions. That way the tax is spread all the away across the board, EVERYONE pays exactly the same rate. So if you make (for simplicity sake) $10,000.00, you pay $2,000.00. If you make $1,000,000.00, then you pay $200,000.00. Is it fair certainly, everyone pays the same amount.

Businesses would be treated the same way...there would be no more exemptions for any business. Every business would pay at the same rate. A flat rate, with no exemptions. Additionally, until the national debt was paid off, a national sales tax of 2% would be implemented. The funds from this tax would be put solely against the debt. No other diversions would be allowed.

However, to make a plan such as this to work, Congress would need to be forced to NOT spend beyond our means to pay. What I mean by that is that Congress would not be permitted to execute any more deficit spending. All increases in spending in one area, must be offset by cuts in another area.

If we as a country, we could eliminate the national debt, which now stand in the area of $11,000,000,000,000.00...that's roughly $11 TRILLION dollars! How could we do this? easily by eliminating the exemptions that are now available, even the super wealthy would have to pay their fair share, something many of them don't do now, by hiring tax lawyers and accountants to hide their income. That would no longer be permitted under a system such as this. Therefore, even as the top tax rate is reduced from the present rate of 35%, without any of the myriad exemptions those in this bracket would end up actually paying more, since those exemptions that in the past permitted the wealthy far less would no longer be allowed.

Under this system, within a period of 50 years, assuming that Congress could be convinced not to continue spending beyond our means to pay, this country could eliminate the national debt in less than 50 years. Imagine that, we could give our great grand children the gift of national solvency! Something that seems impossible today, with a deficit that will reach nearly $2,000,000,000,000.00 this year.
BUT! Perhaps we can impose some fiscal responsibility on our spendthrift Congress this November by electing Representatives and Senators that put the good of the country above the selfishness that pervades the earmark waste that this and previous Congresses have tolerated. This pattern of fiscal irresponsibility cannot be suffered any longer. We cannot afford it, our children cannot afford it, nor can our great grand children. We cannot be so reckless as to continue spending and allowing those who should be paying, to escape through exemptions and loopholes.

How the American Tax System works...

Here is a great analogy from, of all places CBSnews.com. I don't often take the entire post and quote it in it's entirety, but this was worth it. It's from the comments:

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/15/taking_liberties/entry5314040.shtml

by agiraffedies September 16, 2009 9:42 AM EDT

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beers by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80." The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share"? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before and the first four continued to drink for free, but once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!" "Yeah, that's right, exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got TEN times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something very important?. they didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes DO get the most benefit from a tax reduction. They also PAY more than the rest. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

This is how our tax system works. But, as the state of Maryland learned the hard way, if you tax the wealthy beyond what THEY deem to be fair...they'll just take their money and move somewhere else.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124329282377252471.html

Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it."

One year later, nobody's grinning. One-third of the millionaires have disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar income tax returns were filed by the end of April. This year there were 2,000, which the state comptroller's office concedes is a "substantial decline." On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. Instead of the state coffers gaining the extra $106 million the politicians predicted, millionaires paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year -- even at higher rates.

And,
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2252700/posts

A year ago, Maryland created a higher tax bracket for millionaires intended to help balance the state's finances and make the tax code more progressive. How is it working for them? In the last year the number of Marylanders with more than $1 million in taxable income who filed by the end of April has fallen by 1/3 to about 2,000. Taxes collected from those returns as of last month have declined by roughly $100 million. Increasing taxes on the rich has failed because the rich are mobile and can choose where they live. I am sure the states with lower tax rates, where they moved, appreciate the increased revenue.

But perhaps an even better example is California. They've increased their taxes during a recession, and their growth rate has slowed from 3.8% to a net decrease of 1.2%. It's the first time in California history that more businesses and people are LEAVING the state than are arriving.

This is what we, as a nation face, if we continue to raise taxes on the wealthy. I firmly believe that what we really need is what Steve Forbes called for 9 years ago. A "flat" income tax. The 1st $36,000.00 is not taxed. No one making less than the poverty level (depending upon number of dependents) pays no taxes. Everyone else pays 20% of their income as a federal tax. No tax on Social Security, no tax on retirement/pensions (you've already paid taxes on it while you were saving for it), and no "death" taxes. There would be no reason for the IRS to exist as you'd pay the tax through payroll deductions, hence your tax return would literally be no larger than a post card: amount earned, taxes paid, balance due/credit earned. Simple enough?

Since 1970, politicians have increased spending seven fold, yet net family income has declined. Maybe the time has come to explain to our "political elite" that we can no longer afford them. Maybe it's time to clean house, impose term limits, spending caps and try and pay down the national debt, while eliminated deficit spending.

Newt Gingrich's Tax Plan

At the Taxprofblog, I found that Newt Gingrich has a new tax plan. I don't think it would work, as interesting as it sounds:

Newt Gingrich's American Solutions For Winning the Future has launched a petition drive for Jobs Here. Jobs Now. Jobs First with four tax planks:

1. Cut the Payroll Tax in Half for 2 Years. Every single working American pays the payroll tax. In this economy, many people may not get a pay raise, but this would immediately give every working American a take home pay raise. This would also immediately increase the liquidity of every small business, because there would be more money available to put back into the business and create more jobs. So that Social Security and Medicare funds are not affected, we would pay for this proposal by redirecting all the TARP and $787 billion stimulus money that has been allocated but not yet spent.
2. Abolish Taxes on Capital Gains. If we want to compete with China and have the most productive factories in the world, the best jobs, and the highest take home pay, we should match China's capital gains rate of zero. This would dramatically increase investment in America.
3. Reduce the Corporate Tax Rate. When you combine state and federal taxes, America has the highest corporate tax structure in the world. We believe that by matching the Irish corporate tax rate of 12.5%, America would be the most desirable economy in the world to open a factory, create a new job, and develop a new product.
4. Abolish the Death Tax. If we want to be pro-work, pro-savings, and pro-family, we should not punish, but instead reward people who have worked, saved and created wealth all their life.

As I said, I don't think there is any way in hell it would pass. But it's a neat thought.

My own idea would be to establish a flat tax wherein EVERYONE would pay the same rate...the only two exceptions would be those who are under the poverty line wouldn't pay, or would pay a much reduced. The other would be 50 cents on the dollar reduction for charitable contributions. That's federal taxes. State income taxes would be capped at 7.5%. This would force EVERYONE with the means to pay, would pay.