Bill Whittle: The Wealth Redistribution Pump

Illegal and un-Constitutional. I have a better plan: return to the Constitution.

The laws mandating the president pay unfunded liabilities are illegal, because they are clearly in contravention to the Constitution. The Constitution does not, anywhere, give the President, Congress or the Judiciary the power to participate in social engineering programs like Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. Nor does it give the federal government the power to house or educate. Nor does it give the power to even fund programs to send people into space, really.

There are programs and Private Sector interests that could take all that, and handle it much more efficiently. If banks, for instance, were told they were going to be given Social Security, this would mean that they’d have laws to comply with (even as you remove unnecessary red tape and some unnecessary regulatory laws) and compete with other banks to provide prospective customers the best Social Security plan they could get. Bank of America, Goldman-Sachs, JP Morgan and Chase, AIG, etc. All would have their own plan, and all would have to compete with others to get your business. All would be bound by state laws, depending on what state the branch in question is operating out of. For instance, there’s an investment firm, here in Michigan [Russ Jalbert]. Investors gain most of what they reap from dividend payments, but not all. Why not all? When the market downturns, the investors have lost NOTHING. Why? Because some of what you gain is used to buffer potential losses, and, like I said: his investors have lost NOTHING. Has Social Security been that stable? I’m thinking “no”.

Medicare and Medicaid: Eliminate them both, and leave them to the States and People. Allow doctors to write off all expenses for indigent patients, dividing them up between the state and the federal government. Increase frequency of these reimbursements by priority (meaning, they get paid back, immediately), so doctors see monthly payments in lump sum. The states pay 50% of what they incurred as expenses, the federal government incurs 50%. Basically, its a tax program that works on a monthly basis, instead of annually. Doctors and hospitals can’t pay out and wait a full year for full reimbursement, or else the program is no better than what we have, now. Furthermore, the patients can see the best doctors, available, such as going to University of Michigan Hospital, not some back alley chop shop, like in the first Keaton Batman movie.

That’s 3 expenses down.

National parks: States seize the lands back. The Constitution does not say that the federal government has the right to possess land. Federal employees in that capacity are transferred to states, as their employees, along with their lands.

HUD: Again, un-Constitutional, and therefore illegal. Dissolve, completely. Give some warning, so banks and other private firms can try to take on those responsibilities. Perhaps spin HUD into a private corporation, owned privately by shareholders, and giving the federal government no stake.

Education and EPA: Un-Constitutional. Both create extreme tax burdens for the People, including salaries and illegal regulatory powers. Dissolve both, and turn over all control of education and environmental regulation to the states. States that have dictatorial EPAs will lose business (and possibly residents), as they seek and find states that are more people/business friendly. States losing people and business see revenue drops and their politicians lose the jobs in favor of people more competent. Dissolve teachers unions and privatize as much of schools, as possible, giving parents more control over their kids’ education, and the power to leave and contribute to the demise of schools that are under-performing.

NASA: Dissolve. Replace with a multi-corporate board of aerospace corporations. Whenever we need something put into space/orbit, contracts are issued. If the government wants their own vehicle, they have to put out a contract, the private interests do the R&D, and we buy the best product. Outsource a lot of space exploration to the Private Sector, but make military personnel that are already astronauts available.

Military: Dissolve EUCOM. Let the Europeans fend for themselves. Replace the vast majority of land-based military installations on foreign soil by seabasing. That way, we’re paying less (no land leasing), military installations are in international waters (and therefore cannot be challenged or told to leave) and are close to hot spots. The increased demand for ships (considering the Army, Navy and USMC will be on them, including large elements like BCTs/MEUs), this will stimulate the domestic economy (steel, shipping, energy, all industries connected).

Energy: Simple: drill here, drill now. The Constitution does not give the enumerated power to any of the 3 branches to prevent drilling for oil ON SHORE. Combine on shore and offshore assets, force all foreign energy concerns OUT. Again, an economic stimulus as the energy infrastructure is expanded. Break down Department of Energy, reducing them to only regulating nuclear power plants. Return control of nuclear weaponry to DOD.

Welfare: Remove from federal hands, put in state hands. Find a formula of how much the average middle income family makes, and issue that to qualified applicants in lump sum. That is enough for them to sustain a good home, pay for children, food, education, transportation, etc. Money can be taken from an ATM, via electronic account created by government or private firm. Once money is exhausted, only special circumstances can allow renewal. Money must be repaid monthly in installments, or face criminal prosecution. Private interests becoming involved in welfare (such as churches) can write off such expenses, in a manner like the medical expenses, I’d talked about, above. No more federal welfare.

Just simple cuts like that, and we could eliminate income tax, altogether (also un-Constitutional). Getting rid of a lot of the other taxes (capital gains, corporate, payroll, etc.) would lure more American business back, and bring in more foreign business, creating more jobs.

However, we all know that while this could all be done (and in some cases, inside about a year, or so), we lack people with the will to do any of it.

You are right on the money there. But let me throw in this monkey wrench: suppose we get leaders who will balance the budget and cut entitlement spending. Now suppose all the takers either choose or are forced to get a job.

Where are the jobs?

I am not in disagreement but, as a tax payer I am not willing to donate one plug nickel UNTIL the fed starts responsible fiscal responsibility. Until they show they have the ability to behave like grown adults and show transparency and fiscal responsibility I will not agree to paying one penny more. It isn’t the tax payers fault we have that deficit.

Your position is horse crap.

Democrat suggestions for spending cuts have almost always been targeted at things like national defense and securing the border, both of which we’re seeing, right now. Tax loopholes that they’re looking to take away include disallowing tax deductions for mortgages:

http://www.billupscpa.com/weblog/?p=129

This will hurt, everyone, and not just the middle INCOME. We don’t have “classes” in this country. Couple that with the leftist democrat desire to tax charitable contributions out of existence, and that’s a recipe for me asking why you’re so hot on listening to anything they have to say?

http://philanthropy.com/article/Jobs-Bill-Would-Limit-Charity/128966/

Taxation is a necessary evil, but the magnitude to which we are taxed is inexcusable. The federal government has no authority to tax for social security, because it has no power to engage in social engineering. Corporate taxation is something else they made up because they refused to address their real problem: SPENDING. End that out of control spending, and you could eliminate even income taxation. As for quoting Roosevelt, just because he said it, doesn’t make it true, or intelligent. You sound like you believe this horse sh*t:

http://weaselzippers.us/2012/01/27/obama-people-dont-get-rich-on-their-own-theyre-successful-because-of-the-federal-government/

Its your mentality that’s holding this country back, and promoting and perpetuating stupidity like worrying about how much money somebody else has, and what they do with it. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, or as my father once said: “GET YOURSELF SOME BUSINESS, and STAY OUT OF MINE”. Let me tell you something that apparently you’re not aware of: poor, comfortable or rich, I don’t owe you, or your bloated government, SH*T. I don’t owe YOU sh*t, I don’t owe your mama sh*t, and I certainly don’t OWE Barack Hussein Obama sh*t. And nobody owes ME sh*t. Unless I borrowed money from you, or the government, it belongs to me, and only to me. Same for everyone else. The Constitution was created for this country to provide people equal opportunities, not equal outcomes. We can both get into a business, but while I succeed and become the riches man in the world, your business can implode and leave you absolutely destitute. But you know what? Too bad, I don’t owe you ANYTHING. And when I die, if I have kids, my kids don’t owe you, or your get anythng, either. If you don’t like that they inherited $100,000,000,000.00 each in cash, tough sh*t. Stop worrying about how much money somebody else has, and how much they pay, and trying to determine their “fair share”, and worry more about what your’e doing. Instead of listening to Roosevelt’s crap that was possibly taken out of context, I’ll listen to this, instead.

We are all guaranteed the chance to fail, just as we are guaranteed the chance to succeed, but we are not guaranteed success or failure. As for feeding the poor, no, its not the federal government’s job. The federal government is only to administer to this state and protect it. Nothing more. Read the Constitution, for once. Charity is to be handled by the People, or, at worst, the State (and not nation). If the government wants to assist people so badly, then they can let the Private Sector get to work, get out of the way, remove all the red tape, remove a lot of these unnecessary laws that create a business hostile environment, and then do their own job. You don’t help someone by giving them food, you help them by giving them the means to acquire their own food. You follow the democrat doctrine: ENSLAVE. I follow the Conservative doctrine: EMANCIPATE. Give people what they need, and you create DEPENDENTS. Teach people how to get what they need on their own, and you create independent, productive citizens. I’ll take being a productive worker for the state, than a ward of the state, anyday. Its a stupid question to ask if we’re benefitting from this crap, when you look at the pie chart showing the unfunded liabilities, and how we have to beg, borrow and steal to half-assed pay for it. We’re supposed to benefit as a nation and society from this?!

If you want to shrink the deficit, SLASH spending, because its spending on these stupid programs that the Constitution prohibits that got us in this mess, in the first place. Slash spending, slash and eliminate the vast majority of taxation to leave the People and Free Market with more of their own money in their pockets, and you’ll see a lot of charity work taking care of itself. Continue to put people on the government dole, and continue to allow the government to bring people on the dole, and we are looking at economic Armageddon.

the government is nearly 40% funded by ordinary income taxes and SS tax, yet corporate income tax made up 5% of our revenue stream?!?! Whhaa wait a second, I thought we had the highest corporate tax rate in the world?

Ask yourself this question,”What do we have more of, citizens or corporations?”. The answer is the reason the revenue stream from individuals amounts to more than the one from corporations. While our corporate tax rate is high, it is not the highest in the world, it’s second or third. Though it is still plenty high enough that it is the major contributing factor in driving manufacturing overseas.

Where to start….

Question, what entity makes more money, the company or the labor it hires? The labor makes much more money than the company. Also by definition there are more workers than companies, and thus there is a smaller pool to tax. And yes they will pay less in taxes.

Corporations do not pay taxes, their customers, share, and bond holders do. Only living things that consume a product, produce a product and or labor pay taxes. Yes businesses need to support the government for the services they receive, however those taxes are paid by flesh and blood people not the company. If you consume the product, you pay in higher cost for it. If you have a 410K, IRA, Private or Public Pension, the profits from the company are reduced by taxes, and thus you dividends you receive are reduced as well. This makes your money grow less and at the extreme may not keep up with inflation.

Yes we have the the highest corporate tax rate in the first world. This leads us to problem number three, the more you tax something the less you get of it. This is called the Laffer Curve. Companies are required to be financially responsible to the shareholders that have invested money via stocks and bonds. You would not want a person wasting your money by throwing it away on projects that did not add value, why should anyone else? Thus, if you tax something at a high rate people and organizations will work to avoid it. You will not receive as much return from high tax rate than if you used a lower rate. JFK knew this in the 1960′s and campaigned on it. Every time it is implemented growth occurs and the returns on the taxes increase not decrease, no matter if a demonocrat or republican implements it.

The death tax has no place in a free society, no matter what uncle Teddy says. What right does the government have to confiscate the wealth of a person who is dead? That wealth should be distributed as to the wishes of the deceased person who owned it, not some bumbling bureaucrat in Washington DC. A person of great wealth owes nothing to anyone at the level of the state. While he may have a moral obligation per his or her religion, the state does not have a say in that. That is pure socialism, the first step to communism.

Everyone should contribute to the cost of the services rendered to government. They are expected to pay for food, water, electronic devices, private services, and a whole host of consumable goods and services, why not government? What makes government so special? Nothing, but only if you want to buy votes. People dependent on an entity will not actively work against that entity. So if you pay no taxes, and someone threatens to remove that gravy train from you, you will vote against it. The really bad part is that the person is being used. This was the reason for the representative republic, and not a pure democracy. When people can vote themselves monies from the treasury, then all is lost.

Please keep your straw men in the closet. No one is suggesting letting people starve in the street. However, all famine currently happening in this world is occurring because of government interferrence, not because of a lack of government. Stalin killed millions by starvation through redistribution of food. Mao killed even more than Stalin by an order of magnitude. In current Africa, people starve because the government controls and redistributes all resources. Look at Haiti and the Dominican Republic. One prospers the other is mired in starvation. They are both on the same island, difference is the government. It is governments that starve people in the modern world not corporations or the rich.

The real point in this video was that no matter what you do with discretionary spending, you cannot balance the budget. You can confiscate all of the money earned by those that make over $250K a year both individuals and corporations, and pay only for one year of the current budget. After that you will have nothing for the next year, for there would be no jobs, no food, no stores, no energy, no nothing but government. And since the government cannot produce anything we would all be on our own.

We need to cut spending and entitlements. Raising taxes will only further exacerbate the problem. Remember the goal is to grow the economy, not squash it. What you tax you get less of, so if you tax the economy, you get less growth. In your home, you are expected to live within your means, this should apply to the government as well. Otherwise you are left in the same position as Europe. What is happening there will be us in a few years. Now is the time to stop it before it is too late. It is probably too late to stop all of the pain.

Discus really screwed up and posted it twice. Sorry.

Done.