Taxes Should Go Up,,,, Really

With all the talks of debt ceiling, National debt and never ending budget deficits the only answer is that taxes should go up. Now that I have your attention let me get to the point and explain what I mean.

Every dollar collected in taxes by the Federal Government and our local Governments come from the same place, us, the taxpayers. The interesting thing is that our local Governments collect taxes in the form of property taxes, income taxes, trash collection taxes and who knows how many others. These go to pay all the bills that our States, Counties and cities have accrued, bills that include social programs, road work and pet projects. Funny thing is that there is never enough to go around, the Governments are going farther in debt. The Federal Government is the same, they collect taxes from the American People using every method they can think of, and sooner or later they will tax the air we breathe. Just like local Governments there is a long list of bills to be paid. Once again there is never enough. Our local Governments and State Governments continually borrow money, they borrow from foreign countries that are also going broke, they borrow from the supposed Social Security Trust Fund and they borrow from US businesses and individuals. State Governments also receive money from the Federal Government to help with their budgets and to help fund federally mandated programs.

Our money goes up and down more then a rollercoaster except theirs no lap bar to keep it safe. Our politicians at every level believe they are under no restraints when it comes to spending. We as taxpayers have lost control of our politicians, and with them, our money. The political parties identify themselves with an Elephant and a Donkey; the American People should identify themselves with an Ostrich. The American People have stuck their heads in the sand and relied on Politicians to take care of them for so long that they know no other way to live, no other way to survive. I recently read an article where most Governors are fearful of what will happen to their States if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, what programs will not be paid for and what checks will not be written. We, as Americans, must stop living like this. This is the equivalent of paying both the local store and the corporate office and getting a product that should cost half as much in return.

The only real solution to this, which no Politician wants to talk about, is that all taxes need to go up. Before you start rolling this up to use as starter for your grill, read on; I’m not a complete nutcase. Why do we believe that we have to write one check to our local Government and another check to the Federal Government? Why do our local Governments believe they need to collect from the citizens and also from the Federal Government? Why should our money flow up and down? All taxes should be collected at the lowest level possible and flow up from there, period. Think of the issues that could be solved. The basis for this is that the People formed the cities and counties, the counties formed the States and the States came together in a union they called the United States. Somewhere along the way the People gave up the power to the States and the States gave up the power and the purse strings to the Federal Government.

If taxes flowed up it would mean that budgets would have to flow down for approval. The Federal Government would have to submit their budget to the States for the States approval and for the States to budget in what they would have to pay, a fair apportionment for all the States to support the Federal Government. Once the States reviewed it and submitted their budgets they would send them down to the Counties and Cities for their approval. This way all the revenues would be collected at the lowest possible level, a level in which the People could better control what their politicians were doing. This would also mean that the means of revenue earning would be in the hands of local politicians. States or even Counties could decide for themselves how they earned the revenue needed. They could decide if they wanted an income tax, flat tax, fair tax, bake sale or whatever else they came up with. The methods to raise revenue could be tailored to the local economic structure.

To go along with this there are other changes that should be made, Constitutional changes. I’ve written before about repealing the 17th Amendment, put the selection of Senators back in the hands of the State Legislatures. All Senators and Representatives should be paid by their respective States, not by the Federal Government; they work for the States and the citizens of the States so that is who should be paying them. There should also be able to be recalled by the States or the Citizens of their States. There are problems with this idea; there is the problem of the debt owed by the Federal Government and how to properly apportion it among the States. Personally I believe that any debt that is tied to individual States should be passed on to that State, debts such as support of the Military, something that is beneficial to the entire Nation should be fairly apportioned to all States. Then there is the problem of the Military. As I’ve brought up before the Navy is the only branch of the Military that is authorized by the Constitution. The Navy has ships and aircraft that should be used to protect our shipping lanes, not to sit off foreign lands in a threatening posture. Our Armies and Air Force should be brought home from foreign lands and the bases sold back to their home countries. Each State should be responsible for maintaining the Army or Air Force of their choosing, be it a standing force or a militia. All States have a National Guard, both Army and Air, why do we need to have a standing National Army or Air Force? If you answer this question honestly you should come to the conclusion that it is mainly for the purpose of keeping highly trained personnel for the purpose of invading other countries and spreading democracy, not for the defense of our own Nation and its borders. Throughout the country there are numerous State Parks and monuments that are supported by Federal funds. All of these could be turned over to the States. If the States choose to continue supporting them with no charge to visitors then that is that States choice. If a State chooses to turn over the operation to a private entity then I call that good business. The biggest obstacle though is convincing the American People that they should not be controlled by their Government, instead they should control the Government; the only solution to this problem is education.

Steve Avery
7/29/2011