The Statue of Liberty
On October 28,1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor and declared, “we will not forget that liberty here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected.”
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi
Gustave Eiffel
Money for the construction and installation of the statue was donated by French citizens and the costs for erecting the statue and its platform were donated by American citizens. The right hand holds aloft a torch and the left hand carries a tablet upon which is inscribed, “July IV, MDCCLXXVI.”
A French sculptor, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, designed the statue. The model for the statue was Marie Bartholdi, the sculptor’s mother. It was built by Gustave Eiffel, the famous French engineer who erected the Eiffel tower. The statue was assembled in France, disassembled and shipped to New York for reassembly.
It weighs 225 tons, is 151 feet tall, and is made of steel reinforced-steel copper. The nose is four and a half feet long and her mouth is three feet wide. Her waist is 35 feet in diameter.
The Statue of Liberty served as a lighthouse for many years. On October 15, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge dedicated Liberty Island and the statue as national monuments. Liberty Island and the statue are visited by five million people a year.
The Erosion of Liberty but the Statue is Celebrated
No one can deny that the America of 1886 and 1924 is much different than the America of today. Today we have the ability to access information instantly with a small device that we carry in our pockets.
The increasing use of credit cards and ordering on the internet means that more and more of our privacy is eroding. Many people post information on Facebook and other social media outlets that reveals every detail of their lives and even their indiscretions.
However, these are voluntary actions. People can still use cash and not credit cards. They can choose not to order on-line but go to a retail store. Posting intimate information on social media is voluntary. When asked about these actions, many people say, “Who cares? I am not doing anything wrong.”
The Involuntary Income Tax and the Erosion of Liberty
Filing income tax returns and paying income and payroll taxes are not voluntary. If you live in the United States and work here, you are required to report to the federal government, and 43 state governments, your income and detail any expenses that reduce your taxable income. The income tax has never been so widely applied to the population. It has also never been so widely evaded. Estimated at $600 billion per year and growing, more and more people are refusing to pay.
Prohibited by our Founding Fathers, the income tax was made constitutional by the 16th Amendment in 1913. Some have argued that, despite the 16th Amendment, there is no obligation to report your income and pay any income taxes. Unfortunately for many of these people, they often are either imprisoned or lose their assets. The courts just don’t agree with them and have repeatedly sanctioned not only the legal obligation of the citizens to pay income tax or go to jail but that it is OK for the IRS to assume a taxpayer is guilty unless the taxpayer can prove he is not.
Why Does Evasion of the Income Tax Lead to Faster Erosion of Our Liberty
All governments -- local, state and federal -- need to raise money to provide services. It is the responsibility of all citizens who owe taxes to pay those taxes. The alternative is for the citizens to change the law requiring the taxes.
Governments are charged with the responsibility of collecting the taxes legally owed. Unpaid taxes are actually debts owed to the government. Collecting these tax debts is essential if a government is to survive. If a person is guilty under the tax law until he can prove his innocence, he must pay for his own defense, but the government pays all of the costs of the people asserting his guilt. This seems very unfair and inappropriate if the dispute is over interpretation of the incomprehensive income tax code.
However, if people are illegally evading lawful taxes, most of us can understand why the government will use the full weight of the government to collect the taxes. The problem is that in order to catch these delinquent taxpayers, government enacts more and more laws to require “reporting” from more and more sources. Since a minority is evading the taxes, the effect is that the new “reporting requirements and enhanced enforcement methods that further erode our liberty” are borne by the majority of the citizens who are not evading taxes.
Just like at airports where all of us are required to pass through TSA screeners even though only a few are dangerous, these increased attempts to enforce the tax laws punish the honest and the dishonest rarely are affected.
One thing we know for sure is that in order to even slow down the rapidly increasing evasion, the income tax laws will have to become much more invasive and further and further erode all of our liberties—not just the ones of the people evading taxes.
Conclusion
Throughout history, when the citizenry is upset with the way a government is operating, evasion of taxes increases. One reason for this is that the tax evader can only succeed when his fellow citizens will not report him to the authorities.
Governments normally try to use force to collect taxes, but there comes a time when the citizenry rebels. Thomas Jefferson said, “Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.”
Is it necessary to go to the gun shows and stock up on guns and ammo to prevent this government tyranny? No, one action that will go a long way toward stopping this erosion of liberty and government tyranny is to repeal the income tax/payroll tax system and replace it with the FAIRtax.
The FAIRtax will not require anyone to report their personal financial affairs to the federal government. People will pay their taxes when they make purchases of new retail goods and retail services. This is the way free people have paid taxes throughout history.
Evasion will go down and once again our citizens will breathe the fresh air of liberty because they will determine the amount of taxes they pay and what “Big Brother” knows about them.
IT IS TIME TO 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
October 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 October. Also, we will continue to offer all FAIRtax℠ banners at a 25% discount during the month of October.
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 October 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
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!
