A Flat Tax Is Not A Fair Tax

Dick Armery, a leader of the Tea Party movement, likes to say that the flat tax is a fair tax. This is not true. The wealthy have more opportunity to partake in our economic system and therefore there is nothing unfair about them paying more in taxes.

Further, a flat tax would be more fair if our economic system was operated as a truly free market. Presently, many of our markets are controlled by a small group of corporations that stifle competition and new entries from participating in the market. This concentration of power results from the refusal of our government to enforce anti-trust laws and the Supreme Court allowing unlimited campaign contributions from these large corporations.

We need to amend the constitution..

It Is Demand Stupid!

Many in Washington, mostly Republicans, argue that if taxes were reduced  for the wealthy they would ivest more and the result would be more jobs for the working/middle class  Reduce taxes and regulation and the private sector will pour funds into investments that in turn will get the economy growing and unemployment will drop swiftly.

To them I say: It’s demand stupid. America’s business community is already flush with cash. They are not investing because the middle class is not buying the goods and services that these companies produce.These corporations are not run by the builder of The Field of Dream. They do not believe if they build one more new home the middle class will buy it.

The income inequality in America evolved over the last thirty years and there is no magic formula that will change it overnight. Change will come as America wakes up and demands that our economic system  once again becomes a Free Market system. At present many of our industries are contolled by a small group of companies that can dictate price and quality of products produced. For this to happen, our politicians must enforce anti-trust laws against these large corporations. These companies are focused on keeping their power rather than serving the market. Change will not happen as long as corporations are bribing politicians with there large political contributions. This in turn is why it is necessary to amend the constitution banning contributions from large corporations and unions.

America: Make It Great Again!

“We are slowly — and painfully — being forced to realize that we are no longer the America of our imaginations. Our greatness was not enshrined. Being a world leader is less about destiny than focused determination, and it is there that we have faltered.” America’s Exploding Pipe Dream,  Charles Blow, New York Times, October 29, 2011

One can agree with most of what is said above except for one major point. Blow makes it sound like it is over. It is not over unless we believe it is over. What made our nation great is not its founders and it is not its constitution and rule of law; however, these were pillars on which this great country could be built.

The greatness of the United States is the people who had a dream and came here determined to fill that dream. They knew it would be a struggle. They knew there would be setbacks. They knew that sacrifices would have to be made. They knew that some among them would not share the dream  and try to take undue advantage of our optimism. They came and continued to dream and were willing to work hard, and fight if need be, to attain their dream.

The dream is still alive. When Martin Luther King said “I have a dream” he was not only speaking to black Americans. He was speaking to all Americans; present and future. The dream is alive and will become reality if we chose to make it reality. I look at the Tea Party and conclude they don’t think it is over. I look at the Occupy Group and they are not saying it is over. I read parts of the Constitution and there is nothing indicating that it is over. I talk to my neighbors, who are disgusted with the direction of the country; however, they do not say it is over.

Yes, our beloved country has been driven off course. Yes, we have squandered some of the progress that we have made. Yes, many of our current politicians seek office as a career path to personal wealth and fame instead of being the stewards driving this country to greatness. Yes, the world is more competitive than it has ever been. Yes, our Union is not perfect and it never was or will be.

All of our problems can be fixed and the only obstacle standing in the way is ourselves and our willingness to work hard to bring about the necessary changes. This country is still “of the people, by the people”.

Well People let’s do it. Doing it includes amending the constitution removing the ability of unions and corporations from buying our politicans with campaign bribes. Doing it means holding our elected offical accountable to we the people Doing it means not giving up.

Why Super Committee Getting Super Duper

“Led by President Obama, pressure is building on the new Congressional committee on deficit reduction to “go big” — beyond its mandate to shave as much as $1.5 trillion from budget shortfalls over 10 years — even as doubts remain about the panel’s ability to find enough bipartisan agreement to meet even the original goal.” New York Times, September 12, 2011

There is a push to have the Super Committee go for reducing the deficit from the original mandate of $1.5 trillion to $4 trillion.

Sarcastically speaking, maybe the Super Committee should become a new branch of the federal government The committee exist because the House, Senate and President is not able to do their jobs. Our representatives know something “big”, over the long run, must be done to overcome our budget problems; however, our current method of financing campaigns, by receiving “bribes” from large multinational companies, unions and oligopolies, prevents them from following through and making the right decisions.

A bolder deficit plan is needed to overcome the problem  However, no one individual has the right to change the objective of the Super Committee. It was established by Congress and agreed to by the President and they need to stick to their original objective of cutting the deficit by $1.5 trillion. If they have time, they certainly should give recommendations for further cuts, but it is up to congress and the president to make the ultimate, unencumbered, decision of what to do.

What really needs to be done is campaign reform. It is the fiduciary responsibility of our elected officials to do so. In addition, an amendment to the Constitution is needed to outlaw contributions from labor unions and corporations. They do not have the right to vote. Why should they have the right to buy votes?

Oligopolies: The Solution

I have been consistently complaining about the consolidation of industries in this country and the creation of oligopolies that are controlling more and more of our economy and thus destroying the free market system. Over the weekend I was asked what I recommend we do about it. Our government must carry out the laws of this land, including anti-trust laws that were created to prevent the destruction of free markets by private entities.For starters, the industries that need to be investigated include health insurance, banking, finance, mobile phone, Pharmaceutical and cable/communications. There will be more industries that will warrant investigation after further review.

Campaign contributions by these oligopolies and large multinational companies are preventing congress and the president from investigating the destructiveness of these industries and companies. In our current political climate the only way to correct the problem is to amend the constitution to not allow contributions from unions and corporations. Given the amount of political bribes handed out by these entities, change will not happen any other way.

There is a group trying to do just that. It is called Fix Congress First. They, along with the founder of the largest grassroots tea party organization in the nation, are holding a Conferance on the Constitutional Convention at Harvard University in September. This could be the beginning. I want to stress that I am not a member of either organization and I disagree with allot of what the Tea Party stands for. In this case, they have it right.