Sinister Beyond Belief

Understand Photo: Watch Hogan’s Heroes – Vintage TV

Intro to Sinister Beyond Belief by Justin Smith

John R. Houk

© May 23, 2013

Justin Smith writes about the IRS Scandal and how the Democrats and the Obama Administration has used the IRS as a political tool to harass and disenfranchise Conservatives that have a more traditional and Constitutional Originalist view of America’s future path. Obama’s Administration has exacted oppression on American citizens that the President’s “Change” Agenda as an evil Socialist-Marxist alternative to the values of the Founding Fathers which believed the nascent American culture had a Christian Moral Foundation. YES, even the Founding Fathers that Leftists claim were anti-Christian Deists promoted Christian Morality as the foundation a good rule of law and government.

Here is a bit of a spoiler alert. Justin concludes his essay by blaming the 16^th Amendment as the blame for the Federal Government to use the IRS as a political tool to enforce Presidential Administrations’ political agenda against their enemies. It is the 16^th Amendment that enabled the Federal Government to establish a direct income tax levied according to the whim of Congress. Hence there is now a complicated unwieldy arm of government to force a percentage of American wage earners’ fruit of labor.

This is the 16^th Amendment as ratified into law in the year 1913:

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.

Here is a centrist view of the 16^th Amendment that led its author to believe a Federal Income Tax could have existed without it; however that Income Tax would have to be levied in a less restrictive and oppressive way than the present Income Tax:

Many Unhappy Returns—Millions of Them

The above article provides an excellent history on how the 16^th Amendment came into existence including the fact that the amendment’s ratification result of a political compromise in which its passage in both Houses of Congress was considered doubtful let alone the ratification of the then 36 required States to affirm. Below is an essay from The Patriot Post on the 16^th Amendment passage yet with a more Conservative and Originalist view.

On the Sixteenth Amendment

The essence of The Patriot Post essay is the only way to reform income taxation as exacted by the IRS is by amending the 16^th Amendment to restore the efficacy of the Constitution’s Article 1 Section 9:

The Constitution afforded citizens this protection in Article I, Section 9, which reads, in part, "No Capitation, or other direct Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken." (Excerpted from above essay)

In my opinion repealing the 16^th Amendment would better be served with an Amendment that is specific on government limitations on collect taxes from Americans whether it be a Consumption Tax (i.e. Sales Tax of some sort) and/or Income Tax (on however defined whether graduated, flat or whatever income formula).

JRH 5/23/13

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Sinister Beyond Belief

By Justin O. Smith

Sent: 5/22/2013 10:43 AM

The line separating good and evil passes not through states nor between political parties either, but straight through the human heart. -Alexander Solzhenitsyn

One must wonder if they are still living in America, when all Americans are witnessing yet another Obama administration scandal, as this administration has been caught using the IRS as a hammer and sickle against its political opponents in the most egregious and despicable abuse of power in decades. This is the very same crime that was described in Article I of the impeachment brief against President Richard Nixon. If nothing else, the recent revelations from a newly motivated (angry) press corps and testimony before the Congressional Ways and Means Committee regarding this matter will hopefully be the first steps in stopping this out-of-control ideologue/despot Obama, for whom republicanism and the rule of law means nothing!

In some limited scope, Lyndon Johnson, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton also used the IRS against opponents, but they never used it in the broad manner in which the Obama administration has attacked Tea Party and grass roots liberty focused groups. By hampering the ability of these groups to exist as non-profit organizations, Tea Party and other patriotic conservative groups also had their effectiveness and reach into the communities damaged and dampened. Some groups had been blocked for as long as 27 months, while Progressive sounding names and Progressive groups received their tax-exempt status, in some cases, in as little as nine weeks... and this surely had some marked bearing on the 2012 election!

By June 4, 2012, the Inspector General had started a review and an audit of the IRS's practice of targeting conservatives, which is the primary reason that Lois Lerner, IRS division head on tax-exempt organizations, broke the story in advance of the I.G.'s report. Ms Lerner knew conservatives were being targeted as early as 2010. This practice was not limited to just "two rogue IRS employees" in Cincinnati, since complaints, challenges and lawsuits started coming in from California to New York and even DC. If, as Obama asserts, Obama knew nothing of this until recently, he is either completely incompetent or a liar... I suspect the latter.

Steve Miller, acting IRS commissioner, knew about this matter in March 2012, as did Doug Schulman, the former IRS commissioner. It is inconceivable that all these IRS officials were aware of this IRS policy and that Obama and his staff were not. By sitting on this information, not only are Obama and his staff guilty of obstruction of justice, they are guilty to some degree of any crime that the investigation uncovers, whether they initiated this policy or not.

No fewer than 471 groups were targeted... groups such as Friends of the Constitution, the Coalition for a Conservative Majority and numerous Tea Party chapters, as well as Koch Industries, Karl Rove, Franklin Graham (Rev Billy Graham's son) and James Dobson from Focus on the Family.

Regarding the National Organization for Marriage, which is led by constitutional law professor John Eastman, information was released to the co-chairman of the Re-elect Obama campaign that showed NOM's confidential Schedule B tax return section; this information was passed to the Human Rights campaign, a NOM opponent, who published it in March 2012. This is a felony punishable by 5 years in prison and a $5000 fine, and although Mr. Eastman has long since filed a freedom of information and investigation status request, to date the I.G and the IRS have not identified the people responsible.

Some groups have told Representative Darrell Issa that the IRS was seeking lists of donors and many documents. The Clear Lake Tea Party in Texas was asked 19 additional questions, along with requests for a list of speakers, resumes for each board member, a list of questions posed to potential political candidates by the group and a list of who was invited to those events.

During the recent hearings before the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) asked Steve Miller, "Is it illegal, this targeting of groups?" And showing his true statist/Leftist Red colors, Miller answered, "It absolutely is not."

The lies are flying from Lerner, Miller and Shulman, as highlighted by both Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), while Obama is making Steve Miller the fall guy. But in reality, Miller had very little to do with this policy and he was set to leave in June anyway, so his "forced" resignation amounts to a meaningless effort from the administration and an insignificant act. And, in the meantime, one of the real culprits, Sarah Hall Ingram, is not being held accountable for her criminal acts, since she governed the IRS tax-exempt section for groups between 2009 and 2012; now she has been promoted to head the IRS Affordable Health Care section and 16,000 new employees!

If the IRS can halt someone's tax-exempt status, they can just as easily intimidate that person with the IRS new controls over health care. Imagine being threatened with financial penalties, your information being shared with political enemies, or depending on the IRS for life and death decisions for yourself or your family members. Imagine that stints are outlawed for anyone over 65 years old; with the Progressive's post-Constitution mindset; it is not a leap of logic to understand that Leftists will receive such care, no matter their age, and conservatives will not.

Attorney General Eric Holder stated on May 15 that "False-statement violations have been made give, at least what I know at this point," and the Justice Department will be investigating whether anyone's civil rights had been violated; however, it is troubling to hear him say, "The FBI is coordinating with the Justice Dept to see IF (my emphasis) any laws were broken in connection with those matters related to the IRS," when obviously laws were broken. Between Jack Lew, Secretary of Treasury and Obama's political hack, and Holder's well documented propensity and proclivity to prejudice and selectively enforce laws depending on the Democrat Party's agenda and Obama's whims, there must be an outcry from all Americans for a select independent investigative team, an independent lead investigator and Counsel and a Special Prosecutor!

The targeting of conservatives by the IRS was certainly centrally directed by high level officials within the IRS and quite likely White House staff members and President Obama himself. If they are allowed to get away with this, we have passed from a constitutional government to an authoritarian and illegitimate government.

With way too much untethered power, the IRS has become a Left-wing political operation, as seen through these attacks on conservative groups in order to ensure Obama's re-election. And this is only one piece in a long pattern of anti-American and unConstitutional conduct from this administration, which has increasingly used its power to intimidate and attack those who oppose its policies. Why is the IRS so fixated on acquiring the names of people whose only "crime" is opposing the Obama administration? Ideology is their weapon and a defense mechanism against information, and it is also their pretext for eluding moral constraints in doing and approving evil, while they tell themselves, "My conscience is clean". This is sinister beyond belief, and it makes the case for repealing the 16th Amendment and passing a flat tax, as we also cut the IRS to the bare-boned minimal existence; this is absolutely an illegal overreach of government and an absolute outrage for all America: Obama must be impeached!

By Justin O. Smith

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Intro to Sinister Beyond Belief by Justin Smith

John R. Houk

© May 23, 2013

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Sinister Beyond Belief

© Justin O. Smith

Edited by John R. Houk

Oklahoma Jim Bridenstine says GOP is caving too much on budget

First District OK Representative Jim Bridenstine is sticking to the Tea Party Conservative principles that carried him past a Republican incumbent and beat the Dem challenger in the 2012 election. The Tulsa World reports Bridenstine commenting the House Republicans are dropping the ball in confronting America’s most Socialist President in Barack Hussein Obama.

JRH 2/22/13

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Oklahoma Jim Bridenstine says GOP is caving too much on budget

By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer Published: 2/20/2013  1:52 AM
Last Modified: 2/20/2013  4:04 AM

Tulsa World

BIXBY - House Republicans have been "caving too much" on budget issues and must not buckle under pressure in the weeks ahead, 1st District U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine said during a town hall meeting here Tuesday.

"My concern," he said, "and I think the concern of a lot of Republicans in Congress, is that once the sequester takes effect, people are going to be screaming for a deal, and that deal ultimately is going to be what the president wants - to raise taxes.

And if there's enough pressure, (Speaker John Boehner) will bring it to the floor and 200 Democrats and 30 or 40 Republicans will vote for it. And once again you have the speaker caucusing with the Democrats."

Asked what kind of compromises he would accept, Bridenstine said he thought there would be some on immigration, then added, "My beef is not that we aren't compromising enough. My beef is that we're caving too much. If everything you do is what the president wants, then there is no compromise."

Since his first day in Congress last month, Bridenstine has alternately criticized and tried to downplay his disagreements with Boehner, his party's leader in the House of Representatives.

On Tuesday evening, Bridenstine said his resistance to party discipline has at least gotten Boehner's attention.

"There are a lot of freshmen" in the House, he said. "There are probably a lot of freshmen he doesn't know the names of. He pays a lot of attention to me, and the reason is because I stood up to him on something."

Bridenstine was even more critical of Democratic leadership, beginning with President Barack Obama.

"The only thing the president is committed to is raising taxes," Bridenstine said, speaking of proposals to head off sequestration, the automatic spending cuts that are scheduled to begin on March 1.

Democrats have offered a mix of tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the federal deficit by $110 billion, while Republicans want all deficit reduction in the form of spending cuts.

"The president says no. It's raise taxes or we aren't going to do anything," Bridenstine said, adding that he thinks spending, not revenue, is the problem.

According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, federal receipts - both in current and inflation-adjusted dollars - are expected to reach or exceed the all-time high reached in 2007.

Receipts as a share of gross domestic product are expected to be the highest since 2008 but well below the all-time high of 20 percent in 2000.

Outlays as a share of GDP are expected to be one percentage point lower than last year and two points lower than the post-World War II high of 25.2 percent set in 2009.

In dollars, federal outlays have increased every year except one - 2010 - since 1956.

Original Print Headline: Bridenstine says GOP must not buckle on taxes

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Copyright 2013 World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com

Let Everyone Prosper

Here is an economy message from Justin O. Smith.

JRH 12/1/12

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Let Everyone Prosper

By Justin O. Smith

Sent: 11/27/2012 4:27 PM

It is obvious to a vast number of Americans that the divergent gap between the amount paid hourly workers for their labor is far disproportionate to that paid in profit margins and salaries and bonuses to CEOs, however, the answer is not found in higher tax rates, because no matter how high a tax is placed on companies it is always offset by higher consumer prices. If America is to remain a free-market capitalist system, at some point in the near future companies will necessarily have to create a better business model that partners labor in their efforts and presents a more balanced and equitable distribution of the net profits gained across each quarter; and, while I tend to view unions as organizations that price themselves out of competition in free markets, initially this was their mission as they attempted to close that gap.

Government can never force the closer of such a gap without completely destroying private businesses, because most businesses will simply shut down if they are not allowed to distribute their profits as they see fit, because it is their capital that started the business...their capital at risk...and since it is their private property, they do have the right to do with it exactly as they see fit; the worker actually risked nothing to start that business.

Obama would like to control all private business, and we have seen him too readily attempt to control certain aspects of our business world by picking winners and losers in the energy field as he subsidizes "green energy" technology through already failed companies, such as Solyndra, and works to utterly destroy the coal and oil industries. The only way that government could ever close the gap is by reducing America to a command economy, which sometimes seems to be Obama's intent, and should this ever occur no one would have any real wealth, as we would all be reduced to the lowest common denominator in poverty, with only the elite ruling class garnering the bulk of the nation's wealth.

Yes, I believe in a compassionate society that helps those who truly cannot do better, but we do not owe lazy people or people of low ambition a better living simply because they do not wish to expend the necessary energy to study harder in school, or try harder once they enter the work force, or because they simply have adopted an entitlement attitude and expect a great paying job to fall out of the sky and into their lap. Far too many in today's America are now expecting something for nothing!

While the gap is vast, the beauty of a truly free market and capitalist society is that each and everyone of us can attain great wealth if we keep pushing through each failure until we achieve that success; usually the people who try, try again have become wealthy, but one also needs a modicum of intelligence and an idea for a business of one's own combined with a decent level of ambition and the social grace and acumen to make the necessary business contacts. No one has ever said it was easy, but interjecting government to "level the playing field"...to make it easy for everyone...in the end only damages everyone in innumerable ways. Redistribution of the wealth is not a function of government no matter in what manner it is accomplished, and it should never be a final destination for any government that wishes to see a vibrant expanding economy, because history has shown time and time again that it has always failed wherever it was attempted with devastating effects on the society.

Hopefully, all America will get their heads together and start utilizing more pragmatic methods towards our nation's real economic woes, but when Obama effortlessly spends nearly $9 trillion in four years with few results and a failed Stimulus that only distributed 6% back into the economy and Ben Bernanke is printing money at the Fed like there is no tomorrow, we have far more difficulties in this nation than the salary gap, especially when one considers the $100 trillion unfunded debt that has accrued throughout our history.

A larger centralized government, which is where Obama and the Progressives are taking us, will only serve to take more of the poor and middle class and even the wealthy's earned income...their private property...and serve only to eventually further limit individual Freedom through over-regulation, just as we are witnessing through Obamacare; just look at the roaring 20s, when the government was small and regulations had been curbed back to only the barest of necessity and EVERYONE PROSPERED!

Even Pravda recently quoted Putin as saying that Obama was going down the path towards socialism.

By Justin O. Smith

Renew America

Justin O. Smith writes about the stakes of the future of the Unite States of America under another Obama Administration.

JRH 10/20/12

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Renew America

Sent: 10/18/2012 12:56 PM

The November 6, 2012 Presidential Election represents a historically significant moment of great import to the future of our nation. Never have the choices been clearer or more delineated. Obama rejects our American Heritage and its  trademark independence and individualism in favor of a foul form of collectivism influenced by Cloward and Piven, Indonesian philosophy (pancasila), Islam and Marxist tenets, while he advances an inept and ignorant foreign policy that keeps America in constant danger. Mitt Romney embodies conservative American idealism and embraces American exceptionalism in harmony with limited constitutional governance and free-market capitalism, which makes it possible for all to succeed without government interference and "leveling the playing field". A vote for Obama ensures the continued destruction of America, while a vote for Mitt Romney ensures Her renewal, growth and preeminent position in the world far into the 21st century.

During the recent Vice-Presidential debate, Paul Ryan correctly stated that "the economy is barely limping along," and "it's only growing at 1.3%...this is not what a real recovery looks like... we're going in the wrong direction." Twenty-three million Americans are out of work with millions of others barely sustaining themselves in part-time jobs; 15 million are currently living in poverty and 47 million are on food stamps. The choices are either another four years of the Obama administration, which spent billions of dollars for windmills in China, stagnated the economy and killed jobs through over-regulation and government manipulations, and created more government dependency, or Mitt Romney and his proposals which guarantee a vibrant economy, business growth and jobs.

Mitt Romney has suggested a 28% tax rate, and he explains that Obama's tax plans would cost over 700,000 jobs and force small businesses to close. Ryan advocates, properly so, cutting tax rates by 20% to increase growth, and VP Joe Biden insists "it's never been done" and reveals his ignorance regarding just such policies that worked under both JFK and Ronald Reagan.

Norman Lizt of La Jolla, California sees his dream of leaving a $50 million dollar legacy to various charities disappearing in the flames of Obama's "redistributional tax agenda" at a marginal rate of taxation well over 50%. Lizt says, "This represents the crossing of an inviolate threshold to me and is entirely unacceptable... I will simply shutter my business and say my sweet farewells to half a dozen great employees." With thousands of others in the same position as Mr. Lizt, the multiplier effect on jobs, the economy and charitable giving will be devastating!

No incumbent U.S. President has ever been re-elected when unemployment was over 8%, and many Americans such as Dick Morris, President Clinton's campaign manager, correctly predicted for months that Obama would manipulate those figures. It is mathematically impossible for unemployment to drop from 8.3 to 7.8% within a month and all other economy indicators remain the same.

Along with Obama's catastrophic economic policies, including Obamacare, Americans should be equally alarmed due to Obama's regular refusal to uphold, obey, or follow U.S. law and his oath to "protect and defend" the U.S. and the U.S. Constitution. How can anyone vote for Obama after seeing him force GM's CEO to resign... after he joined 17 foreign nations in a lawsuit against Arizona and refused to uphold U.S. immigration laws... after his administration violated U.S. weapons trafficking laws...used the IRS against political opponents...gave $500 billion to Solyndra cronies and advocated for Islamic blasphemy laws in the U.S.?... The answer?... They should not... and, they cannot if they love America!

And, in the same manner he bypassed Congress to appoint Richard Corday to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by claiming the Senate was in recess, Obama has just recently decreed/authorized the purchase of a state prison in Thompson. Illinois, which is designated to become a federal prison to hold the Muslim terrorists from the Guantanamo facility. Obama does not have the authority to do this, and yet, he is circumventing both the U.S Constitution and the House subcommittee that oversees the authorization of spending for federal prisons. Obama is ruling like a dictator, and still we barely hear any protest from America's masses or the media!

Expect more of the same gross negligence in U.S. foreign policy, as VP Biden protests "we didn't know" the Libyan U.S. Consulate needed more security and that "the intelligence community" told them that the attack on this facility occurred during a protest. Biden joined Obama's and Clinton's lie in a blatant display of incredible ineptitude and incompetence, and he compounds the lie by expecting America to accept that the same so-called "intelligence" that supposedly called it wrong in Libya will be capable enough to give the U.S. enough forewarning in which the U.S. will have time to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon.

Vice-President Biden also recently stated that "facts matter" and "folks, use your common sense... who do you trust?" Do any of you voters ... can any of you... really trust an administration that played politics with the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate at Benghazi, Libya on 9/11 and advanced the lie that a protest over an anti-Islamic movie resulted in the murders of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three staff members?!? Even top level senior State Department officials are refuting this lie, as they state that Ambassador Stevens, Eric A. Nordstrom (regional security officer) and Lt Col Andrew Wood had all requested additional security months in advance of this attack; it is now known that the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton knew this was, in fact, an Al Qaeda terrorist attack the day after it occurred. However, Obama and Secretary of State Clinton doubled-down on their lie, as they spent $70,000 to air a videotaped apology for the anti-Islamic film across the Middle East, including a thinly veiled and tacit support for Islamic "blasphemy" laws and a chilling attack on Our First Amendment. Yes... facts do matter Joe!

This extreme "liberalism" Obama and the regressive "progressives" have insinuated into our political system is either treason or insanity. And, while we may be poorer, war-weary and damned irritated with the ingratitude of nations for which we have sacrificed so many of our children, we cannot allow Obama to continue to weaken America or have us even appear weak; the U.S. should never apologize for our values, as we continue to stand for peace and Freedom ... for individual rights. Romney will not overlook terrorist threats, as Obama did in Benghazi; he won't hand out billions in aid and debt forgiveness to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood leaders when the principles of political and religious freedom are being trampled in the streets of Cairo, and he won't just denounce Iran's nuclear weapons program while tacitly legitimizing its theocratic regime and abandoning its opponents. Romney rejects the moral, political and cultural relativism that has flourished under Obama, and his proven record and commitment to America's founding principles of political and economic freedom perfectly illustrates the reason we ... America ... must elect Mitt Romney the next President of the United States!

By Justin O Smith             

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Edited by John R. Houk

I predicted this, now it’s coming true.

Here is another NoGuff email I should have posted long ago. It is about taxation.

Check this out! The San Francisco is contemplating charging driver a dime/mile as a tax for the environment. Can you say Enviro-Marxism (or is it Eco-Marxism) controlling the personal lives of Americans via their pocket books?

JRH 7/29/12

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I predicted this, now it’s coming true.

By NoGuff

Sent: 7/19/12

The title should instead be "Government wants to track your movements, here's one excuse they'll use to make it legal."

When are we going to end these gross violations of our liberties and put an end to Big Brother and his Thought Police?

The full article is below. Notice how they merely pay lip service to the fact that such tracking is an infraction against our liberties and privacy. Compare this to gun registration - they say they don't want to take away your guns, they just want to know they're in safe hands. Yeah, right.

-NG

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"Bay Area Drivers Could Be Tracked By GPS, Taxed Per Mile Driven"
CBS San Franciscohttp://tinyurl.com/cfkbqlo

OAKLAND (KCBS) -- Bay Area drivers could one day be tracked using a GPS-like device in their cars and taxed per miles driven -- a scenario which is part of a proposed long-range study aimed at finding ways to reduce traffic and pollution, while also raising revenues.

Members of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments are scheduled to vote on Thursday on whether or not to authorize a study of the proposal. Under the plan, drivers would have to install trackers in their vehicle and officials would tax drivers for every mile they travel.

Randy Rentschler with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said this is a 20-year look at what may be best for transit funding and as always, there is going to be a concern from consumers about government tracking.

"We're not interested in where they go. We're only interested in the amount they travel," said Rentschler. "But for some folks, that's a distinction without a difference. Anytime you talk about getting information from people, whenever that conversation comes up, it's another hurdle you have to overcome."

Rentschler said the hope would be to raise enough money to fix the Bay Area's roadways and improve public transit services.

Although all the details are still being worked out, the so-called Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax could cost up to a dime per mile and also be based on the time of day a driver is traveling on the roads.

Transit officials said this is all part of a long-term transportation and housing effort called Plan Bay Area, which includes several other proposals on how to solve congestion while raising revenue for improving roadways.

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I predicted this, now it’s coming true.

About NoGuff's Channel for America

Patriotic natural born citizen, exposing the Left's hypocrisy & hatred for America

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"Bay Area Drivers Could Be Tracked By GPS, Taxed Per Mile Driven"

©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved.

Defending The American Dream

I cross posted what Erick Erickson had written about Chief Justice John Roberts joining the Left on SCOTUS in affirming Obamacare is Constitutional legislation. Roberts voted with the Left with the proviso that Obamacare cannot force funding by forcing citizens to pay a penalty to the government for not purchasing a product. The product in the case is government mandated insurance. Roberts’ majority opinion indicates thus Obamacare cannot be based on the Commerce Clause of the Constitution as was the original intention of the Obamacare legislation (Officially known as Affordable Care Act).

The only way Obamacare can be Constitutional is as a TAX. Thus, John Roberts attempted to make Obamacare an issue Congress deals with instead of the Courts. At the time I thought Erickson’s analysis of Roberts joining the Leftist Justices was good insight.

I was going through my email (I am always behind), I discovered Justin Smith’s take on Chief Justice Roberts joining the Leftist Justices affirming Obamacare. I am now of the opinion that Roberts’ decision had good intentions; HOWEVER by making the penalty for not getting mandated insurance a tax Roberts opened a can of worms that could justify Congressional taxation in future forced penalties the might require Americans to buy a product.

Justin Smith has an excellent point.

JRH 7/17/12

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Defending The American Dream

By Justin Smith

Sent: 7/14/2012 1:31 PM

Chief Justice John Roberts decided to uphold the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act after first deciding to rule against it. Supposedly, he chose this path to uphold the "integrity" of the Supreme Court by giving the Court a heightened appearance of fairmindedness and not marked by political divisions. And, he attempted to achieve a 6-3 majority opinion by convincing Justice Kennedy to join him. Kennedy refused and, in turn, tried to get Roberts to abide by his first choice. Rather than upholding the integrity of a Court that historically has always been somewhat split along political lines, Justice Roberts' actions have highlighted the importance of Supreme Court nominations making the Court a focus of the November elections, since the next president will potentially seat the next four Supreme Court Justices, and have made the Court seem duplicitous, desirious of adulation from the press, and, in all actuality, too motivated by politics at the expense of the U.S. Constitution, which all the Justices have sworn to be their guide in administering justice!

From our U.S. Constitution: "Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes...to pay debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all...shall be uniform throughout the United States...'uniform'...Therefore Roberts should have found this Act unconstitutional based on the multiple exemptions given across the nation. Whatever happened to the equal application of the law?

Although the Court majority accepted that the federal government is not permitted to force individuals to buy services they do not want, by calling the penalty for not buying health insurance a tax, the Court has opened a Pandora's Box. Now, in theory if not practice, all Americans can be taxed for not buying something the federal government/Nanny State thinks we need...any product...any service...anything!

Roberts' opinion/ruling states, "That Congress apparently regards such extensive failure to comply with the mandate as tolerable suggests that Congress did not think it was creating four million outlaws. It suggests instead that the shared responsibility payment merely imposes a tax citizens may lawfully choose to pay in lieu of buying health insurance." No! The Progressive Communists that pushed this bill through over the objections of 70% of the American people, thinking or not, simply did not care as they were giddy with absolute power and the corruption it entailed. Outlaw or patriot, describe me as you wish; I have no intention of obeying this mandate or paying any associated fine, and several states have already stated that they would not comply, as they also opt out of the Medicaid aspect of this Act.

"General welfare" applies to the United States as a whole. The redistribution of wealth, or "transfer payments" among citizens, like those mandated under Obamacare does not qualify for taxation in an originalist reading of the Constitution. Taxation and regulation are close substitutes, so a limitation on one power is negated if the other power is still available. No practical difference exists between ordering an action and taxing or fining people who don't obey. As illustrated in the Child Labor Tax case of 1922 and the U.S. v Butler in 1936, Chief Justice Roberts has ignored a fundamental principle: If direct regulation is beyond the scope of the Commerce Clause, as he ruled, then taxation as an indirect route to the same regulation is not an option as well, which he failed to find or admit.

Roberts initially did not find the "tax" argument particularly plausible, however, he quotes Justice Holmes in explanation of his ruling: "As between two possible interpretations of a statute, by one of which it would be unconstitutional and by the other valid, our plain duty is to adopt that which will save the act." What utter nonsense to apply this logic to so clearly an unconstitutional Act. Roberts' only duty was to uphold the U.S. Constitution and determine the constitutionality of this Affordable Care Act, not to rewrite the law and engage in judicial activism. However, he instead succumbed to pressure from the Leftists across the nation and the White House, the Left Court itself and the left-leaning "mainstream media", as he applied his own version of upholding the "integrity" of the Court; if anything, Roberts has lost sight of that integrity, and in so doing, he has diminished and severely harmed the U.S. Constitution. This unnatural show of restraint and the twisted, convoluted path Roberts took to declare the penalty a tax in deference to the President's Office and Congress is tantamount to a dereliction of judicial duty and a danger to each and every American's Liberty and Freedom!

Rather than find Obamacare unconstitutional outright and discarding the entire Act, Roberts got cute and clever, as he rolled the dice with our Freedom at stake. Speaking only for himself, Roberts said, "It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices." Roberts simply made a coward's choice, because when he was nominated for the Court, he told Congress that he did not view striking down a federal law as judicial activism. Twenty-one tax increases and numerous regulations limiting our Freedom are contained within Obamacare; despite what five lawyers in the Supreme Court said and if ever a law deserved being struck down, this Affordable Care Act was the one.

Roberts' only saving grace was calling the penalty associated with the individual mandate a tax, which enables Congress to repeal this bill with a simple 51 majority vote through reconciliation. Also, due to the fact that entitlement policies are all fiscal in nature, they must go into a budget; budgetary matters cannot be filibustered. Virtually all of this bill can be repealed effectively through reconciliation, and whatever is left, mainly regulatory policy, will be totally neutralized and useless. But, in order to achieve this, Conservative Statesmen, who are willing to make the hard choices, must gain the majority in the Senate.

Mitt Romney's simple statements have a certain profound essence in describing the Affordable Care Act: "Obamacare was bad policy yesterday; it's bad policy today. Obamacare was bad law yesterday; it's bad law today."

Americans don't consider the Affordable Care Act a done deal, far from it. This is simply a clarion call, a spur to action. We must not let America sink further into debt through this unsustainable monstrosity called "obamacare", which has already caused insurance costs to increase by 30% (COBRA doubled) and prompted many primary care physicians to consider leaving medicine. We cannot allow these debilitating, crippling Freedom-killing mandates and taxes to proceed and take hold without a fight. We will uphold the integrity of the Constitution and America, and we will not abandon the American Dream and Our Children to government dependency, death-panels, less opportunity and fewer Freedoms!

By Justin O Smith

The Romney Plan for America

John R. Houk

© November 1, 2011

I am definitely not in former Governor Mitt Romney’s camp for the GOP nomination for President. I have to own-up to the primary reason for this is Romney is a Mormon and Mormonism is not Christianity yet pretends to be Christianity. As a Christian I have a problem with that. The secondary problem I have with Romney he appears pretty close to being a RINO. Full-on RINOs make no bones about their Liberal leanings. Then there is RINOs like Romney that is Conservative Republicans in some areas but is politically liberal or socially liberal in others.

On the other hand if Romney does win the GOP nomination I am definitely voting for him over President Barack Hussein Obama. At the very least Romney does not have an agenda to transform America into a socialistic nation dependent on government entitlements to move the economy and secretly enslave the poor by making the Federal government the poor’s source of livelihood.

Romney’s major campaign agenda is his 59 point plan to get America’s economy on track. Just like Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Romney plan has less to do with tax reform and more to do with traditional tax cuts and strategies for jobs growth international trade.

Romney's answer is a 59-point plan, including 10 steps he vows to take his first day as president. "Each proposal is rooted in the conservative premise that government itself cannot create jobs. At best, government can provide a framework in which economic growth can occur. All too often, however, government gets in the way. The past three years of unparalleled government expansion have retaught that lesson all too well," he wrote. The candidate didn't go into deep detail about the 59 items on his jobs agenda, but he did offer a shout out to those starting their own companies: "Only the individual initiative of entrepreneurs, workers, investors and inventors enables companies, and our economy as a whole, to flourish." (ELECTIONEERING; By J. Jennings Moss; Portfolio.com, 9-6-11)

With both Cain and Perry now offering dramatic pro-growth tax reform proposals, Romney will either jump on the tax reform bandwagon or be left in the dust (or possibly both).

The only pro-growth tax cuts in Romney’s 59-point economic plan are a reduction in the corporate income tax rate to 25% (from 35% today) and the elimination of the death tax.  However, both Perry and Cain are similarly calling for repeal of the death tax.  Also, Perry’s plan would cut the corporate income tax rate to 20%, and Cain’s plan would reduce it to the equivalent of 9%.

Romney is advocating eliminating taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains, but only for people making less than $200,000 a year.  This “cap” would vitiate any benefit to economic growth.  Worse, this element of Romney’s plan implicitly validates Obama’s “class warfare” rhetoric. (Fundamental Tax Reform Is Now Unstoppable; By Louis Woodhill; Forbes, 10/26/2011)

Tomorrow, I will introduce a plan consisting of 59 specific proposals — including 10 concrete actions I will take on my first day in office — to turn around America's economy. Each proposal is rooted in the conservative premise that government itself cannot create jobs. At best, government can provide a framework in which economic growth can occur. All too often, however, government gets in the way. The past three years of unparalleled government expansion have retaught that lesson all too well.

Only the individual initiative of entrepreneurs, workers, investors and inventors enables companies, and our economy as a whole, to flourish. We must once again unleash the tremendous economic potential of the American people. The contrast between what the Obama administration has done and what I would do as president could not be starker.

…

As this catalogue of differences makes clear, our country has arrived at a fork in the road. In one direction lies the heavy hand of the state, indebtedness and decline. In the other direction lies limited government, free enterprise and economic growth. I know which direction is the American way. And I know in which direction lie the millions of jobs we need. (MY PLAN TO TURN AROUND THE U.S. ECONOMY; By Mitt Romney; MittRomney.com, 9-5-11)

Q: A Wall Street Journal editorial recently called your 59-point economic plan "surprisingly timid & tactical considering our economic predicament." Specifically, they had a problem with you picking the $200,000 income threshold for eliminating interest, dividends, and capital gains taxes, writing that you were afraid of "class warfare rhetoric."

ROMNEY: What you have to do is make America the most attractive place in the world for business, and that means our corporate tax rates have to be competitive #2: government and regulators have to be allies of business, not foes.#3: we've got to become energy secure in this country. #4: we have to have trade policies that work for us, and crack down on cheaters like China. And my list goes on in my 59 points. I know there are some that say, look, we should lower taxes for the very highest-income people. My view is very simple: The people that have been hurt most by the Obama economy, has been the middle class. That's why I cut taxes for the middle class.

…

Q: Do you support the FairTax?

ROMNEY: The idea of a national sales tax or a consumption tax has a lot to go for it. One, it would make us more competitive globally, as we send products around the world, because under the provisions of the World Trade Organization, you can reimburse that to an exporter. We can't reimburse our taxes right now. It also would level the playing field in the country, making sure everybody is paying some part of their fair share. But the way the fair tax has been structured it has a real problem and that is it lowers the burden on the very highest income folks and the very lowest and raises it on middle income people. And the people who have been hurt most by the economy are the middle class. And so my plan is for middle income Americans, no tax on interest, dividends or capital gains. Let people save their money as the way they think is best. We're taxing too much, we're spending too much and middle income Americans need a break and I'll give it to them.

…

If we want to make more capital available for investment, we will have to lower taxes on saving and investing, either at the corporate or the individual level, or preferably both. A lower corporate tax rate would accomplish all that the myriad special tax breaks do, and improve the incentives for investment and entrepreneurship as well. Personal taxes on dividends, interest, and capital gains for all middle-income families should be completely eliminated.

Some people advocate the "FairTax" as a means of boosting savings, a system that would entirely replace income taxes with a consumption tax--a kind of sales tax. FairTax proponents estimate that a tax rate of 23% would be sufficient, but detractors claim that it would be closer to 40%. The enormous amount saved by the wealthiest under the FairTax would be made up by a higher tax burden on the middle class. This is not an outcome that will or should gain traction with the American public. (Mitt Romney on Tax Reform; Q & A On The Issues)

Five Bills for Day One

The American Competitiveness Act: Reduces the corporate income tax rate to 25 percent

The Open Markets Act: Implements the Colombia, Panama, and South Korea Free Trade Agreements

The Domestic Energy Act: Directs the Department of the Interior to undertake a comprehensive survey of American energy reserves in partnership with exploration companies and initiates leasing in all areas currently approved for exploration

The Retraining Reform Act: Consolidates the sprawl of federal retraining programs and returns funding and responsibility for these programs to the states

The Down Payment on Fiscal Sanity Act: Immediately cuts non-security discretionary spending by 5 percent, reducing the annual federal budget by $20 billion

Five Executive Orders for Day One

An Order to Pave the Way to End Obamacare: Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and all relevant federal officials to return the maximum possible authority to the states to innovate and design health care solutions that work best for them

An Order to Cut Red Tape: Directs all agencies to immediately initiate the elimination of Obama-era regulations that unduly burden the economy or job creation, and then caps annual increases in regulatory costs at zero dollars

An Order to Boost Domestic Energy Production: Directs the Department of the Interior to implement a process for rapid issuance of drilling permits to developers with established safety records seeking to use pre-approved techniques in pre-approved areas

An Order to Sanction China for Unfair Trade Practices: Directs the Department of the Treasury to list China as a currency manipulator in its biannual report and directs the Department of Commerce to assess countervailing duties on Chinese imports if China does not quickly move to float its currency

An Order to Empower American Businesses and Workers: Reverses the executive orders issued by President Obama that tilt the playing field in favor of organized labor, including the one encouraging the use of union labor on major government construction projects

Mitt Romney’s Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth

The book released by the campaign underscores President Obama’s failed approach to each policy area crucial to turning around the economy, and lays out precisely how Mitt Romney will address the issues as president:

Tax Policy

Mitt Romney will push for a fundamental redesign of our tax system. He recognizes the need to simplify the system. He also recognizes the need both to lower rates and to broaden the tax base so that taxation becomes an instrument for promoting economic growth. As president, Romney will hold the line on individual income tax rates and eliminate taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains for low- and middle-income taxpayers. He will eliminate the estate tax. And he will pursue a conservative overhaul that applies lower and flatter rates to a broader tax base.

Romney will also reform the corporate tax system. He will immediately lower the corporate income tax rate, and then explore opportunities to further lower the marginal rate while broadening the tax base. He will also begin the process of transitioning to a territorial corporate tax system. A territorial system must be designed to encourage multinational companies to bring their profits back into the U.S. and it must avoid the creation of incentives for outsourcing. (Excerpted from FACT SHEET: MITT ROMNEY'S PLAN TO TURN AROUND THE ECONOMY; By Mitt Romney; MittRomney.com, 9-6-11)

Like I wrote, I am not voting for Romney in my State Primary but I will probably vote for Romney as the GOP nominee the General Election of November 6, 2012.

JRH 11/1/11

The Michele Bachmann Plan

John R. Houk

© October 26, 2011

I am posting Michele Bachmann’s plan after Herman Cain’s because she was my first favorite GOP Candidate when this race for the GOP nomination began with a list of Candidates (otherwise it would have been Sarah Palin).

I love Michele Bachmann as a Candidate primarily because of Social Conservatism. Also Michele Bachmann is huge in the Tea Party Movement (TPM). Bachmann represents Tea Party Congressmen in the House as the leader of the Tea Party Caucus.

A Wikipedia article (Not necessarily TPM friendly) describes the TPM thus:

It [The TPM] endorses reduced government spending,[8][9] opposition to taxation in varying degrees,[9] reduction of the national debt and federal budget deficit,[8] and adherence to an originalist interpretation of the United States Constitution.[10]

Wikipedia describes the Tea Party Caucus thus:

The Tea Party Caucus is a caucus of the United States House of Representatives and Senate launched and chaired by Minnesota Congresswoman Bachmann on July 16, 2010.[1] The caucus is dedicated to promoting what it considers fiscal responsibility, adherence to the movement's interpretation of the Constitution, and limited government. The idea of a Tea Party Caucus originated from Kentucky Senator Rand Paul when he was campaigning for his current seat.[2]

The caucus was approved as an official congressional member organization by the House Administration Committee on July 19, 2010[3] and held its first meeting on July 21. Its first public event was a press conference on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, also on July 21.[4] Four Senators joined the caucus on January 27, 2011.[5]

Michele Bachmann’s credentials as a Tea Party Conservative with Conservative Social Values are impeccable. The Bachmann campaign has thus emphasized the economics of job creation, less government and National budget plans (e.g. not raising the budget ceiling).

Bachmann’s plan is best summed up on her website:

Bachmann Introduces “American Jobs, Right Now” Blueprint for Economic Prosperity and Job Creation

Posted on October 11th, 2011

Hanover, NH – Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann announced today her blueprint for economic prosperity and job creation titled “American Jobs, Right Now.” With 9.1 percent unemployment, $16.7 trillion in national debt, and a severely weakened U.S. dollar, Bachmann is unveiling her vision for restoring confidence in the our financial system, spurring economic growth, and creating jobs for out of work Americans.

“It’s evident that the current trajectory of our country is simply not sustainable and President Obama lacks the understanding of how to return to a position of economic prominence in the world,” Bachmann said. “My blueprint will create an environment which will create real jobs here at home, and return America to a position of economic prominence in the world.”

Eleven Points of “American Jobs, Right Now” Blueprint:

1.     REPATRIATION. More than 1.2 trillion United States dollars could be brought back to America in days as an immediate “stimulus” if the government would zero out the tax rate on that money until December 31, and then permanently keep it here in the U.S. if taxed at a rate of 5 percent. Foreign earning totaling over $1.2 trillion is more than the President’s failed stimulus and it won’t come out of taxpayer wallets. It would increase the value of the dollar, provide valuable capital for the job creators in this country and pump tremendous amounts of money into our economy.

2.     CUT SPENDING AND GOVERNMENT. I have already voted to cut federal spending in the years ahead, every single time I have had the opportunity. In addition, I would phase out quasi-governmental enterprises, such as Fannie and Freddie, and eliminate duplicative government programs and costs. We must decrease government salaries to bring them in line with their private sector counterparts, and we must decrease the number of government employees. Over-spending by the government hurts job creation by devaluing the dollar and stealing capital from the private sector.

3.     REPEAL OBAMACARE. Healthcare is one-sixth of the U.S. economy and this unconstitutional takeover of healthcare by the federal government is creating crippling uncertainty for employers across this country. This legislation does nothing to address the true problem with our healthcare system – cost – and will cost states trillions. I believe it is an intentional backstop to imploding healthcare entitlement programs — Medicare and Medicaid — to transition toward a single payer-system. This is the number one hindrance to job creation in the United States (according to a recently released UBS study).

4.     CUT TAXES. I’ve demonstrated a firm commitment to cutting spending and balancing the budget. We need to reduce the number of tax brackets, repeal taxes outlined in Obamacare, fix the Alternative Minimum Tax, and eliminate the Death Tax. In addition, we must make the corporate tax code simpler and fairer, and allow U.S. companies that generate earnings overseas to bring back those profits and invest them in American jobs and growth.

5.     REPEAL THE JOBS AND HOUSING DESTRUCTION ACT, ALSO KNOWN AS DODD-FRANK. This law tightened regulations on banks, made it harder for Americans to obtain credit, and failed to address the systemic problem that caused the Wall Street collapse — leverage. This 849-page bill calls for 400 new sets of rules that will be written on 6000 Federal Register pages, all written by bureaucrats, many of whom have never worked in the financial services field. The law also creates a potentially intrusive Financial Services Consumer Protection Bureau that is not accountable to Congress and which has but a vague mandate to combat misconduct – so in the wrong hands, it could cause its own kind of misconduct.

6.     LEGALIZE AMERICAN ENERGY PRODUCTION AND AMERICA’S NATURAL RESOURCES. This could create 1.4 million jobs, bringing $800 billion of new revenue into the U.S. Treasury, and increasing domestic energy supplies by 50 percent. The price of energy has a direct impact on nearly ever[y] facet of our lives. We have to abandon the parochial and political energy policies of the past and install a comprehensive energy plan that not only reduces our reliance on unfriendly foreign regimes, but also creates millions of American jobs and generates increased tax revenues. According to the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. has more energy potential than any other country in the world. We should use that potential. It is a better policy to create American jobs and explore in an environmentally-sound way, than to rely on foreign dictators who give little regard to the environment. This includes specific strategies like reviving the logging, timber, mining and metals industries, and bringing federal lands back into productive activity by repealing radical environmental laws that kill access to natural resources.

7.     REPEAL JOB KILLING REGULATIONS. America’s job creators and small business owners have lost economic liberty under the weight of $1.8 billion annually in compliance costs with government regulations. Together we sent $2.2 trillion in taxes to the federal government this year. By comparison, job creators spend nearly as much annually to comply with bureaucratic mandates. Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, and the string of mandates and rules from the Environmental Protection Agency — as well as other agencies — are creating such incredible uncertainty in the market. The House Republican leadership has identified 219 planned Obama administration regulations, each of which will cost the economy more than $100 million. This red tape rampage must stop.

8.     INCREASE EXPORTS. This President has been holding hostage trade deals with Colombia, Panama and South Korea as he tries to negotiate favor for Big Labor. The world needs to know that we are open for business and U.S. Companies need to expand beyond our borders to the 95 percent of people who do not live here.

9.     UNLEASH AMERICAN INVESTMENT. By eliminating unnecessary taxes and regulation, and expanding trade, we will create an incentive for investment in America again. We must do whatever it takes to restore our ability to manufacture here in the U.S. We can do this by reforming the tax code, providing incentive for growth, and allowing the private sector to control the market with little government involvement.

10. PAVE A PATHWAY FOR INNOVATION. Recent reports indicated that the United States has now slipped to 5th in the competitiveness rankings, and 47th in education. How do we expect to lead the world economically when we are not doing what is needed to inspire and foster innovation here at home? The future of the American economy lies with the innovation of this and future generations.

11. ENFORCE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWS. The failure of the federal government to enforce its immigration laws costs federal, state and local governments billions of dollars annually. Our nation was founded on the rule of law, and we must ensure U.S. immigration laws are respected and enforced not only to preserve our national security, but to protect federal, state, and local budgets, and to curb the unfair strain on our country’s job markets.

“My solutions are simple. We need to cut government spending, legalize America’s God-given natural resources, and stop taxing investment and productivity,” Bachmann said. “In other words, we need to do what growing economies do.”

Everything about Bachmann’s plan to right America is very Tea Party; however it is lacking in detail. The eleven points are good ideas but there is not an actual blue print to implement the plan. I think the lack of detail compared to Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan has lost her support among lower economic scale GOP voters because Republicans like the ability to read something concrete to counter Obama’s big government socializing counter-American Heritage transformation of Change. The lower Middle Class GOP voters represent the largest bloc of Republican voters.

It is very surprising that Michele Bachmann does not have a comparable tax plan to Herman Cain and now Rick Perry and Mitt Romney’s 59 points. My surprise is because part of Bachmann’s credentials to run for President is her experience as a tax lawyer.

Here is an excerpt on Michele Bachmann’s stand on taxation taken from a somewhat favorable website:

Summary

Congresswoman Bachmann consistently supports lower taxes for all areas, and has stated that taxes are simply too high. She was a strong supporter for extending the Bush tax cuts, and has repeatedly called for ending the death tax, the AMT, and removing the tax on capital gains.

Congresswoman Bachmann has proposed the Taxpayer Bill of Rights to put her views on taxes on the record. This bill of rights includes the rights to expect the government to balance the budget without having their taxes raised, and the right to a simple, fair tax code that they can understand.

In addition to calling for a simplification of the tax code, Congresswoman Bachmann has called for an end to the death tax. She stated that the tax was inefficient, a job killer, and discouraged saving.

In keeping with the idea of ending some taxes and simplifying the overall tax code, Congresswoman Bachman has proposed the Taxpayer Choice Act. This legislation would end the AMT, make the Bush tax rates on capital gains and dividends permanent, and create a voluntary Simplified Tax that would give individuals the option of paying under a highly simplified income tax system or under the regular income tax as it is structured now.

During the 2010 debate over extending the Bush tax cuts, Congresswoman Bachmann noted that higher tax rates do not mean higher tax revenues. She stated that higher rates or the uncertainty of a temporary extension would hamper economic growth.

Although she has not proposed a specific tax plan, Congresswoman Bachmann has outlined steps she would take if elected President. The steps proposed included numerous tax measures, including:

1.     Make all the Bush tax cuts permanent.

2.     Cut the corporate tax rate of 34 percent to "single digits" to spur growth and job creation.

3.     Kill capital gains taxes.

4.     Zero out the death tax.

5.     Cap personal income taxes at 20 percent.

(Read the whole page that has Bachmann quotes on taxation.)

Recently Bachmann has made statements concerning a tax overhaul; however her statements have the picture of what she wants to do as President and is lacking the actual plan for Republicans to get excited about.

Bachmann has recently said she would return the country to a Reagan-era tax code.  Tonight Bachmann seemed to say something slightly different. “I will abolish the United States federal tax code and have a flatter, simpler, fairer income tax,” she said. (Last Paragraph of Bachmann @ IFFC speaks of “flatter, simpler, fairer income tax”; by O. Kay Henderson; 10/22/11)

I have not been able to find anything concrete as to what Bachmann means by a “flatter, simple, fairer income tax”. As much as I like Michele Bachmann if she does not come up with a blue print to match her “flatter, simpler, fairer income tax” she will be left behind GOP Candidates who do have a concrete plan. So far the only Candidate with a concrete plan that I like is Herman Cain.

JRH 10/26/11