[HSList]Freedom

[TIMB...@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/19/98 11:19:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, VLJe...@aol.com
writes:

<< That is one reason I so sincerely support home schooling. It seems to be
our
only hope of raising a generation that understands their constitutional roots
and will work in whichever way necessary, to bring America back to it's
foundation. >>

While I may not agree completely with you, I certainly share your deep concern
about the erosion of liberty and about the failure of our education system
constituting a major threat to liberty. I do not see how it is possible for
any literate person who has read the Constitution to miss the clear fact that
none of the rights stated in the Bill of Rights are to be abridged in any way.
Rights can be added but none of the list can be abridged. Yet, supporters of
the Republican party allowed its leaders in the name of good cause to pass a
law restricting terms of office for congressmen and senators. These rules
were written into the Constitution for the very reason demonstrated by term
limits. The Founders created a delicate machinery of checks and balances
which they hope would prevent deterioration of democracy into tyranny. They
actually wrote a concise constitution and in that brief document they saw fit
to outline in detail how senators and congressmen are to be elected. The fact
that term limitations were not worked in was not an oversight. It was
intentional. This was a carefully and finely crafted document. Republican
leaders felt their chance to turn the tables on forty-five years of democratic
party rule was at hand. Impatient they argued for term limits. The real
reason was to insure they could take over the senate and congress. Well, the
"revolution" is over but the new laws are in place.
Another unpublished paper of mine (written in 1986) discusses why I do
not think we can get government spending under control or get a true curb on
big government. Our so-called "political scientists" are so part of the
political process and our sociologists are so politicized that they have
failed to see that power is alive and well in America. We have simply
developed our own type. Power is obtained and exercised by American
politicians in the form of money. Accumulation of taxes is essential for the
exercise of power which is spending money. This is why all Federal spending
comes with strings. A local school cannot accept even 5% of its funds from
Federal funds, as their are strings which amount to Federal take over of the
school.
The Republicans are just as interested in tax and spend as are the
Democrats for the simple reason that in American government money is power.
The so-called Reagan tax revolution was a fraud. Why is it that whenever
Republicans talk about taxes they restrict conversation to INCOME taxes? What
they Democrats always claimed about Reagan is true. He gave Americans the
biggest tax increases in history. Yes, he did decrease income taxes by a
small amount, but at the same time he doubled social security taxes and he
removed several business tax deductions for millions of small business and
self-employed people. By the way, by the Reagan administration, over 50% of
small business and self-employed people were women. He passed a major tax
increase for anyone who receives tips (these are usually low paid women) and
he gave us an aggressive IRS. The IRS was polite and treated citizens in a
helpful manner, unless they had reason to believe otherwise. My CPA and tax
preparer friends did not tell me about rude and unfair treatment of tax payers
until after Reagan's so-called tax decrease.
Democrat and Republican alike work a tax philosophy that consists of
trying to tax money every time it moves or changes hands. You buy a new car.
You must pay taxes on the purchase, even though you already paid taxes on the
money you used. You sell your used car. Again, you must pay taxes on the
money you receive and the purchaser must also pay taxes on the purchase.
Later, he sells the car, again taxes must be paid.
Starting with Governor Engler of Michigan (and his alter ego, Vianovitch of
Ohio), every day state fees designed to pay for certain services are now de
facto taxes used to raise general revenue. He has significantly increased
license plate taxes, gas taxes, utility taxes, cigarette taxes, fishing and
hunting licenses, boat and mobile home licenses, etc., etc. Of course, he
balanced the budget when the democrats could not. He was first to scream
whenever the democratic governor tried to increase any tax.
Right now, government is looking lustfully at the Internet. They want
badly to tax Internet use. They will succeed too. It is just that the
republicans make it impossible for a democrat to begin Internet taxing. The
republicans will find a way to start this one and then blame the democrats
later when they increase the tax. From my look out, democrat and republican
is like a Mutt and Jeff cartoon. Vote for either party and you just toss the
same coin. They are merely two sides of the same coin. Let the Republicans
figure out what is stopping them from running the government and watch out!
They have a negative platform. They fail to come up with any programs. You
cannot base elections merely on what you will tear down and merely on promises
of reduced spending. They really think that they can get union members to
vote for destruction of their safety net? or get workers to vote for a party
that promises to cut their taxes but leave them without medical care? You
cannot build a government in this country based only on what you are against.
Republican leaders do not seem to be able to figure this out. Fortunately,
current sentiment against big government and incompetent republican leadership
is kind of immobilizing both parties. Or so it seems to me
Tim B.