home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The Arsenal Files 8
/
The Arsenal Files Collection #8 (Arsenal Computer) (1996).ISO
/
govwatch
/
lhi-11.zip
/
LHI-11.TXT
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-09-12
|
4KB
|
81 lines
==============================================================
The BIRCH BARK BBS / 414-242-5070
==============================================================
The Lincoln-Heritage Institute
WHO OWNS THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR
---------------------------------
By C. Grady Drago
In 1763, the seeds of the American Revolution were cast by
the British Parliament when they began the imposition of a series
of taxes on what the colonists considered their productivity and
personal property. The battles and debates that ensued were very
similar to the debate that is occurring today. Why has this level
of outrage over taxes occurred? A glance at historical events and
data bring our current tax and deficit picture into focus.
It took 164 years (until 1940) for the federal budget to
reach the $10 billion level. In that same year, the federal debt
was $51 billion and the GNP stood at $96 billion. It took only 30
more years (1970) for the budget to approach the $200 billion
plateau and for the national debt to be run up to $381 billion. As
bad a picture as these figures paint, things have actually worsened
during the past 22 years.
The federal budget exceeds the astronomical level of $1.4
trillion, the deficit exceeds $280 billion which is greater than
the entire federal budget in 1970, and our national debt has soared
to over $4 trillion. This money drain, plus strangling regulatory
burdens, are viruses that are sapping the vitality from our
economy.
Beginning in 1909, with the passage of a corporate excise
tax, and 1913, with the enactment of the federal income tax, the
U.S. Congress has generated just over 225 tax bills that have been
signed into law. The overwhelming majority of these bills were to
fund new programs or to "retire" the debt. Not a single instance
can be found where the net result of a tax increase has been a
reduction in the national debt.
In spite of the occasional "tax rebellions", the liberals have
been tenacious and creative in their insatiable appetite for the
fruits of our labor so they can continue their favorite programs.
In November of 1994, the voters of this nation rebelled against big
government and against the efforts of President Clinton and his
liberal supporters to accelerate the centralization of power in
Washington. The new Congressional Leadership took action on their
own, because the President had no programs to implement the wishes
of Americans. The result? Our "Monday Morning" President,
unwilling or unable to create any programs of his own, did what all
spectators do - he criticized, and then bailed out with one veto
after another. Now he states that the new Congressional Leadership
has not delivered on their promises to America. Is it me, or is
their something not right here?
The current condition of our tax code and the level of taxes
is due to the centralization of power in Washington and to the
continuance and expansion of the liberal social programs that came
out of the past fifty years. These programs, which this President
and his liberal supporters have continued to pursue failed (with a
few exceptions). There should be a lesson here if we answer the
question of why did the liberals' social programs fail.
This question was answered by Charles Murray in his book Losing
Ground, a study of the Great Society Programs. As Murray pointed
out, a major reason the programs failed was because once "a minimum
level of physical well being was met among the many things that
produce satisfaction, dignity, and happiness, few were purely
economic."
Decentralizing power in Washington, decreasing taxes,
providing opportunity and incentive, and allowing one to reap the
rewards of their labor will provide the fuel for a vital free
market economy and the return of the freedom American's fought
for in 1876.
[end]