Why is the election on November 8th?
Many assume that the presidential election is on the first Tuesday of the month. However, this is obviously wrong. Prior to 1845, each state set its own election date as long as it was within 34 days of the first Wednesday in December when the Electoral College met to select the winner of the presidency.
In 1845, Congress passed legislation that required each state to hold the election for President on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Since the first Monday in November is November 7th, this year’s election is on November 8th.
For Whom Are You Voting For on November 8th?
Most of us forget that when we vote for a President or Vice President we are really voting for Presidential electors pledged to the candidates who will be elected to the Electoral College. A candidate can win a majority of the votes but lose the presidency.
Article II of the Constitution provides that each state shall receive a number of electors equal to the number of Senators and Representatives for the state. This means that there are 435 plus 100, the number of Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and three electors from the District of Columbia. To get a majority of the 538 total, a candidate must get the votes of 270 electors.
These electors are selected by the political parties in each state. While they have agreed to vote for the candidates selected by the voters, they are not required to vote for the candidate selected by their party.
In 48 states and the District of Columbia, the winner of the candidate receiving the most votes receives all of the state’s electors. Nebraska and Maine provide a proportional allocation of electors based on the candidate who wins the most votes in various districts.
On Monday after the second Wednesday in December after the Presidential election, the electors meet in their respective states and cast their votes. Although a formality, the decision of the Electoral College is confirmed by a joint session of Congress on January 6th.
What If No Candidate Gets 270 Electoral Votes?
The 12th Amendment provides the procedure for selecting the President and Vice-President if no candidate receives 270 electoral votes in the Electoral College. The newly elected House of Representatives will elect the President. They will choose the President from the three Presidential candidates who received the most votes in the election. Each state gets one vote. A majority vote determines who will become President.
The Vice-President is elected by the Senate from the two candidates who received the most votes in the election. Each Senator casts one vote and the majority wins.
The FAIRtax Opportunity?
A few days from now, we will know if a new President is elected or if the new President is to be selected by the House of Representatives in January. It now seems that the election will be very close. Both Clinton and Trump have huge negatives and will likely try to take some actions that will redirect attention from their negatives to something positive for the country.
Both Democrats and Republicans are making strong statements about the need for tax reform. The new President will be seeking to do something bold that will move the attention away from his or her negatives and the rancor of the campaign. If the Democrats regain control of the Senate and the Republicans control the House, any Presidential initiative will require support of both parties to pass.
Both parties are becoming aware of the growing evasion problem of the income tax/payroll tax system and that the present system is not border adjustable. These are two of the reasons that Senator Cardin introduced his tax reform bill that has a retail sales tax of 10% and no income tax until a family earns more than $100,000. Since 125 million of the 148 million individual income tax returns are for $100,000 or less, this will largely eliminate the filing of income tax returns for most Americans.
The Cardin plan also will replace the corporate income tax with a border adjustable value-added tax. Since the retail sales tax is also not going to tax exports, the two taxes will make the U.S. much more competitive in international trade.
Why The FAIRtax Is the Better Solution
While the Cardin plan does move closer to real tax reform than the other tax reform proposals, it is not true reform for the following reasons:
- The income tax is still in place and can easily be applied to everyone again
- The value-added tax is a way to hide taxes from the people and can easily be increased with no one being able to see its effects on their lives
- The value-added tax will add complexity and costs to all businesses from the smallest to the largest
- The payroll and Medicare tax remains and continues to be unviable unless the rates are raised significantly
- The IRS continues to exist
- It is not fully border adjustable
- No one will be able to see the real costs of government
- Eliminates the corporate and individual income taxes completely
- Eliminates the IRS
- Is fully border adjustable
- Saves the $400 billion of wasted compliance costs
- Only requires the collection of taxes on retail services and new retail goods
- Dramatically increases the growth of the U.S. economy
- Attracts huge amounts of capital investment which will lead to increases in prosperity for all of us
When he accepted the Nobel Peace prize in 1983, Lech Walesa, the man who led the Solidarity movement in Poland that helped end the enslavement of his country and led to the dissolution of the old USSR, said, “My country is in the grips of a major economic crisis. This is causing dramatic consequences for the very existence of Polish families. A permanent economic crisis in Poland may also have serious repercussions for Europe. Thus, Poland ought to be helped and deserves help.”
Walesa’s words apply to the U.S. today. We are suffering from an economic crisis and it is having serious repercussions here and around the world. Fortunately, we have the ability to help ourselves.
We can pass the FAIRtax and our economic crisis will rapidly fade into the past. This dramatic increase in growth without increasing the national debt will transform the new President into a beloved and adored figure.
Nothing succeeds like success and we have the formula. We just need to ensure that we make the new President aware of the easy solution to our economic and many of our other problems.
PASS THE FAIRTax!
Don’t Allow False Tax Reform
While many of us are donating to the candidates of our choice, we must not forget that the future of tax reform will likely be decided next year. Americans For Fair Taxation “(AFFT”) is one of the few worthy activities that does not spend your funds on salaries or even office space. It is a group composed of people who are donating their time and even paying their own expenses.
AFFT has been working for a long time to educate people about the FAIRtax. Oscar Wilde said, "You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies." If you agree with this sentiment, then look at the enemies of the AFFT. It is not the people. It is the D.C. elites who profit from the existing income tax/payroll tax system—even though it is obviously harming the U.S.
By contributing (investing) $10.40 per month, you help provide a financial base to AFFT. If you can make larger contributions (investments) these will be used not for salaries, as we are all volunteers, but for the needed updates to our economic studies which will be vital in 2017.
Please go to this link to invest in AFFT and in your and your family’s future.
New FAIRtax Book
AMERICA’S BIG SOLUTION - An Introduction to the FAIRtax
You can help introduce someone to the FAIRtax by informing them of this book. As the title indicates, it is an introduction to the FAIRtax and is directed toward people who may have heard of the FAIRtax but are not really sure of just what it is. Written by Florida volunteer Terry Tibbetts, the book offers a light hearted approach to a serious subject, reforming the federal tax system. America’s Big Solution gives the reader enough information to get them started in their examination of the most thoroughly researched tax reform proposal our country has ever seen. “ABS” is intended for people who may not be attracted to social media for all the latest news and would like to gather their information in a more traditional form that is not limited to a 140 character “tweet” or a Facebook post.
You can find America’s Big Solution on the three most popular platforms -- Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the Apple iBook Store. To purchase the electronic form for the Amazon Kindle or the print form, go to this website. To find it for your Barnes & Noble Nook, go here. And if you’re an Apple user, go to the iBook store at this site. The print version (only available at Amazon) is $9.25 whereas the electronic versions are all priced at $2.99. (Apparently electrons are less expensive than paper and ink!) All royalties go to Americans For Fair Taxation.
Please share this information with everyone you know. The more people know about the FAIRtax, the easier it will be to steer Congress into the only REAL tax reform proposal on the table at this time.
AFFT National LOGO Store
THE FAIRTAX® LOGO STORE
SUPPLYING EDUCATIONAL/PROMOTIONAL ITEMS
November BOGO TIME
PLUS
25% discount on all event banners
Now is the time to get the FAIRtax℠ word and logo in public’s eye. Therefore, we will be offering numerous BOGO’s ( buy one get one free ) for the month of November. Also, we will continue to offer all FAIRtax℠ banners at a 25% discount during the month of November.
Presently, BOGO’s are available on the following promo items:
Palm Cards, Business Cards, Adhesive Bumper Stickers, Magnetic Bumper Stickers,
Event Stickers, Scrolling Banners, Pens, Notepads, Pocket Calendars
EVENT BANNERS
We currently offer four event banner designs and all are available at a 25% discount, a super deal.
Your FAIRtax℠ Store is ready for the November national election time period with GREAT DEALS so you can present the FAIRtax℠ concept and logo at all Presidential campaign stops, at elected representative town halls/events, and all other political meetings plus your own FAIRtax℠ educational meetings.
WWW.FAIRTAXLOGOSTORE.ORG
When visiting the Store, don’t forget to order a supply of FAIRtax palm cards. Besides handing out palm cards at meetings and events, whenever you send mail through the post office, including at least one FAIRtax informational palm card in your envelope. And remember, many entities send you postage paid envelopes for whatever reason. So, why not send them back with an enclosed palm card and a FAIRtax sticker on the outside for all to see - keep spreading the word.
Please take a moment and visit our store by clicking here.
FAIRtax Power Radio
FAIRtax Power Radio Expands Its Reach
Who are The FAIRtax Guys? This VIDEO will give you and idea. It is Bob & Ron’s mission to save the entire country from the disastrous federal income tax and the criminal enterprise known as the IRS. In order to do that, we must inform the population of the FAIRtax, the best tax reform proposal ever presented to Congress. This is the purpose behind FAIRtax Power Radio, a weekly 30 minute radio show which you can listen to online or download as free podcasts.
The reach of FTPR has recently expanded to include iHeart Radio along with our other major platforms, iTunes and Spreaker.com. You can also find FTPR on SoundCloud and YouTube. Each of these platforms has a free app for smartphones so you can listen on the go.
The format of FAIRtax Power Radio is informative and light hearted. The FAIRtax Guys delve into every aspect of the FAIRtax beginning with the problems with the current income tax, how the FAIRtax will replace the income tax and what the many benefits will be to the American citizen when the FAIRtax become law. For instance, the FAIRtax will restore many freedoms currently ignored by the IRS.
The current system is so bad that even Thomas Jefferson has weighed in and is featured in several FTPR episodes. The FAIRtax Guys also have interviewed a Congressman, a business man and several Board members of Americans For Fair Taxation, the national organization promoting the FAIRtax. You’ll find out what’s going on in the halls of the nation’s capital and what you can do to help advance the FAIRtax, HR 25 to become the law of the land.
Listen weekly as a new episode is posted every Friday. As The FAIRtax Guys always say, When You Understand It, You’ll Demand It!
Links for Further Information
Please, if you'd like to keep studying and promoting the FAIRtax, make yourself familiar with the links below. We always do our best to keep our AFFT community up to date, and you can stay ahead of the curve using these convenient sites.
- The website of Americans for Fair Taxation
- The FAIRtax website at which you can get involved to help make it happen.
- The Facebook page for Americans for Fair Taxation
- The Facebook page for The FAIRtax Guys
- The Twitter page for Americans for Fair Taxation
- PopVox - Connecting people and lawmakers for more effective participation and better governing
- YouTube channel for AFFT
- Provides FAIRtax promotional materials with authorized AFFT logos.
- Do your shopping, save money and support the AFFT
Thank You For Opening The FAIRtax Chronicles, Our Sponsored Mailings
We plan to do several of these mailings each month. If you take a minute to open the sponsored emails and click through to the website, you are making an in kind contribution to AFFT. It is not required to actually make a purchase, but your minute of time will ensure that AFFT is paid ever larger amounts from people paying for us to send their offers to our supporters.
Again, we are making every effort to ensure that we work with only reputable companies. If you feel that any FAIRtax-sponsored email is objectionable, please email us at info@fairtax.org and tell us why. You can also opt to not receive these sponsored email messages but still receive FAIRtax emails.
Thank you for staying FAIRtax strong!
