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Once again, the Optimist has an opportunity to expand on a topic
covered too briefly by the Mogambo. The subject is taxes, and the Mogambo
shows he can dance at parties for both Republicans and Democrats. Since the
Optimist is not welcome at any of those parties, he can offer a dramatically
different perspective.
In his 2/08/05 editorial, Mogambo echoed the Republican view that
government "death" taxes shouldn't steal from the dead.
Fortunately, the Optimist is here to offer the good news that there is an easy
way to avoid paying taxes after death. After you die, just don't write any
more checks to pay taxes! That is such a simple and elegant way for a dead
person to avoid paying taxes that it is surprising that more dead people
haven't thought of it before. If the tax collector tries to visit you down
there after you are dead, just ignore him and let him swelter in the lobby.
Eventually he will remember Truman's advice that if you can't take the heat,
get the heck out of here, and he will go away empty handed. Although the
Optimist hasn't personally interviewed any dead people to confirm that this
approach works to reduce taxes paid by dead people, he is pleased to report
that he has seen no successful lawsuits filed against dead people after they
died. Republicans should be happy to learn from the Optimist that they no
longer need to waste their energy by trying to reduce death taxes to protect
dead people.
People who do not call themselves Republicans are concerned instead about
estate taxes on the wealth remaining after a person dies. Big estates are
important to wealthy families because that is the way power, prestige, and
wealth are retained within families and passed like Royal aristocracy from
one generation to another. In America, we are all born equal, except that
kids in wealthy families are born a lot more equal than the rest of us. Keep
reading and you will see that the Optimist offers a different approach to
taxes and equality.
In his 3/02/05 missive, Mogambo unleashed his egalitarian spirit to proclaim
that the rich should pay their full share of the tax on social security.
Although his sentiment is obviously correct, adding the Mogambo's voice to
calls for higher taxes brings tears to this reader's eyes.
The Optimist is pleased to inform you that there is a better way to
promote equality than by raising any taxes on the rich, or on anyone else.
That way is to have zero tax on income and zero tax on property. Zero tax for
everyone is the Optimist's idea of simple equality. The Optimist is happy to shout
the great news that we can all achieve the future goal of zero tax within our
lifetime by simply passing a Constitutional amendment which prohibits
taxation of income and property. Unfortunately, the Optimist must also report
the bad news that the government's demand for revenue is insatiable, so an
alternative tax mechanism is unavoidable. The Optimist's plan for zero tax on
the living people who earn wealth is to use the Republican's death tax
instead. You have to give the Republicans credit for focusing on a great
idea!
No matter whether they are rich or poor, people should be able to keep all
they earn without the government taking more or less away from them in taxes.
Since the only people who benefit from the current estate tax system are
relatives who made little contribution to the wealth accumulated by the dead
person, and the legal circus that accompanies the probate process, ending
that obviously unfair approach should be a prime objective of all who support
the concept of equality. The Optimist's plan to eliminate all taxes on income
and property by imposing a 100 percent estate tax will also appeal to those
who favor a simple and equitable process. The tax law would consist of little
more than a statement that a surviving spouse would retain half of all
jointly owned wealth, child support through high school for underage children
would be provided for, and the rest of the estate's wealth would revert to
the people, by way of the government. Those who are compulsive about
progressive tax rates should be really excited by this proposal, since the
rich, by definition, will pay much more in estate tax than the poor.
Obviously, there are many questions about the transition process and about
how to prevent people from spending or giving away all their wealth before
they die. All of those questions can be answered during the process to pass a
Constitutional amendment to prevent all governments from taxing income or
property. Although the relief from income and property taxes would be
provided gradually over time during the transition process, the
Constitutional amendment must be passed before increasing the estate taxes to
make sure that government doesn't cheat and try to keep all of the taxes it
can get from income, and property, and estates too!!
Note: Readers who prefer more detail on the above
topic, but unfortunately without much added humor, might want to visit Eliminate
the national income tax
While all eager readers are actively supporting Constitutional amendments
proposed by the Optimist, he would like to suggest one more for speedy
ratification. Voters in each election should have a ballot choice to increase
or decrease the budget for the office being voted upon. The net result of
that election would be binding on a proportional percentage increase or
decrease in the budget (and therefore power and size) for that specific
portion of government. As a special incentive to encourage voters to
seriously consider their vote to increase or decrease the cost and size of
government, The Optimist adds one new tax on the consumption of energy
derived from burning hydrocarbons. When more voters want to increase the
budget for government, then the energy tax would also automatically increase
to pay the additional cost needed to balance the budget, and everyone who
burns hydrocarbons would pay for that increase in the cost of government.
People who prefer to pay less tax would likely vote for a reduction in the
government budget, but all voters would have a direct voice in the decision
process to increase or decrease the cost, power, and scope of governments.
The sneaky part of this amendment is that it would also require the
government to balance its budget, so maybe Congress will find an incentive to
cut spending. The Optimist is also pleased to report that this companion
amendment and energy tax plan will make all levels of government more
efficient, and will have the added benefit of both reducing the consumption
of energy and encouraging the development of new forms of energy. The
Optimist is confident that most will agree that the gains are well worth the
trouble to support two little amendments to the Constitution!
Click the Commentary
link above to see additional offerings from the Optimist.
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