Taxed 2 Debt!

Real Men of Fiscal Genius: Calvin Coolidge

Yes, that post title is supposed to be sung in the mock-drama of Real Men of Genius.  However this is not a sarcastic post but one of respect of one of America’s heroes. 

We have to go way back here to a time when most of our grandparents were just being born, World War II had not even been thought of, and the economic collapse leading to the Great Depression was still a ways off–let’s head to 1924 and the administration of Calvin Coolidge. 

Unless you’re a history geek, you’ve probably heard the name but can’t think of a single act or policy that came out of CC’s administration.  There’s a reason for that–he was a conservative.  Our press and most current pop-history books being written by mostly liberal institutions won’t be focusing on him anytime soon because he believed in a laissez-faire application of government.  That type of economic thought is not a high priority with most educational institutions.  But regardless of those trying to forge, it’s important to see that in being a fiscal conservative,  he oversaw one of the most prosperous eras in our country’s history. 

After taking over for Harding who had died of a heart attack, Coolidge was not expected by the general public to be elected in the upcoming election.  It’s important to note that just before the Republican Convention began, Coolidge signed the Revenue Act of 1924, and the goal of this act was to decrease person income tax while increasing estate taxes and creating a gift tax.  Coolidge was nominated then won the general election outright. 

What followed is known as the Roaring Twenties.  Never before in the history of the United States had more people gained as much property and wealth and this was due to the laissez-faire policy of the administration: leaving regulation to the local governments and lowering personal income taxes.  The country flourished. 

A snippet from President Coolidge’s address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington D.C., January 29, 1925:

“After all, the chief business of the American people is business.  They are profoundly concerned with buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.” 

President Coolidge cut federal spending and lowered taxes– a lesson for us which shows it can be done.

He was a quiet man, and stated that in life brevity was of the utmost importance: “Above all things, be brief.”  His other favorite saying was “Do the day’s work.” 

He had other accomplishments not tied to fiscal conservatism but tied to great character: he stood for the civil rights of Catholics and African Americans, he freed those imprisoned under President Wilson’s Sedition Act, and he significantly raised the competence of diplomats and appointees to the court. 

This is what we need to be looking for in the upcoming elections, from top to bottom, be it Tea Party, Mad Hatter Tea Party, Republican, Democrat of Alien with Six Eyes party, this is what this country is going to need to get out of the current mess; i.e., giant federal debt, over-taxation, and politicians with significant character flaws. 

If it’s cool with Coolidge, it’s cool for our country.

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Scariest Thing You’ll See All Week:

Forget Freddie Kruger or any other make-believe baddies Hollywood feels compelled to recycle and throw at us every year, this is the scariest thing you will see all week:

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Warning: the above is not suitable to those who support Big Government.

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Also, here’s a quote from James Madison, writing as Publus in the Federalist Papers 45, and remember: Madison was the main author of our constitution:

“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected.”

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Tags: national debt

Robin Hood’s Political Afficiliation

That may be one of the silliest post titles I’ve ever written, but I think what follows  is a good snapshot of conservative vs. liberal thought.

I was excited to see director Ridley Scott’s reunited effort with Russell Crowe. The last time they worked together was on Gladiator–not too shabby of a film. Before going to see the film on opening night I checked out some of the meta review sites (metacritic and rotten tomatoes) and I found a strange dichotomy. The critics seemed to love it or hate it; there was no middle ground.

Looking closer at the negative reviews I began to notice a common thread: the words Tea Party and Sarah Palin kept springing up.

I saw the film last night, and I now understand why liberals feel a need to assail this one in the press–it’s honest. The entire second act of the film’s main thread has to do with over-taxation, by King John and the state controlled church.

Two examples, not very spoilerific: Robin Hood is about to be given a reward for a dangerous task by the newly crowned King John, and just before John hands over the reward, a valuable ring, he says Robin’s last name a few times to himself. Then says: “Your father owes me back taxes, and this will be a good start to paying that back” (loosely better-phrased) He then keeps the reward for himself.

Secondly, Maid Marion is about to be physically assaulted by one of the main baddies, and just before he’s about to attack her he says: “No one should own 4,000 acres”

She responds by fighting for her life and replies: “I own 5,000.”

I don’t think the filmmakers set out to make a tea-party friendly story. Again, it was just honest. The story has been told and told and the themes remain the same: hunting deer is punishable by death because the government owns all the deer, over-taxation, oppressive government–this is all nothing new. Know your Disney classics, New York Times.

I found the film good but not great.  It’s definitely worth the dvd rental, may not be worth your second mortgage to see it at a theater.

–

JT,

Follow on twitter: http://twitter.com/donttaxmebrosep

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“we do know who you are.”

Pennsylvania is breaking out the Orwellian fear factor:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/05/creepy-pennsylvania-tax-agency-ad-goes-big-brother/

We know who you are, and we know what you’re wearing.

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VAT Tax Talk is Heating Up:

The Heritage Foundation has a good breakdown as to why the VAT Tax is not something that will benefit the American people:

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/05/04/european-vat-tax-evasion-no-selling-point/

Warren Buffet has recently mentioned it as a way to generate funds for Big Gov, and President Obama named-dropped Vatty last month in a ‘trial balloon’. They call it a trial balloon, because the administration makes a statement and judges what the public response is. But we should think of them as balloons of death, manned by tiny leprechauns who want to collect your freedom in their vats. See what I did there?

To go along with this, inflation is up 2 percent. Your money that you’ll get to keep is now going to be going for less. Pretty soon the McDonald’s dollar menu will get you a napkin or a packet of ketchup–your choice.

The Vat tax was voted against recently in the Senate, but that doesn’t mean it’s not on the table. Wait till the budgets keep rolling in the red, and eventually Big Gov is going to have to find a way to pay for all of this. Most of the jobs they have “created” have been government positions, very well paying government positions. They money has to come from somewhere, either a devaluation of your dollar or a significant increase in taxes. There is no magic box that produces cash, last I checked Amazon.

And let’s not get confused about the VAT Tax and the Fair Tax, as some have. The VAT Tax is an elitist way to say national sales tax on top of everything you pay now. The Fair Tax is a plan to switch to a consumption tax in replace of everything you pay now. There is a key difference in the prepositional phrasing.

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