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Taxation with representation

August 13, 2011

OPINION By DR. DON REGAN

In a world of computer ease, social media, online payments, world wide and beyond personal computer access and immediacy—why is it that we cannot routinely and securely allocate our Federal and State taxes on line, once a year?

Say October 1st of each year.

Yes, I said allocate.  No, that is not another word for pay. It is not an alternative or option to paying, but rather a preferred method of prioritizing where your annual paid tax dollars go, in what personally selected amounts, to whom and to which agencies and programs.

Pay your personal taxes as we do now, April 15th of each year, and allocate them the quarter before so that your tax payments can securely and in a prearranged orderly fashion go where you have personally allocated them.

Yes, of course some form of departmental oversight and site management would require a percentage piece to pay for their work, while the Government would also require a minimum percentage amount to go to a general fund for such things perhaps as: Social Security, Medicare, Defense, Congressional administrative expenses.  (Not intended here as the suggested list, but designed for those necessary agencies and expenses which must be securely covered to keep our government open daily and working effectively.)

A required government “safety net” if you will.  Say, no more than 1 percent of your tax dollars to go to such a purpose, while the remaining 99 percent goes to those departments and agencies that you selectively favor.

Much like you give your children an allowance for their duties and good deeds, you annually allocate your hard earned tax dollars.

Each department and agency would then have to compete for your dollar, and send you out their particular quarterly profit and loss statements to reliably and honestly show you where they spent your and your neighbors’ money.

In this way we would then know predictably what a particular income stream for any given agency or department would be, in advance and on a predictable annual basis, making it easier for them to budget their income, and for us to measure and monitor their productive effectivity.

With that information and allocation at your fingertips you could then update your profile spending preferences at least annually, allowing you to actually put your money “where your mouth is”.  The government would then have to live within those expense margins and we would not have to rely on partisan bickering and infectivity to determine where, what, when and how our taxes get spent.

Sounds great.  A very democratic much needed and beneficial addition to a currently very broken system, of miscreant government expense and current out of control irresponsible elected representation.

Taxation with Representation!

The power of government would be in our hands and at our fingertips.

A plank to run on and a citizen need as great or greater than equitable voting districts.

Don Regan of Grover Beach was twice the Republican candidate for Congress in the 22nd District.

 


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The biggest problem with allocating our taxes is that no one would fund the leeches. Only makers pay taxes, and not takers, thus there would not be any representation for almost HALF of our population of voting-age people.


Essentially, the top 5% would run the country, and it would be an obvious oligarchy instead of the stealth oligarchy we have now.


Does anyone think ANYTHING has been different or changed since… since ever? It doesn’t matter if it’s a starch conservative like Reagan or a complete liberal like Carter… things always end up moving in the same direction, with the same outcome.


Seriously, just read/watch/listen to any political comments by average people. They are enamored with party politics and the whole “your guy” vs. “our guy” mentality. We’ve been on the wrong road since Wilson, and definitely doomed since LBJ.


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It’s simple, clean up the bureaucracy and follow Buffetts advise :


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I do find it curious that there are some who clamor for “less government” or for more accountability by our government who go and make some suggestions that on the surface seem like a pretty good idea, but as always, the devil is in the details. How many more bureaucrats would spend time (government expenditure) in complying with the demands of programs that Dr. Regan has proposed here? A few of the commentators have skirted around the edge of what I perceive to be the real problem but no one has offered concrete ideals for how to solve that problem (with the exception of JonnyB), which is the amount of money required to get elected and stay elected. Is everyone aware that most, if not all of our fifty senators are millionaires? Does anyone remember that staffers working inside former Majority Whip Tom Delay were participating in “insider trading” due the knowledge that they gleaned by working on Capital Hill? No one was ever arrested, no one was ever fired, but if you are not connected and get caught like Martha Stewart did, you will go to jail. This is not a Republican or Democratic issue at all; it is about holding ALL elected officials responsible for how they act and what they do while working “for us” (yeah, funny, I know). Unfortunately, Congress is the body that makes the laws, so the possibility of enacting legislation that would make it illegal for staffers to do inside trading, to ban Senators and Representatives from investing in companies that come before them looking for favors isn’t going to go away anytime soon. The suggestion that term limits is going to solve some of these problems isn’t really based in reality either; just look at what has happened in Sacramento since we foolishly enacted term limits; the long term elected officials are no longer the power brokers they used to be, now it is the lobbyists and the staffers that bounce from one office to another when that Assembly person or State Senator is termed out. The fix is: 1.) To eliminate ALL campaign donations and have our elections funded by the government; those who think it will cost too much probably don’t realize how much more it costs doing it the way it is done now. 2.) In conjunction with federally financed campaigns, mandate that ALL media outlets provide advertising equally for all candidates on the ballot; if a media provider does not want to comply, yank their license since they are supposed to be “operating in the public’s interest.” 3.) Ban the “revolving door” policies that allow Congress-critters to start working for lobbying firms immediately and make sure that any one who works as a lobbyist and runs for office has to be identified as such, as well as anyone working in the White House, the Pentagon, or any other government agency, period. If you want to “serve your country” by working for a Congress person or Senator, work in the White House, join the military or work for ANY government agency, your service should be your reward, not the potential high paying job that waits for you when you leave government service.

If we could do all I have suggested, I don’t think we would really need to have what Dr. Regan has proposed, but it would be curious which agencies would cease to exist if we tried what has been suggested.


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Holy WALL OF TEXT, Batman! This guy’s enter key must be missing! =)


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Hey now r0y, I can relate. I have such a hard time keeping my post short. Our brains are just packed full of knowledge, we just can’t help it. :)


Besides, I like bob’s posts.


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I say pay Congress the same pay as the President gets, and pay them for the rest of their lives, with the stipulation that once elected they may never take even one cent from any other source, ever. No more lobbyists, no helping “friends” get contracts, no kickbacks, nothing. I would even bar them from investing in any companies. If we did that maybe Congress would do what is right for the Country, not what is just good for themselves.


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Sure, pay them eternally for their uselessness. LOL! Interesting idea. Here’s another: stop re-electing the same thieves! They are only there due to apathy and partisanship. Your political party nominates the same old hag because YOU aren’t involved. Thus, you are forced to vote for the same representative because you’ll vote partisan every time. No?


Get involved.


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This we can agree on. I’m guilty of voting for the lesser evil on many occasions. I’m not saying it’s right but I don’t know what else to do. On the other hand sometimes they fool me. They say that they will different and they look like they will be different but then as soon as the lobbyist and the power invades their brains they end up all being cookie cutter clones, right and left. I can only get so involved, I have a busy life, I do what I can but it certainly isn’t enough to change the system.


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I used to do that when I was in a “party” – but I wised up. One never throws a vote away, unless they just follow the letters (D) or (R). If I do not know who or what a candidate is, I usually do not vote for any. I know that’s not the best option, but I do like to try and know who it is I am voting for before I vote for them.


I am in the minority on this, but I am ok with that.


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I don’t completely consider it throwing away a vote. For example: In 2000 I wasn’t thrilled about Gore (like him more now) but I certainly didn’t want Bush to win. If I would have voted for Wellstone (the only good choice IMO) then I would have been wasting my vote. Everyone knows that Wellstone couldn’t have won the general no way no how, I might be a dreamer but I’m not stupid. But had I voted for Wellstone on moral grounds it could possibly have helped split Gore’s chance by taking away one more vote from Gore and perhaps help LaRouche. LaRouche vs Bush eek! So yes I voted what I thought at the time was the lesser of the evils. I knew that Gore would have chance against Bush and that Wellstone wouldn’t, Wellstone wouldn’t have even made the primaries.


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This is exactly my point, typo. We are always pushed into the “vote for our guy because the other guy is worse” syndrome. I do not like it, nor do I subscribe to it. Your vote was thrown away, as it showed Wellstone and other similar-minded folks that they are even more of a minority than the big parties make them out to be.


Yeah, he wasn’t going to win, but are you voting so someone “wins” or “loses” or are you voting what you believe in? Something we always should be asking ourselves.


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Proposed Congressional Reform Act of 2011


1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman or congresswoman collects a salary

while in office and receives no pay when he or she is out of office.


2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All

funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security

system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system,

and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for

any other purpose.


3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.


4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay

will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.


5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the

same health care system as the American people.


6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American

people.


7. All contracts with past and present Congress members are void effective

1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congress, they

made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor,

not a career.


The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve

their term(s), then go home and back to work.


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Why? Should everyone have a race to the bottom as the Corporations have sold you on?


BTW, Congress has the same health insurance as the other federal employees!


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“‘Karl Marx had it right. At some point capitalism can self-destroy itself. That’s because you can not keep on shifting income from labor to capital without not having an excess capacity and a lack of aggregate demand. And that’s what’s happening. We thought that markets work. They are not working.”‘


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Technically, the market that Marx was on about has not existed in about a century or more. The “free market” died a long time ago, and no one here has ever experienced one.


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Yeah, that “free market” crap has really really worked out well; would the markets be truly “free” if all federal subsidies stopped tomorrow? You know, the subsidies for the oil producers, the dairy farmers, the corn growers, the mineral extraction companies, etc, etc, …. ? If one truly wishes to experience “free markets” go to Somalia and try to market your company; no one there will regulate you, although you may have to pay for protection to even walk around in country…. the main point that Marx was trying to make is if markets are NOT regulated, they will devour themselves from the bigger companies scooping up all of the smaller companies. Why do you think that the board game “Monopoly” was even invented? It shows in all too stark reality of what happens without regulation, one person ends up with most or all of the money, utilities and property. Think about it.


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Gov’t. is the biggest security blanket offered to the folks that desire one. The biggest promise giver of all. Care, care and more care. Before during and after, they’ll carry you thru to the grave. Just show up and don’t chase your co-workers around their desk.

The idea of offering up an actual scenario of competetion and possible un-employment around every corner…..Man, good idea but a tough job to institute.

Better beef up the National Guard 1st because gov’t workers won’t be weaned off quietly.

Nice alternative to the coming (not here yet?) socialist society, though..


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Yep, that “security blanket” worked out horrible right? SS takes 1/2 of seniors out of poverty. It gave those seniors Medicare, BECAUSE they couldn’t get health insurance on their own.


The “security blanket” created the worlds largest middle class BECAUSE of the progressive era measures like labor laws and the right to bargain.


From 1945-1980 with that “security blankets” help the top 1% received 6%-9% of ALL US income. In 1917 it was 18%. But thanks to “Reaganomics” the top 1% TOOK 23% of ALL US income in 2007.


Funny government policy matters right? Just look to Germany with only 66 million people who export more than our 305 million people? All while they are 40% unionized and get those “socialized” things like UHC and a minimum of 6 weeks vacation… Horrible that “safety blanket”!


What else is government for if not a “safety blanket” for US?


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SSI, the REAL value paid in, not there. The biggest middle class, long gone despite labor laws.

Yeah, the wealth was not so top heavy in the mid to late 20th century.

Germany is the European powerhouse, again and socialized, but you’re cherry picking again, most of the EU is eating their lunch right now.

You’re referencing the past, I’m mentioning today’s bloated Gov’t and how the “well is poisoned” by “promises” of big money forever thru entitlements.


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SS is just INSURANCE. How much of your auto insurance have you received back? Funny the CONS were praising Chile’s “privatization” a decade ago, what happened? Oh, people started retiring and found out that “free market” that was praised is paying about 25% less than the evil government was!


WHY is most of the EU eating it’s lunch? Because of either investing in US (Ireland) or austerity measure pushed on them because of Dubya’s great recession!


Entitlements? Bloated? lol Sure, except that both SS/Medicare are self funded and we can fix SS forever by moving the cap to $250,000 a year and indexing it. Medicare? It’s a heath care problem! H/C the past 20+ years has been over twice the inflation rate. Just the Pharma costs alone are estimated to cost US an extra $250-$300 billion a year! Remember when people were going to Canada or Mexico for their drugs?


But keep pushing the right wing meme that all our problems will be solved by “full employment” (getting rid of min wage of course) or those evil unions or “entitlements” lol


Care to give ONE example of the libertarian paradise you want? Or just an example of ONE ever working ANYWHERE at anytime?


You have bought into Heritage Foundation, CATO, AEI, etc propaganda, period!


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What’s ridiculous is that you expect people who put American Idol or Kardashians ahead of being informed on REAL news in the US. Americans are not properly informed, period!


We need to take the money out of politics to AGAIN be what our Founders wanted!


I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country. – Thomas Jefferson


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Of course the irony with this is, you most likely voted for the “moneyed corporation’s” golden child, as did a slim majority of voters, and the electoral college. Enjoy!


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I have to agree with SLORider…. the real issue is that most of these “representatives” have specific motives and have absolutely no intention on doing what the average citizen wants. This is the whole reason for creating the fiat money supply to begin with, so that we could fund the war machine and spend money without having to raise it immediately from the taxpayers, who would’ve rebelled.


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Talk about striking every bureaucrat with panic and fear! Such a democratic system surely would not stand a chance of being implemented. Do we really have democracy?


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No, we are a Republic with elected representation!


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……that doesn’t really work like one.


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Well, if we got the Corporations out of it like our Founders wanted perhaps they will again?


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The people in Gov’t ARE the people running the Corps and vice versa. It’s like a revolving door. It’s being termed the “Corportacracy” or something.


.Getting someone from a Corp. elected to a powerful position so they may pass favorable rules & regs. back to their former employer. It’s part of doing biz today,


The big problem now is Globalization. We tell our Gov’t what we want, but it now has to check with foreign entities (Bankers and others) to see if we can “afford” it and how it will affect the markets, balances of power, etc. America is like most countries today, being run too much from outside it’s border.


Some say we’re heading toward a One World Gov’t with our military melding into the UN’s.

One Presidential candidate sees all this , Ron Paul. It’s up to us to vote for him or join Greece, Ireland, Spain……

Who gives gov’ts around the world money they spend by the boatload when they ask for it? Their Fed. The world’s stock marketeers stop and listen to who? Feds. Who are the Feds? European and New York bankers.

If Paul doesn’t become Pres. I don’t think threre’s any “recovery” in the foreseeable future, probable continuously worsening debt.

Earn as much as you can, spend as little as possible, downsize no matter which way it goes.


.


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Ah! Got me on one of my own pet peeves. Very well done.


Can we also agree that unions are moneyed corporations?


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Sure, Every union is a Corp too. Unfortunately the unions are probably putting in less than 10% of what most elections/lobbyist do every year.


But let’s get rid of ALL money in elections and go to public financing? But wait, the MSM (liberal, lol) will lose billions on advertising? Hmm, I guess what’s good for Corps is not always good for US?


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