Political Causes and Effects III

Taxation

Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. Never have truer words been spoken, especially today. As one of the Founders of this Nation I have a hard time believing Dr. Franklin envisioned the tax burden we now have when he spoke those words. True, we have to have some taxation in order to have a Government to handle the affairs of this Nation. Contrary to what some may think, we have to have a Federal Government, what we do not need to have is an overpowering Federal Government with out of control spending and a tax code that is so large and convoluted that no one, not even the people that wrote it, can understand.

Over the past several years there has been talk of revising or repealing the tax code to come up with something that is a little easier to understand and a tax structure that spreads the burden and bit more evenly then it is currently. Of course neither of these is being welcomed with open arms, mainly because a simpler tax code would expose the dirty dealings of our Politicians and close legal loopholes that tax lawyers use to help their clients pay less in taxes. Having a system that is more evenly apportioned among the population would mean that those in the lower incomes might actually have to pay taxes. Current reports put the entire tax burden on somewhere less then half the working population with the upper 5% of those paying somewhere better the 40% of that tax burden. Somehow that does not sound fair to me but the rallying cry of many seems to be that the rich, those in the upper 5% of income earners, must pay their fair share. It would be easier to understand if they, those that are shouting that cry, would just say they want the rich to support everyone else and be done with it. Since that is not going to happen let’s look at my idea of taxation.

The first enumerated power for the Congress states “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States”. There is nothing in there that states that the taxes have to be collected from individual citizens directly. It is my opinion that in order to reign in the current Federal Government and to keep future Federal Governments in check there should be no Federal income, sales or capital gains tax and for that matter no taxes of any type directed at the individual citizens. The Federal Government must submit an annual budget that should reflect what the Federal Government needs to perform the duties that are enumerated in the Constitution, nothing more. If the Congress worked the way it is suppose to work they would review the budget and give their yea or nay based on whether or not the budget supported the powers in the Constitution. Once Congress approves the budget the State Governments would then receive, for lack of a better term, a bill from the Federal Government on the tax owed by the States based on population or land mass that they shall pay to support the Federal Government. I personally prefer it to be based on population, which would be in keeping with what I believe the Founders meant when they said “uniform throughout the United State”. How the individual States raise the taxes is up to them based on their Constitutions and what their legislatures and citizens decide. States could go for income taxes, sales taxes, a combination of both or bake sales for that matter, as long as they pay their fair share to support the Federal Government.
A large central Government trying to establish a tax code for a population that is as large as the United States and as diverse as the United States just does not make sense. The citizens start to believe their vote doesn’t count and they rely entirely on their elected officials. Bringing the tax burden down to smaller individual scales will make it easier, and hopefully more likely, for the citizens to pay attention to where their money is going and how it is collected. Bringing it down to a State level will also end, hopefully, much of the bickering back and forth about who is and who is not paying taxes or their fair share.
There is another benefit to this plan. If you are not happy about the way taxes are collected in you State you have the option of moving to a State that is more in line with your thinking. Of course that sounds easier then it really is, many people have ties to their property or State while others may not feel they can afford to move. Herein lays another benefit, when the decisions, the voting, are made by a smaller segment of the population, State versus entire Country, each vote counts for more. This would also make it easier to contact your legislatures, many of whom may be from your own neighborhood, to voice your opinion and concerns.
I know there are going to be problems with a plan like this so let’s explore a few that came to mind and what may be the solutions to them. One problem is that there has to be some way of guaranteeing that the States pay. The Constitution states that the Federal Government will provide for the common defense, if a State does not pay, they should not be under the protection of the United States. The same would be true with trade agreements made with foreign Nations and with maintaining regular trade with the other States in the Union. Naturally to go along with this the 17th Amendment would have to be repealed to place the proper checks and balances back in Congress. Another problem, and one that would be difficult to overcome, would be convincing Congress that this is the right thing to do. They would have to be convinced to repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments the write an Amendment for a balanced budget within the enumerated powers of the Constitution, to include paying back the current debt, and an Amendment to make my plan legal and Constitutional. Congress loves their power so this will be one of the largest hurdles to clear. Another problem is that the Governors and the State Legislatures are comfortable letting the Federal Government do the heavy lifting, a far cry from 150 years ago. States would actually have to rely on themselves, no more Federal money coming back down the line. The last and possibly the hardest hurdle to clear would be convincing the people. There is a large percentage of the population that believes the Federal Government is the all knowing and all doing ruler of the country. They enjoy receiving their Federal benefits and they know that it is easier convince one group over convincing 50 groups. The same is true with special interest groups and their lobbyists.
I know this plan is not perfect and I’m sure I’ve over simplified it. The reason we initially had a Republic with indirect democracy was so that we could elect public officials that were to listen to us and put our ideas into workable forms. This plan would also put teeth back in both the 9th and 10th Amendments of the Bill of Rights. There are those that are talking about secession being the only way to save our Nation, maybe, but wouldn’t you rather try just getting back to a true Union of States that are banding together for the important things that need to be handled at a central level while maintaining their own powers and their own personalities?
Steve Avery
10/17/2011