Along with the Myth of Authority – the idea that being ordered about by other people is legitimate so long as those people have given themselves titles or wear uniforms – there is this idea that, absent government, we’d never have things like roads.
Much less plowed roads.
It snowed hard over the weekend and I got to thinking about it as I watched the government plow trucks do their thing.
They do it very expensively.
It seems “free,” of course. The trucks rumble by and you aren’t sent a bill . . . for that. But you’re sent a bill – via the IRS, via your state-level IRS – for many other things, most of which (unlike roads and plow trucks to clear them when it snows) you probably don’t use, don’t want and – quite reasonably – would therefore rather not have to pay for.
Like, for instance, the estimated 10,000-plus nuclear warheads possessed by the federal government. Even if you’re not a Libertarian, it probably strikes you that a few hundred of them are sufficient for “defense.”
But we’re all forced to pay for as many nukes – and carrier battle groups – as the federal government decides it wants, even though we have little if any use for such.
The “defense” budget amounts to around $610 billion annually – nearly three times what China spends (appx. $216 billion) and more than seven times what Putin-rearing-his-head spends ($84.5 billion).
If the U.S. “defense” budget were to be cut in half, we’d still be spending as much as the dreaded Chinese and 4-plus times as much as the Russian bogeyman. Surely, sufficient for “defense.” Just imagine how much more money would be available for roads and plows to clear them. Things most of us probably would be willing to pay for and would pay for voluntarily
. Because we could afford to do so.
If, that is, we weren’t forced to pay for so many other things – like “defense” spending that amounts to more than what Russia and China and the entire axis of evil spend together.
Oddly, many Americans (especially Republican ones) believe “our military” is mendicant, like the ragtag Colonial Army at Valley Forge. That “we” must rebuild it. Because Putin, et al. Who – with his single operational Typhoon is going to challenge Uncle to nooklear combat, toe-to-toe, per Major Kong all those years ago.
People buy this stuff.
Literally.
They pay for “rebuilding” (endlessly, excessively) the military – and lately, on top of this, the Homeland Security apparat. So there is less available to pay for things like roads and trucks to plow them.
Much less.
How many miles of new road could be paid for with $300 billion dollars – just half the current loony sum burned up on the “defense” budget? America would likely not be invaded or nuked in the meanwhile. The 10,000 nukes in stockpile will keep and if even nine out of ten of them are duds, probably 1,000 Hiroshima-plusses ought to suffice to keep Putin from rearing his head. But most Americans – trained to an extent that Dr. Goebbels, were he still around, would find startling – react exactly as required, siding with the government as it sticks its hands in their pockets yet again. Note that both candidates in the late election worked hard to outdo the other as the greatest champion of “defense.”
Even “small government” conservatives defend the defense budget – not grokking that “defense” is also government.
And very big.
Like the rest of the federal budget. It takes so much from us that we have very little left to spend on ourselves. On the things we need and want.
Most middle class people pay about 28 percent off the top in federal taxes; add more if you are self-employed and have to pay “your share” of the federal tax (it is actually called a contribution) toward FICA, also known as the Social Security tax. These taxes have the effect of making it very difficult to set aside money for retirement – because all your working life, you are taxed to pay for the retirement of other people, many of whom do not “contribute” much and sometimes nothing at all. Regardless, the point is you could have provided for your own retirement – and probably, retired at a much younger age – if you hadn’t been fleeced at every paycheck to provide money for other people’s retirement.
All of us would be better off; and better able to help people who needed help. Non-coercively, too. Imagine that. 
The faulty premise behind the anti-Libertarian argument that “we’d have no roads” and other needful things rests on the assumption – almost never questioned – that we would not have the money available to spend on such things, currently taken away from us to spend on other things.
Including “administration” (make-work government “workers”) and so on.
Imagine if you were allowed (vile, isn’t it, that such language is necessary?) to keep what you earned. Not 60 percent of it. All of it. To spend as you see fit, on only the things you need and want.
Probably, there would be roads. Very good ones.
And plow trucks, too.
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We spend over twice as much for welfare as we do for the military. Stop feeding parasites.
At least the military is something outlined in the constitution.
Hi Sam,
Anyone who threatens me with violence to take my property is equally a parasite in my book. Worse than a parasite, actually – because most parasites don’t use force. They just leech, using the guilt of the victim. The Constitution is a document never presented to any living person for his approval and so it is not binding – morally or legally, if law lays any claim to morality – upon anyone as a contract cannot be binding that has not been voluntarily agreed to by all parties.
But who will pick the cotton?
How true. Kill this planet several thousands of times over. Turn it into a brown or red dwarf star with radiation as its signature spectrum. General Smedley Butler”s booklet, “War is a Racket; explains all this and shows the vast profiteering during WWI in those dollars, to boot
If everyone would just go to -Losthorizons.com , and read for yourself there you will read the real income tax law .
Be careful it will scare you !
How can you have competing roads with a limited amount of space? How can you build a road that follow an ideal shortest and safest path without eminent domain?
How do we get from building roads to having first claim on my life, my person, and all my effects? The “road builders” treat us as chattel to do with as they please.
It’s not necessarily about competition, but about private ownership and production of this service. Anyway, there still can be competition, either in the ownership or the management of any roads that will be built.
Now, we have mismanagement, as one would expect with an incompetent entity, like the State, which serves no real markets and has no real customers it must please to stay in business.
Hi Joe,
This is a utilitarian, rather than moral argument. Whether something “works” better (assuming that’s true) doesn’t mean it’s right. For example, it may be that building huge monuments like the pyramids may not be feasible without a dictatorial society and slave labor. Which is preferably, morally – the pyramids? Or a society in which people are not enslaved to build such?
So, maybe we would not have (as James Brown sang) superhighways, coast to coast. But we’d absolutely have roads – and for the same reason we’d have things like food and clothes. People want and need them. Therefore, they will be produced.
But they would be produced differently.
And without moral outrages such as eminent domain.
“How can we have competing roads”? Competition does not necessarily mean competing roads, but competing ways of getting from point A to point B. Who knows, mass trans might find more passengers if it were market oriented.
The sad thing is, the defense budget is tiny compared with some of the other things governments waste money on. There are so many of them its hard to even figure all of them all out.
” the defense budget is tiny compared with some of the other things governments waste money on”
Are you kidding me? ‘Defense’ spending, both on and off budget, is Yuuuuuge. That includes ‘intelligence’ (CIA, NSA, etc.) And all the deep gunvermin considers itself defensive.
Only Socialist Insecurity and Med-I-don’t-Care come anywhere close.
There are a lot of other programs out there, but they are drops in the bucket.
It would be more difficult to argue against government provisioning of roads at taxpayer expense, if they did a good job of it.
I was thinking…how much would it cost to build heated roads? Probably a lot less than our annual defense budget!
The problem is that the US economy is based on Militarism, i.e. the military/security/prison industrial complex. This, like everything else, did not happen by accident.
As an individualist Napian I do not like the idea of any form of forced collectivism. But I do see the difference between collectivism that is at least hypothetically based on trying to help humanity and collectivism that is based on fear and destroying humanity. I would rather see no collectivism because it always leads to destruction (by the military) but I also do see a difference between spending other people’s money for healthcare and the spending of other people’s money for a military based beyond defensive needs.
Forced collectivism – armed dogooder busybodyism – is always wrong but there do exist degrees of “wrong” if you will. The lesser of two evils as it were.
But let me be clear here, I do not support forced collectivism (government) at all.
Right, you support cooperation.
skunk, wish you could be hear to shake, rattle and roll with the B1-B’s doing their thing once again. Every tie the house shakes and the cats run I think of all that fuel being produced and sold by one of the richest families in the world…..just because of military contracts supplying fuel.
One thing about the B1-B’s is they’re ridiculously expensive in every way yet have never been used and aren’t worth anything as far as defense is concerned. Anything they can do is more easily done, better done and more cheaply done by some right out of high school joystick warrior and drones and missiles. And now drones deliver all but the largest missiles so where is the sense in it all? Oh yeah, those good paychecks the military hands out.
If you complain about paying income taxes then I don’t believe you actually understand them. Point being is that very few people are actually liable for the payment of income taxes and the law, while written in a complicated fashion, is very clear about it. First off, all income tax authority fall under the international branch of the IRS since the income tax only applies to foreigners earning US sourced income and American citizens working abroad earning non-US sourced income. There is no tax on any US citizen earning domestic income and there is no IRS authority to deal with such income. Most people will now ask then how come the IRS has authority over them and demands that they submit a tax return. Very simply, because you gave them that authority by declaring yourself something you are not, either a “taxpayer” or a “US Person” (form W4 or W9). Look, the income tax is 100% legal and constitutional and the IRC (Internal Revenue Code) fully complies with US law but people have been tricked into believing something that isn’t true and the government is making trillions on your ignorance. There is a fantastic book by Dave Champion (“Income Tax, Shattering the Myths”) that thoroughly explains the law in reasonably simple terms that most anyone can understand. The book covers everything from the 16th amendment, the Supreme Court decisions, the relevant regulations, Treasury Orders, etc which all show that the income tax is an excise tax that is payable by anyone employing a foreigner earning US sourced income. Once you understand the law you will find it rather simple to remove yourself from the entire income tax system. Dave Champion is well known by the IRS and he hasn’t filed or paid any income tax since the early 90’s. I haven’t paid since the late 90’s as many thousands of others have. Don’t fall for silly myths like the income tax isn’t constitutional or the 16th amendment wasn’t ratified or misinterpretations of tax law. Read Dave Champion’s book for a complete understanding of what the income tax is, who it applies to, and who actually owes it.
No one owes it, and I don’t care if only one person paid it: It is robbery. Extortion of money under threat of death.
If it is wrong for me to do it, it’s wrong for you to do it, and therefore wrong for anyone to do it.
Yes, some people do owe a tax on income but only those receiving a government privilege (such as foreigners earning US sourced income). Understanding the law is very important.
Good luck trying to get anybody with any legal authority to listen to you. They call your argument “frivolous”.
Check out Larken Rose’s adventures in IRS-land. One reading will dispel your notion that they will listen if you bring up the right argument.
They don’t care! Whether it’s a legal fiction or not, they simply won’t stop stealing from us. Period.
While Larken is a great guy he was wrong on the tax laws. Again, read Dave Champion’s book to understand the actual law and not someone’s poor interpretation of it. Most common people read law and apply common wisdom and definitions to ascertain its meaning which is incorrect. You must understand how law works, the difference between words and legal terms, etc to effectively understand law. So many people like Larken Rose, Irwin Schiff, Pete Hendricks, and others have misinterpreted the law and come to incorrect conclusions and therefore their arguments were quite correctly frivolous. Simply put, the income tax laws of this country are perfectly legal, constitutional, and logical but they only apply to a limited group of people and entities. Dave covers the 16th amendment, the Supreme Court decisions concerning the income tax, the Treasury Orders where the Secretary clearly states that the income tax is an excise tax on foreigners earning US sourced income, and much more.
Or, read about Irwin Schiff’s decade’s-long ordeal. He probably tried to use the same arguments that Dave Champion uses. Didn’t get him anywhere execpt the federal Big House.
No, not at all. While Irwin had many insights into the income tax he just failed to fully understand the law. He also made many mistakes in his methods for dealing with the IRS. He was convicted of breaking a court order in 2004 or so and the judge gave him an overly harsh sentence. Don’t assume what Champion’s arguments are without actually reading them. The IRS has known about him since 1993 as he has been the nation’s leading tax experts for over 2 decades. His book is excellent and clearly lays out the nature of the income tax in the government’s own words. This is not a book based on his opinion or wishes but simply what the law is, who it applies to, and who it does not.
Hi Peter,
You first!
The assumption here is that the government will follow its own rules – which is something I would never bet my life on. Or anything else of major value. Cops, courts make up (and enforce) “law” on the spot. And we are powerless in the face of it. Oh, certainly, you can “appeal.” And perhaps, eventually, you will prevail. After having been ruined, of course.
This is not (I hope) something that needs to be elaborated.
Evil wins when good people do nothing. I legally left the income tax system in 1998, Dave Champion left in 1992, and many others leave each day. Yes, there were some misguided people selling snake oil and claiming the tax system was unconstitutional or other nonsense and they hurt many people. Other people, like Schiff, were honest but did not really understand the law. Dave Champion lays out the law, in their own words, so that anyone not liable can leave the income tax system. Don’t take my word for it just read his book and even if you decide to continue to pay a tax you do not owe at least you will have an understanding of the actual law.
The problem, Peter, is that “the law” is whatever the people with guns and badges and authority decree it to be. Presenting these arguments to an IRS agent will not prevent them from simply seizing your accounts and property and perhaps prosecuting criminally as well. They have the power and it’s just that simple.
As an analog: You can quote the plain language of the Fourth Amendment – which very clearly proscribes unreasonable searches without specific probable cause – and they’ll still cart you off to the clink for refusing to cooperate at a random, probable cause-free “checkpoint.”
There is no legal authority in the Constitution for forcing people to buy health insurance, either – and yet we must.
The 2A says the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. And yet, it is.
That is the crux of the matter.
IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THE LAW SAYS. People looking at this issue should repeat it 100 times. Write it down that number of times if it helps. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THE LAW SAYS!
I have seen many “tax gurus” come and go over the decades. Some have been charlatans. Some were loons baying at the moon. Some had the legal issues nailed down pat. None were successful in the long run once “Uncle” got around to them. Then in most cases when one guru is taken down by “The Man,” another will will jump up and down saying “he/she just didn’t understand and apply the law properly.” It’s a pattern I’ve seen repeat itself many times.
Poppycock. The law does not matter. The laughably-misnamed “Department of Justice” is little more than a meatgrinder. They don’t give a damn about the law or your precious rights. They are there to protect the system and the status quo.
In fact one friend of mine who wound up in court years ago was told right to his face by the U.S. Attorney, “Every once in a while we come up against someone like you that has nailed this. We can’t let you win.” (My friend wound up making a deal and has been back in the system for years. I don’t blame him. “They” were going to destroy him despite the fact they knew he was right.)
The information is certainly out there. There is an excellent series of videos that will lead you through the code and the regs step by step, freely available on youtube. Those interested in the issue might want to watch but I advise NOT taking any action as a result of the information, except if you find yourself as a juror in a trial so you can vote “not guilty” with a clear conscience when some poor shlub is brought up on manufactured charges. Part one of the six-part series is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW1Pqey_pe4
But understand this clearly: THOSE IN POWER DON’T CARE ABOUT THE LAW OR YOUR RIGHTS. They have erected a huge smokescreen, a Big Lie. They will NOT obey their own laws just because the deception has been discovered. Employers, banks, judges, and politicians all continue to toe the line out of either the belief they are doing the “right thing” or out of fear or both.
As an example, back in the 1980s, there was a federal judge who would not give the IRS their accustomed special privileges in court. I think Claiborne was his name but I may be mistaken, it’s been a long time. Check that – a web search brought up references to him:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/22/us/harry-claiborne-86-is-dead-was-removed-as-us-judge.html
Tax trials are carefully orchestrated political events but Claiborne would have none of that in his courtroom and enforced the same rules as any other type of criminal trial. He would not give the IRS the time of day as far as granting them special dispensation. He was ultimately targeted and destroyed by the IRS. The lesson to this day has not been lost on the others.
I cannot emphasize enough that we are dealing with a tyrannical situation. It does not matter what arguments you bring forth. As a practical matter you will not find any employer who will go along with you, any bank that will resist an IRS levy, any judge that will listen to your agruments, or anyone at all that will be willing to protect you from the illegal actions of the Internal Revenue Service. They can take a while to get around to people, but unless you are working for cash in the underground economy they eventually will – and they may even get to you if you are working for cash. I’ve seen it happen to people.
So even though I myself have not filed or paid in decades and know that I am not “breaking the law” as written, I cannot in good conscience advise anyone else to do the same. Find another way to fight them.
(Sorry for the long-winded reply, but I really do not want to see people go off and hurt themselves when they discover the fraud that has been perpetrated on them.)
If our rights do not matter and the government is allowed to freely break them and do as it pleases then why bother complaining about it? Why are you even here reading this blog about liberty? Just give up. Me, I don’t give up or give in. I stand on the belief that our rights are paramount and government’s sole responsibility is to protect them, period. We must hold them accountable or we lose everything. Hiding is not an option. Ignoring the problem is not an option. Speaking out against government abuses and doing something about them is the only way to make a difference. Taking back a huge chunk of your freedom by legally leaving the income tax system is a good start. The fist step is to understand the law and abide by it. Dave Champion has done a fantastic job at explaining the tax system after he and his team did years of research, it’s a great place to start.
Hi Peter,
Before anything tangible can happen, there has to be a reawakening; a change of heart. My object is to help that along, to the extent I am able, by starting conversations along certain unorthodox lines – in order to get people thinking again.
About moral principles, specifically.
Once a sufficiency of people (as a for-instance) start to realize that stealing is always wrong no matter what it’s called; that if it’s not ok for you and I to do “x” then it’s not ok for anyone to do “x” – and so on – then action will be possible.
Spot on, Jason – thank you for taking the time to lay that all out. I concur and urge anyone reading this who is thinking about trying to quote “the law” to the IRS to think twice.
And then once again.
Peter,
Yes, as far as “the system” is concerned our rights do not matter and neither does the law. I’m not saying that people should not be aware of the issue, what I am saying is that as a practical matter until such time as a very large number of people are awakened and demand that the law be applied as written, as an individual you will be crushed once you attract Uncle’s eye. I have seen it time and time again over the last 40 years. Despite all the information that has been disseminated during this time, they still hold all the cards.
The “what the law says does not matter” attitude of the tax establishment can be summed up in a radio debate that took place in 1999 with a former IRS tax attorney:
http://save-a-patriot.net/talkshow/talkshow.html
Aside from the online video series I mentioned there is also an excellent book that can be downloaded in PDF format that addresses these issues. (It is also available in hardcopy from various sources.)
http://save-a-patriot.net/banned/Piercing_the_Illusion.zip
The author and organization originally responsible for the video series and this book has been banned from distributing them due to a permanent injunction obtained by the U.S. government, which was upheld at the appellate level in 2007. (So much for our 1st Amendment rights!) Therefore these are now available only through 3rd parties.
I am aware of Dave Champion’s work. He appears to be a good man, however he is not the first to see through the massive lies protecting the income tax and social security. However correct he may be, I would not want to see people take action where they will get hurt relying on the belief that they will be OK just because “the law” is on their side.
Hi Peter,
If you’re willing, I’d like to have you answer the following:
* Do you earn money “on the books,” as an employee or contract employee?
* Have you found businesses who will pay you without your having provided a SSN and filing out a 1099/W2?
* Do you have a bank account in your name?
* Do you own property in your name?
Yes, I contract with large corporations. Yes and No (have worked for some that do not require it and others that gave me trouble. Some people have gone to court over this and they tend to win and collect damages as well. This would be the route I would take if it were to ever happen to me in the future). No I do not currently have a bank account in my name (business name only) but have had accounts before and will most likely have accounts in the future. I just have little use for banks and find them unfriendly to deal with (nothing to do with taxes). Yes, I own property in my name (vehicles, business, real estate). No need to hide from the government but I do suggest that in these times everyone should consider keeping their affairs as private as possible as scam artists are everywhere and they continue to find new ways to steal your identity and assets.
Hi Peter,
It is effectively impossible to obtain (not earn) and retain untaxed income outside of the cash/barter economy – which is simply not possible for most people. Try being hired, for example, without providing a SS number and a 1099 and being subject to withholding.
Even someone like me – an independent/freelance writer – do not get paid when I write for a publication unless I provide those details, which the government then has.
Fail to file 1040 and they will come after you, if you have non-cash income (which will be reported; see above) and they will simply seize your bank account/property – unless you have neither.
And when you tell the IRS agent (and later, a judge) that “the law” doesn’t apply to you, he will simply tell you otherwise and take your money and your property. Possibly, worse.
You can avoid income taxes… by either being extremely affluent and having lots of legal dodges… or by not earning any income that’s on the books and not owning anything tangible.
Some people do the latter – and bully for them. I admire their gumption. But this is a peripatetic existence and notice that the end result is even worse than under the rigors of federal (and state) taxation, as far as your material well-being. You will live “in a van by the river” – or similar. You will not own a decent home/property and have money in the bank.
Not for long, anyhow.
Eric, you have a layman’s understanding of the tax code (as most people do, even tax attorneys). Only taxpayers or US Persons (both legal terms inside the tax code) must file a W4 or W9, period. If you contract with another person or company you do not provide a SS or TIN/EIN and if they demand one you submit an affidavit stating that you are not a taxpayer or US Person (read Income Tax, Shattering the Myths to fully understand this). Most companies do not understand that they are only required to ask for a TIN and if they fail to ask they can be fined $50 and only for those people/entities that are considered taxpayers or US Persons. This is all laid out in Mr. Champion’s book and I hope you take the time to read it and actually understand the tax code and how the system actually works. The government and IRS rely on your ignorance to keep the money flowing in, the law is on your side but it is up to you to understand it.
Hi Peter,
“If you contract with another person or company you do not provide a SS or TIN/EIN and if they demand one you submit an affidavit stating that you are not a taxpayer or US Person (read Income Tax, Shattering the Myths to fully understand this). ”
And good luck finding anyone willing to employ or hire you on that basis.
I assure you that every newspaper or magazine I have ever written for would have shown me the door had I insisted on the above.
Yes I have found companies that will and some that gave me trouble. Years ago, before I knew better, I did not push the issue but now I would. Knowingly signing a W9 or W4 that contains false information is a felony. If you know you are not a US person or a taxpayer (legal terms, not what you think they are) then you cannot legally sign either form. I won’t say this is always easy or that no company will give you trouble but the law is clearly on your side and there is no law that allows them to withhold payment from you. Only a Withholding Agent is legally authorized to withhold and only in certain circumstances (those dealing specifically with a foreigner alien earning US sourced income). A US Person is a US citizen or entity that has custody or control over funds to be paid to a foreign alien with US sourced income. The US Person is made liable for the income taxes of that foreign person which is why they have to file a 1040. It’s all very simple and logical when you understand how the system actually works.
Hi Peter,
I agree they can’t withhold payment. However, they can decline to hire you to begin with – or do business with you in the future. I’ve been a full-time, self-employed writer for going on 20 years. I assure you that I would be unemployed if I refused to provide SSN and submit/sign 1099s.
They always ask for it. If you don’t do the form, you don’t get the work.
And obtaining a salaried job at a company without providing SSN and having FICA and Medicare and Federal withheld?
C’mon, man!
By the way Eric, if you agree to read Dave Champion’s book and write an article about it I will buy and send you a copy. Just email me the address you would like it shipped to and I’ll place the order.
Hi Peter,
I’d be happy to read it (and review it). Address is:
EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079
I will place the order today. By the way, your blog is excellent. Usually read your articles on Lew Rockwell.
Amen, and, absolutely!
Exactly, Bob!
Now, the problem is getting people to think along these lines; that is, to think clearly. It’s striking how muddled and situational most people’s thinking is; it is not an accident. It is necessary to create it in order for people to tolerate being “taxed” – and to be indifferent to (or supportive of) taxing others.
Yet at the same time, most also understand it’s wrong to go over to their neighbor’s house, knock on the door and “ask” for “help” while fingering a loaded pistol.
Cognitive dissonance is a bitch!
The problem is that we are not dealing with law, we are dealing with power and its abuses. The government does not care what the law says. The law is irrelevant. They are not going to sit back and permit their tick-like grip on the public jugular to be attacked just because their sleight of hand has been discovered. Employers, banks, politicians, and judges are all terrified of the IRS. If it comes down to the choice between obeying the law and protecting your rights, or doing what the IRS says without question, which do you think they will do?
The only way to make this work is to fly under the radar by working a cash business in the underground economy and live a lifestyle that does not involve things like bank accounts or owning significant property.
Irwin Schiff was a good man (I’ve met him) but he made the mistake of believing the courts would do the right thing when presented with the facts of the law. They did not and will not. If you can find a copy, the book “Judicial Tyrrany and Your Income Tax” by attorney Jeffrey Dickstein provides a lot of details on this issue. The first chapter can be found here:
http://constitution.org/tax/us-ic/dickstein/jtyit-1.pdf
(For what it’s worth I have not filed a tax return since 1980. However it is not something I advise others to do.)
If you try to hide and evade taxes then that is a crime. You need to understand the system of taxation and legally remove yourself from it. Dave Champion assisted people for nearly 20 years and not one of them even went to prison or were even indicted. The IRS wants you to be afraid and not investigate the law or ask questions. They want you ignorant so you too will spout nonsense about how you have to pay and file taxes when you have no real understanding of the actual law. Read Dave’s book and you will learn a whole not more than you ever thought you knew about tax law.
Hi Peter,
The system is such that you cannot earn money on the books without a SSN and without filing W2s and 1099s. Employers will simply not work with you.
Provide contrary examples, if such exist.
Hell, you can’t even open a bank account without an SSN.
And the banks report everything to the IRS.
I don’t mean to be blunt, but these “you don’t have to pay income tax” claims are like the 200 MPG carburetor. Perhaps, maybe.
But show me. Don’t assert.
Let’s see an actual person who earns money as a salaried/on the books employee or contractor (i.e., not “off the books”) who doesn’t file a 1040 or pay income tax and hasn’t been prosecuted because he presented the arguments made by this guy in his book.
Don’t confuse “off the books” (implying tax evasion) with a person who is legally not liable for the income tax and works or contracts without an EIN/TIN or SSN. The only way to “show” you is for you to read and understand the laws concerning the income tax. I can tell you that I haven’t filed a return since 1998 or that many others do the same but there is so much disinformation out there (much of it from well meaning people like Schiff and some from con artists) that it isn’t useful. Start here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO7SbdzyIA4. It’s Dave’s weekly TV show but this one was devoted entirely to the income tax. It is very basic and just touches on some of the things he discusses in his book. Next, read his book as it is the single best source of information concerning the income tax that I have ever read. Contact me if you have questions as this is a complicated subject but one well worth learning as most people have a poor understanding of tax law (including most CPAs and attorneys) as they rely on common knowledge or confirmation bias. You can also email Dave as he has a very active FB page and website/blog. He will also be featured in a new movie coming out in around March called the Grand Scam.
When it’s the GE college bowl vs the Gestapo, guess who takes all the marbles and who just goes away?
Eric, to back you up. I also fought the bad guys, I learned the “law” and didn’t file the 1040’s which the law does NOT require me to file. When the showdown came, 10 years later, I caved and paid them.
The crux is business doesn’t know or care about their workers getting screwed. You are not going to work or contract with anyone without a W4, or a 1099. They are in business to make money, not fight for freedom or right. Their lowest overhead path is to simply do what the IRS demands. If that means mislabeling your employees and contractors as entities liable for Federal taxes, they are doing it. Period.
Exactly, Ernie.
Anyone who knows me/knows my rants, knows I object in principle to taxation as such – whether federal or otherwise – because I object to taking other people’s stuff (including their money) and threatening them with violence in order to coerce their “cooperation.”
But in practice, we are all in the same position as any German who opposed the Reich all those years ago. Better not push it. Better try to run under their radar.
Meanwhile, do what you can to survive – and spread heretical views, as you can. In time, things will change.
You are correct that big business generally doesn’t care about you or me but that doesn’t mean that we have to go along with them. If they demand a W4 or W9 then submit the affidavit stating that you are not a taxpayer or US person and cannot legally sign either of those forms as that would be perjury. Additionally, if they demand you sign one then let them know that is suborning perjury which is a felony. The law is on our side even though it feels like the odds are against us. Best thing you could do is read Income Tax, Shattering the Myths and see where you might have gone wrong and what you can do about it.
If the U.S. “defense” budget were to be cut in half,
So do we pay the VA pensions and benefits, but eliminate the active duty military? Or do we fully fund the active duty military, and eliminate all VA pensions and benefits?
OK I don’t know the actual numbers, so I don’t know if it is actually 50% benefits, but I suspect a lot of the military budget is actually benefits for the retired, and perks for active warriors.
I’d go for eliminating the active duty, as GW suggested.
The budget for the VA is roughly 160 Billion dollars, that is not included in the 600 Billion that goes to the DoD.
George, Why do you believe this is an either/or thing when cutting the so-called defense budget by half would still have the US spending more than four times any other government? That is insane by anyone’s standards. Cuts in “defense” spending, if they were made by honest thoughtful people (which I realize excludes most of those in our governance) have no reason to cut VA funding, pensions or much of anything else except the phony wars being fought in the Middle East to protect big oil, the banks and Wall Street and give the CIA something to do.
How much money could be saved there, not to mention the lives of our good people in the military and more than a million innocent civilians in the Middle East who have been killed and their countries wiped out. And are casually referred to as collateral damage.
The truth, and it can be verified easily, shows that the US has almost never engaged in defensive wars. They have been wars of aggression, not defense. WWII you might say was defensive, but the FDR merely used trickery to make it seem that way. The Japanese shouldn’t have attacked Pearl Harbor, however, FDR pushed the country into a corner by banning their imports of oil and steel from the US. That was provocative to say the least. He was certain the “warrior class” of Japan would be angered beyond reason, and they were. Germany declared war on the US, but it was a rigged game by FDR and Churchill to get the Germans to do so.
Just consider the facts. They speak the truth loudly. We have lost our collective minds if we honestly believe that no cuts can be made in the defense budget (more correctly called the Offense budget). Our government has lied to our citizens so much that nothing can be believed. And the result is we have the Patriot Act and all the mess that came along with that. Dubya, Cheney and Rumsfeld really sold the country on a phony scheme to increase federal power without regard to our Constitution — that which every military service member is sworn to uphold. And all this was due to 9/11, an incident they were praying to happen. The Saudis supposedly did this, so we attacked Iraq as soon as possible. Making any sense to you so far?
I’d say cut the federal defense budget to virtually zero. If shipping companies or coastal states want to purchase and maintain some of the navy ships, let them. We have the national guard, that is plenty.
As far as the VA, do away with that too.
Hi Todd,
Certainly, agreed.
Consider: Just one ballistic missile sub has within it all the defensive deterrent necessary to prevent any attack on the United States.
A single nuke – a crude one – is sufficient to ward off attack (see North Korea; it’s why the Iranians want one, too).
America has not been attacked by a foreign power since 1941 – and that was because America (the American government) wanted to be attacked and maneuvered the “enemy” into a corner such that the enemy had to attack.
America is like cops have become – a neurotic, cowardly, over-armed bully obsessed with its “safety” and looking for excuses to beat someone down.
This is no coincidence.
Also Hawaii is not really America and while it was attacked it wasn’t invaded and occupied.
I guess you could call 9/11 an attack but it is not something we need a military to deal with.
One nuclear boat? Eric, better leave that assessment to those that actually have been on them. The US Navy requires more than one SSBN to, if God forbid that day should come, take it’s awesome power to the enemy. However, with the upcoming Columbia-class, which is supposed to not require reactor refueling/rebuilding in its project FIFTY-year life cycle, the projected 12, IMO, is simply too many. I say eight minimum, ten tops, and why the design cuts back the number of launch tubes from the twenty-four on the current Ohio-class to sixteen is a mystery, since we’ve voluntarily limited the number of warheads by treaty from a practical capacity of twelve to eight. As it is, the W76 warheads which were originally produced with a max yield of 100 kT are being replaced with a smaller version that fits in the re-entry vehicle along with more “penetration aids” and is considerably lighter, it’s also a lower yield device at about 6 kT, as increased accuracy makes the “bang” of the older weapon overkill and undesirable for various reasons. The 400 or so W88 warheads on some of the missiles aboard the Navy’s SSBNs are being updated to the “Alt 370” standard, whether they retain the stated yield of 475 kT (as disclosed in the SALT II treaty) hasn’t been disclosed and likely will remained classified. Considering how many viable targets in the world can be hit when the boats are even in home port at either Joint Base Kitsap, WA, or Kings Bay, GA, and that unlike the old George Washington and Ethan-Allen boats that had the Polaris missiles that had to get within about 2,000 miles of the Soviet coasts, which mean much of the interior of the erstwhile Soviet Union was inviolate to them (unless they could punch through the Arctic ice cap, a rather dicey thing to do), the modern USN SSBNs can be well out in the Atlantic, Indian, or Pacific ocean on “deterrent” patrol. Cutting the projected run of the replacement Columbia-class boats from 12 to even 10 would save about $30 Billion (with a “B”) in acquisition costs, let alone the cost savings of two less Blue and Gold crews and related support facilities.
The trouble with military budgeting is that one can’t put a price on DETERRENCE. However, since WWII, and especially DURING it, we’ve had a Department of OFFENSE, not “Defense”, with American military personnel and assets in over 100 countries. The biggest thing we could do to ensure world peace is to bring our troops HOME, sell off our overseas assets, focus on actually DEFENDING our all-too-porous borders instead, and mind our own GODDAMNED BUSINESS for the first time in 80 years! It’s one thing to have a Navy with a credible Marine Corps in case we have a latter-day equivalent of the Barbary Pirates, and an Air Force..but do we need a huge, standing ARMY? Hell no! The founders envisioned that the manned defense of this nation would delve down to the ARMED citizens themselves. Works for Switzerland even TODAY, as it did THEN when the Constitution was drafted.
It’s interesting to note that the Chicoms, their own belligerence and arrogance notwithstanding, likely have less nukes than ISRAEL. And why the Jewish state needs ICBMs when their actual avowed enemies are no more than 1,000 miles away is a mystery. If they want big, bad missiles, let ’em build or buy ’em, sure, but let not the USA SUBSIDIZE that!
That’s enuf ranting for now…
The market, so to speak, is speaking. The sheeple do not like paying for the things government likes to buy, hence why taxes are lower than spending. They are just too stupid to realize the Federal Reserve through inflation-fueled debt ends up buying all those nukes and useless TSA and FBI agents. Or maybe they are smart and are all Rothbardians like me: repudiate it all.
Behavior of “The Government”, from taxes to all the regulations, is so ingrained in modern life that it is very difficult to grasp the big picture. We are suffering from a fatal form of cultural cancer, intentionally imposed on us by a ruling class that has nothing but contempt for those of us living in “flyover country”. Folks, this is a very well-oiled machine over which we have no influence. Forget “consent of the governed”.
The article linked below is very comprehensive, but necessary if you ever expect to grasp the magnitude of our current BOHICA.
2005 Passat TDI
1988 Citroen 2CV6
https://spectator.org/39326_americas-ruling-class-and-perils-revolution/
“America’s Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution”
When this majority discovered that virtually no one in a position of power in either party or with a national voice would take their objections seriously, that decisions about their money were being made in bipartisan backroom deals with interested parties, and that the laws on these matters were being voted by people who had not read them, the term “political class” came into use.
I have read this piece by Angelo Codevilla. It is excellent, and you are right to recommend it. It’s probably one of those pieces that one would return to again and again.
Maybe some good news about the ethanol ripoff.
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/12/28/trump-against-ethanol-despite-campaign/
Looks like I posted my rant on the wrong article this morning although they’re about the same thing. We just suffered a round of cold weather, 6 degrees Friday morning with wind chill way down below zero. We had snow, luckily, very little on Thursday. Once the wind quit howling from the N it turned to howling from the S so that 43 degrees yesterday had a sort of cryogenic feel to it.
We had our taxes raised this year, without a vote or how do you do, illegally in fact, by the county for a new $8.2M dollar cop shop and jail. Last I knew the jail had 2 people in it and if it weren’t for drug laws, it wouldn’t have had anyone incarcerated. Instead of buying good, used pickups for the county workers as has always been done, now we have brand spanking new pickups. All this money is being paid by land owners. Everyone else fairly much gets a bye on the new tax but those of us who own land are taking it on the nose and it will increase every year for 8 years……and that’s just because of the jail. We needed a new jail like I need another asshole. And to think it was done with nary a vote only makes it worse.
A couple observations.
First, you are talking about taxes that you see; that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “Corporate taxes” that are rolled into every product you buy at every step of the way, are massive. Gasoline taxes are onerous beyond belief. E.g. North Carolina has a tax of over 50¢ PER gallon (fed & state, and the state went up AGAIN) which at a selling price per gallon of around $2 is a marginal 33%! Property taxes both real estate and personal make actual “ownership” of land and major merchandise a mere fiction.
Second, as to the waste on the alphabet soup of the Security Apparatus. It’s been reported that the TSA has an armed goon…ooops…GUARD stationed about 20 feet from the baggage carousel where the shooting took place in Ft. Lauderdale. He probably wet his/her pants and dived for cover while 5 were killed and 8 wounded. All the while the killer had time to reload the walk out the door. I’d call these people parasites but, wouldn’t want to offend tape worms.
Hi Mark,
Absolutely.
PS: It is -3 here in the Woods. I am hunkered by the wood stove. As are the cats…. all four!
bundle up, it’s just gettin’ colder.
Dear God,
Please let Global Warming occur.
We pray in the name of Your Son,
Amen.
I know right, high this weekend was 20f here in PA. It’s too cold..
Public roads were billed as self-sustaining in that the gas tax was supposed to pay for the building and upkeep. But of course a gas tax increase affects everyone equally (Except that it encourages better fuel economy because a more fuel efficient vehicle won’t use as much), so instead of paying the real cost of public roads we only pay an amount that’s “fair” to everyone.
And of course once the tax revenue is in the hands of the overlords someone decides it makes more sense to spend it on something other than roads.
The most outrageous thing though is the gas-guzzler tax. So now not only are you taxing fuel, now you’re going to penalize low economy vehicles as a “stick” to discourage consumption. Does this surcharge go to road maintenance? I can’t seem to find the answer in a quick search, but I’m going to guess not. It seems to me the more effective “stick” would be to simply make the roads revenue neutral/self-sustaining, but what the hell do I know? I guess because that too would be “unfair” and anyway everyone knows only rich people drive gas hogs by choice.
Oregon also taxes high-economy vehicles extra, by charging more for their registration. No matter what, government will find ways to steal your money.