The 16th Amendment

"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."

On February 3, 1913 these words were passed into law as Amendment XVI of the U.S. Constitution. This short document began what would become (now) a 96-year struggle for the American worker, business and economy. Almost every state followed suit shorty after with their own form of imposing taxation on the productivity of the people.

I am sure everyone is tired of the IRS, tired of April 15th and tired of collecting the bottom line of your paycheck rather than the beginning figure. There is a simple solution that exemplifies how Thomas Paine (Common Sense) and other founding fathers saw the United States Government: Small and Simple.

Eliminate income taxes and all other forms of productive based taxes (corporate, payroll, Medicare, Social Security, Dividend, Capital Gains, Estate and Gift taxes, etc.) and institute a flat, national sales tax. Done. This plan should include a measure that ensures no American pays federal taxes on their spending for essential goods and services up to the poverty level.

What are the results of such a plan? No more April 15th, complicated tax forms and prepping and filing your tax returns. You will take home your full paycheck; no more will you have to pay the government based on how much you produce. You are taxed only when you choose to consume, not on your income and productivity. No more special interest exemptions, tax loopholes, deductions, or the lobbyists who peddle them. Every American is treated the same. Furthermore, everyone contributes to this system. Illegal immigrants and the underground economy (criminal incomes, etc) will be forced to pay federal taxes through what they buy, just like everyone else within this country.

What else? This will promote economic growth and substantial wage increases for working Americans. The exporting of American jobs will cease. Low income families will be free from taxes, allowing them to take home full paychecks to use on family needs and create opportunities to rise above the poverty line. FairTax.org contains more information and some other good stuff on taxation. Check it out.

Bottom line: When there are 4,400 words in the US Constitution; 783,137 words in the Bible; and 3.4 million words in our Tax Code, a change needs to be made.

To Note: Today, July 11th, is the day on which the average American worker has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government on the federal, state and local levels. For the last 192 days we have worked to satisfy the government, paying them 52.6% of our national income.