Taxpayers and Other Suckers

Every person who has just filed their tax return, is working or their tax return, or who plans to file an extension needs to read Mark Steyn's editorial comment in Investor's Business Daily today. He concludes with "A relatively tiny group of people is writing the check for the entire global order. What proportion of them would need to figure out the game's no longer worth it to bring the whole system crashing down?"

But read it all, then send a copy to each of your Congressional Clowns. It's time they all heard us say that we're angry as h__l and we're not going to take it anymore.

I Was So Very Wrong!

I have been patiently waiting for the Congressional Hearings or the criminal trials for ACORN to be announced since they have been publicly exposed giving advice on avoiding taxes, getting fraudulent loans for houses, and smuggling Salvadorian 13 year olds into the country for prostitution.

But instead, Maxine Waters proposed an amendment that gave 5 slots in the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to representatives of "consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgages." Which definition sounds a lot like 5 people from ACORN or one of its subsidiaries.

The amendment was adopted by Barney Frank's House Financial Services Committee.

To read the details go Mark Tapscott's article at The Washington Examiner.

More ACORN Irony

ACORN is registered with the IRS as a 501-3c charity, therefore, they are supposed to lose that status if they engage in or encourage others to engage in any illegal activity. Read more about it at Sweetness and Light.

Hmmmmmm. How many times and in how many states have they been prosecuted for voter fraud or fraudulent registration before the recent string of videos revealing criminal offenses by officers?

On the other hand, at least some Republicans are demanding that the IRS sever ties with ACORN and quit allowing them to assist clients with their taxes. After watching the videos that have been released thus far, citizens can't help but wonder whether they helped them fill out the forms correctly or helped them evade taxes.

"When you break the big laws, you do not get freedom; you do not even get anarchy. You get the small laws."

And in today's America there are so many small laws that we all engage in criminal activity without even knowing it. As big government grows ever bigger, citizens are burdened with new little laws each time the President signs a bill. The Congressional Clowns may pass a 1,000+ page bill, but when the bureaucrats finish writing up the regulations, it grows much longer, becomes much more complex, and gains innumerable unintended consequences.

Little laws make everyone think first of our tax law that is so Byzantine even the IRS does not understand it, or in Geithner's case, follow it. If you were to call the nearest IRS office to ask a specific question about a specific tax situation, then follow the IRS advice on that same tax situation, you still could be considered guilty if audited by IRS personnel who disagreed with the IRS person who gave you the advice. Not only is the tax code tens of thousands of pages long already, but more pages of regulations are added each year.

Sales tax regulations sound easy, but twenty states follow recommendations of the Steamlined Sales Tax Project or SSTP. The SSTP is currently considering taxing Wheaties, Cheerios, Lucky Charms, and Rice Crispies as candy, although Cookie Crunch will remain a cereal. Their definition of candy is a substance with sugar in it, but no flour. Wheaties, for example, contains wheat flakes, not flour. According to a comment on American's for Tax Reform article about SSTP, Kellogg's Raisin Bran is considered candy, but Post Raisin Bran is a cereal. Candies, in case you were wondering, can be taxed at higher rates than foods in many states with sales taxes.

Since the regulations of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act were approved this spring, federal agents now have the authority to raid Saturday morning garage sales and jail the offending homeowner in a campaign called Resale Roundup. In addition to the draconian rules about plastic and lead products, the new law makes it a crime to resell any item that has been recalled by its manufacturer. Since hundreds of products might be recalled each year, for various reasons, it's impossible for homeowners to keep up with all of them. As a result, many resale shops have been forced out of business, numerous books taken off library shelves, and the hosts at garage sales face the possibility of jail. However, the really bad news is that Obama has asked for a 11.4% increase in CPSI funding, so more inspectors can be hired next year. Then they can do more raids on yard sales, Craig's List, and Ebay.

And, this round up of stupidity only hints at the growing government intrusion into our private lives.

Obviously, God is not a bureaucrat. He only has ten laws for a peaceful society. And they are so simple a ten year-old can easily memorize them.

*The title is a quote from G. K. Chesterton in The Daily News on 7/29/1905.