The Grassroots Corner April 26, 2021

MEET JOHN WESLEY NOBLES

John Wesley Nobles was a FAIRtax-er before there was ever a FAIRtax. Born in 1939 in Norwich, Connecticut, John grew up around submarines in Groton, Connecticut, within sight of the Coast Guard Academy. John's Dad was a World War II submariner whose ship, the USS Grunion, went missing in action off the Aleutian Island of Kiska, Alaska, on July 30, 1942. John grew up without a father.

The wreck of the Grunion remained hidden until 2007. It lay in 3,000 feet of water.  Experts think that a torpedo the Grunion fired circled back and caused the vessel to lose control, sending it into a deep dive causing it to implode. The sub struck an undersea mountain on the way down. A 52-foot section of the bow broke off and came to rest about a quarter of a mile away, making the sub challenging to identify.

When John's father went missing, John's mother moved him and his sister to San Diego. John attended San Diego City College and Los Angeles Valley College, from which he graduated.

The next phase of John's life generated a little jazz from the relatives. Although his family was Navy, he took a tour of duty with the Air Force from 1956 to 1960. As John describes his uncle, he was "madder than hell" that John didn't go Navy and offered to pull strings to get him an inter-service transfer. John preferred instead to return to civilian life. John has been a real estate broker since 1971.

John has many interests and has taken courses from Hillsdale College on the Constitution. He is active in the Republican party and has joined several clubs.
 

John's interest in the FAIRtax predates the FAIRtax itself. John never had any serious run-ins with the IRS but simply believes in freedom. Part of believing in freedom means that one is not opposed to paying tax, but one favors a better way to tax people. The income tax is not the better way. With a consumption tax - which is the better way- the citizen can decide how he or she will pay tax. John points to the 1943 Victory Tax Act as a time when much of that choice disappeared, and Uncle Sam got ahold of our paychecks.

John harbored these thoughts as early as 1968 when he became active with the Liberty Amendment Committee. John went over to Citizens for an Alternative Tax System, or "CATS" (where our President, Steve Hayes, was active). When CATS became inactive, John moved to the FAIRtax.

John followed Bill Spillane as the FAIRtax State Director for California. He wishes he had had the resources to do the kind of job needed in California and get active chapters in San Francisco and Los Angeles. But John sells himself short. He did get the California weekly telephone call started, which is still going today.

John points with pride to his appointment of Nancy Keesee as his first District Director. We lost Nancy last year.

John started the FAIRtax Time internet radio talk show, which attracted a million people to visit our website.

When Roger Buchholtz, then our national grassroots planning chair, asked John to be the Regional Director for the Southwest (California and Nevada), John readily answered the call.

John sees interest in the FAIRtax ebbing and flowing. The task is to keep some interest going; keep the FAIRtax Army intact, and keep waging the war. It is critical to stay connected so that, as John puts it, "When the window cracks again, we seize the opportunity and push some things through."

When John is not advocating the FAIRtax, he enjoys travel. In 2019 John got to Alaska and Italy, He was supposed to go to Ireland, but then COVID came along.

John lives in Apple Valley, California, near his sister and considers himself blessed with lots of cousins. John is the 24th cousin of Queen Elizabeth and is related to Mayflower Pilot and Master's Mate, John Clarke.

John is going through a challenging time with his health. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

I would love to hear from you if you have a John Wesley Nobles in your state.

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