-Caveat Lector-
I'm not using an "appeal to authority." Bartlett and Steele are only
one source. There are others. But I don't think it's really a matter
of my sources versus yours. I think the New York Times, Time, Newsweek,
and even the Wall Street Journal have had articles featuring what I
believe is a growing class division in America.
On Wed, 9 Jun 1999, M.A. Johnson wrote:
> -Caveat Lector-
>
> William Hugh Tunstall wrote:
> Nice try, Mr. Johnson, but you're in error. Bartlett
> and Steele use figures from the OMB, the IRS and the
> US Census Bureau... not the House Ways and Means
> Committee and NOT the Tax Foundation!
>
> MJ:
> So Bartlett & Steele (fallacy of appeal to authority) READ
> the IRS data BETTER than two independent sources that I
> cited (three including Dr. Sowell)? 3 to 1.
>
>
> William Hugh Tunstall wrote:
> But if you will read my response to Mr. Howard Davis III,
> I am on record for the abolition of the personal income
> tax. There are a number of ways of raising revenue that
> would not be so punitive on individuals.
>
> MJ:
> Actually ONLY individuals pay taxes. Corporations, businesses,
> landlords, etc. merely collect taxes ... passing them along
> to the individual.
>
> *I* favor a head tax coupled with user fees. Each person pays
> the SAME -- thus 'encouraging' low taxation/spending on the part
> of government AND equality.
>
> Regard$,
> --MJ
>
> About a century ago a group of brilliant Italian
> scholars set out to study the nature of the state
> and its monetary affairs. One of them, Amilcare
> Puviani, tried to answer this question: If a
> government were trying to squeeze as much money
> as possible out of its population, what would it
> do? He came up with eleven (11) strategies that
> such a government would employ. They are worth
> examining:
>
> 1. The use of indirect rather than direct taxes,
> so that the tax is hidden in the price of
> goods
> 2. Inflation, by which the state reduces the
> value of everyone else's currency
> 3. Borrowing, so as to postpone the necessary
> taxation
> 4. Gift and luxury taxes, where the tax accompanies
> the receipt or purchase of 'something special',
> lessening the annoyance of the tax
> 5. 'Temporary' taxes, which somehow never get
> repealed when the emergency passes
> 6. Taxes that exploit social conflict, by placing
> higher taxes on unpopular groups (such as the
> rich, cigarette smokers or windfall profit
> makers)
> 7. The threat of social collapse or withholding
> monopoly government services if taxes are reduced
> 8. Collection of the total tax burden in relatively
> small increments (a sales tax or income tax
> withholding) over time, rather than in a yearly
> lump sum
> 9. Taxes whose exact incidence cannot be predicted
> in advance, thus keeping the taxpayer unaware of
> just how much he is paying
> 10. Extraordinary budget complexity to hide the budget
> process from public understanding
> 11. The use of generalized expenditure categories,
> such as 'education' or 'defense' to make it
> difficult for outsiders to assess the individual
> components of the budget
>
> Notice anything about this list? The United States
> government uses every single one of those strategies
> -- and so do most foreign governments. That just might
> lead a cynical observer to conclude that the government
> was actually 'trying' to soak the taxpayers for as much
> money as it could get, rather than say, raising just
> enough for essential functions.
>
> In all these ways, government's constant instinct to
> grow, to take on more tasks, to arrogate more power to
> itself, to extract more money from the citizenry.
> Indeed as Jefferson observed, "The natural progress
> of things is for liberty to yield and government to
> gain ground."
>
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DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic
screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters
and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright
frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects
spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL
gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers;
be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and
nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
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