WMail ezine "Tax Revolt" Essay

The U.S. Supreme Court gave the Presidency to George Dubya Bush by fiat, though Gore-Lieberman won the popular vote. Many of the people that Dubya placed in his Cabinet and other offices are determined to do things their way, Constitution be damned. The Afghan War has been used as the pretext for blatant proposals to circumvent Due Process, et cetera.

It has been a long time since the United States of America has been a democracy, sorry to say. We live now under a very solid and powerful Oligarchy, whose collective response to the tragedy of 9-11-01 was the admonition to "Buy American".
If you obey this directive, then you have sold your Soul – you give allegiance to the false promise of the musty materialist, unattainable American Dream.

But the Individual – the few left unattached to the Collective (that obstructionist force described by Ayn Rand) – can take simple actions to thwart the mendacious intentions of the Oligarchy. And it will be rather fun, because to thwart an intention is to make the generator of that intention mad. If enough people join in such a project, then the Oligarchy will be furious – perhaps even to the extent that open class warfare will result.

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The Individual Working Mind can exercise his/her Freedom by taking one or more of the following actions:

THRIFT
        Pay off all debt. The ten to 25 percent A.P.R. that you pay on credit card and other debt goes directly to the Oligarchy, and, anyway, the principal is in payment for toys that you do not need.
        Keep your automobile for five years, rejecting the ad-driven impulse to replace it every year or two. If your vehicle requires more maintenance than the cost of your insurance, then it may be time to replace it. If this happens before the five years, then it is a lemon, and you should buy a very different brand next time around.
        Make double payments on your mortgage, which will save you thousands of dollars over time – and you will keep those thousands out of the coffers of the Oligarchy.
        Spend time with your children & family without spending money. Play with them in person. Talk to them, teach them a skill (or learn a skill from them). Read to them, and discuss what you have read. Visit the library together – or even a house of worship – on a regular basis. Better yet, visit a dozen places of worship and a dozen museums together.

CITIZENSHIP
        Since you will spend less time shopping, less time in lines and parking lots, you can use that time to participate in governing your local and national environment. As above, take your children to a dozen government meetings: city councils, state legislatures, courtrooms, rallies.
        Vote! In every election. And take your kids along to the polls: Teach by example.
        If you find yourself so inclined, join a group and become active in its purpose. The mature Working Mind will relish the chance to use Reason to halt the Forces of Endarkenment in any local arena. Empower some organization by your presence and participation as a Stand For Empowerment, for the Fulfillment of Mankind's Potential.

PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Immediately fill out a W4 form and specify nine deductions. Just ask in Personnel and fill it out and sign it, no explanation necessary. Diligently set aside your taxes owed each paycheck. In combination with the money that you save from Thrift (as above), you simply pay your tax bill when it comes due next April 15th.
Deduct the taxes that are due yourself and put them away in a savings account or buy I-bonds, etc. You will be able to earn interest from the Oligarchy, instead of paying interest to the Oligarchy. This very simple action will prevent the use of your tax dollars by the Oligarchy, and the money will be delivered faithfully to the actual Constitutional government only.

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Payroll deductions for income tax are, in effect, an interest-free loan to the government. The government, in turn, uses that revenue to pay billions of dollars in interest annually on loans (via the National Debt) from the Oligarchy. (Bill Clinton ended his term in office with a budget surplus, which George Dubya has already spent, already requiring an increase in the National Debt!)

Said another way: Your loan via income tax withholding to the government pays NO interest to you, while you – every taxpayer/citizen – pay/s interest on billions of dollars that the Oligarchy doesn't really need, so that they can accrue more money that they don't need!

Once you have no consumer debt, and are paying down your mortgage faster than required, and stop media-driven Conspicuous Consumption, then the interest that you earn on your savings and investments takes money away from the Oligarchy.
Nyah, nyah, nyah!

*          *          *          *
        John D. MacDonald's fictional 'salvage expert' Travis McGee had a secret compartment inside the boat where he lived, below the waterline, the purpose of which was to conceal $50,000 in cash that he called his 'F*** You Money': as long as he had not dipped into the hidden cash, then he could enjoy his life and turn down any job offer that did not appeal. If he used up his funds and had to access the stash to live on, then it was perhaps time to accept or seek another 'salvage' job, and thus the occasional plot was begun.
        When you have reduced your debt to zero (mortgage excepted), then you are halfway there. When you have one year's wages in hand – preferably not cash, but solid investments such as paid-off real estate or T-bills or I-bonds – then you too are free from the requirement to say "Yowzah, yowzah", to grovel at the feet of the Oligarchy in order to pay off your consumer debt. It takes a Free Individual to commit to such a course, and the Very Free Individual is one who has accomplished this goal.

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The WMail Newsletter EssaysVolume III - Issue #21: March 2002

"Tax Revolt"

The WMail Newsletter Essays
Volume III - Issue #21: March 2002