Conservatives Fear Bush Tax Plan will Help "Class Warriors"

Nathan Newman nathan at newman.org
Wed Apr 11 05:59:30 PDT 2001


This is a conservative attack on Bush's tax plan, which notes that if it is implemented, 50% of families will not be paying taxes- making a political coalition for promoting pet rightwing projects like the flat tax or further tax cuts nearly impossible politically. In a sense, however bad the tax cut is in the short term, it may be politically the last tax cut campaign of the New Right. Having made concessions continually to the Christian Coalition wing in the form of expanded child tax credits, the supply side right finds the political base for continued rate cuts slipping away. -- Nathan Newman

Say no to income taxes: Joseph Farah warns class divide will tear U.S. republic

News/Current Events Front Page Editorial Source: WorldNetDaily.com Published: Wednesday, April 11, 2001

The political machinations taking place in Washington with regard to a proposed tax cut perfectly illustrate why the only real, fair and constitutional thing to do is end the income tax and close down the Internal Revenue Service.

Let's start with President Bush's proposal. It is not only wholly inadequate in scope, it may actually be counterproductive -- further reinforcing class divisions in a country already stratified politically, culturally and socially.

What do I mean?

One little-noticed component of Bush's plan will drop one in five families -- about 6 million, according to estimates -- from the tax rolls.

That may seem like a good thing. In fact, because those families are lower-income people, Bush has boasted about this facet of the plan.

What's wrong with dropping more families from the tax rolls?

It plays right into the hands of the class-warfare strategists who have pushed confiscatory rates upon the most productive sector of the economy.

Let me explain.

According to IRS statistics, right now -- before some version of the Bush plan is implemented -- the top 1 percent of American income earners pay a disproportionate 34.8 percent of federal tax dollars. These are not necessarily millionaires, folks. The income threshold for that rate is $269,496. That figure may represent a lot of money in many parts of the country, but for those of us who live in New York, Washington, San Francisco and other areas where the cost of living is high, $269,496 doesn't go as far as you might think.

While paying 34.8 percent of the tax load, these working families actually earn only 18.5 percent of the income.

Compare the burden of this 1 percent to the share paid by the bottom 50 percent of taxpayers. They pay only 4.2 percent of federal taxes collected -- even though they earn 13.7 percent of the income.

This is why a "progressive" income tax is so unfair. It must be abolished. We must change the culture's attitude toward this socialistic idea or it will represent -- and I don't exaggerate -- the end of our free republic.

Think about some more numbers. Those earning $100,000 a year or more -- hardly a fortune these days -- pay more than 70 percent of individual income taxes.

Now here's the point with regard to the Bush plan. Under the administration's proposal, those high earners -- those productive people -- will pay an increased share of the tax burden. Instead of carrying a 70 percent burden, that group will bear a 74.2 percent load!

In other words, the rich will get soaked even more -- at least in terms of the percentages paid. In essence, after implementation of the Bush plan, 50 percent of the public will be paying no taxes, while the other half of the population carries their extra weight.

Now, what does that mean pragmatically in a free society? It means it will be even tougher to achieve real tax reform -- to abolish the income tax, to scrap the tax code, to dismantle the IRS. You see, half the population will be getting, in essence, a free ride. They can then dictate to the other half. They can set the rules of even more intense class warfare. They can, in effect, further enslave the productive class.

Of course, that won't work for very long. It never does. That kind of system destroys itself -- always. It's just a matter of time. And that's where we are headed unless the American people rise up angry and take their government back.

Being informed is the first step to achieving and maintaining freedom. Only an educated and moral people can aspire to be free. And that brings me to this month's issue of WorldNet magazine -- our offline monthly companion to WorldNetDaily.com.

While American taxpayers may not be in leg irons, they surely pay their income taxes because they are forced to do so -- at the threat of violence and physical incarceration.

Some people are fighting back -- not just protecting themselves by careful financial and tax planning -- but are actually grappling with the government directly, in an effort to overturn the entire system.

WorldNetDaily's monthly print magazine, WorldNet, is presenting one of the most important editions it has ever produced. The April issue is entirely devoted to an in-depth, critical analysis of the various arguments income-tax opponents are using to challenge the IRS and the 16th Amendment. The issue is titled, "TAX REVOLT: How Americans are challenging the IRS and the 16th Amendment."

What's different about this product?

Virtually everything else that is available on this subject is either one-sided activist argumentation or establishment propaganda based on IRS press releases. WorldNet's groundbreaking report is neither. Perhaps for the first time, here is an in-depth, critical, journalistic examination of the income tax, the 16th Amendment, the IRS and the legal strategies employed by those fighting "the system."

Tremendous effort and research have gone into this issue of WorldNet. In addition to the fine work of our investigative reporting team, we also have exclusive articles by Ambassador Alan Keyes and Rep. Ron Paul rounding out the line-up. This issue is simply the best "special report" you will ever read on the income tax and those challenging it. No punches are pulled.

WorldNet is published monthly by WorldNetDaily.com, and each issue aims at covering in a definitive way a major "big-picture" topic of interest. March's cover story, for instance, was "The Fed: How your money -- and life -- are controlled by America's banking system." May's issue will feature an unprecedented insider look at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Upcoming issues will also include in-depth, groundbreaking reports on government spending, evolution, vaccines, the deliberate dumbing down of America's public schools, the "drug war," the persecution of Christians in the U.S., and more.

Some of my colleagues suggest Americans don't want to read these kinds of reports. They say you only want to be entertained. They say you're complacent. They say you don't want change. They say you don't care about what is right and wrong.

I'm betting they're wrong. I think there is a growing resistance to tyranny. I'm counting on you to make this issue, this magazine and this kind of reporting a success in the marketplace. I'm hoping that reports like this one will not only help inform the American people, but will light the fuse to a new revolutionary spirit in this country -- one that will help us all throw off our shackles and rekindle liberty's fire.

Order WorldNet Magazine

For Education And Discussion Only. Not For Commercial Use.



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list