Aren't You Really, Really Glad YOU'VE Taken Control Of How Much Of YOUR Money Washington Gets To Spend, Just As The Founders Intended?
Laying The Framers' "Invisible Hand" On The
Shoulder Of The Out-Of-Control State
IN THIS EDITION'S
LEAD COMMENTARY, I ALLUDE TO the "invisible hand" of restraint
upon the state designed and deployed by the Founders and Framers.
This is the mechanism whereby every individual American effectively
constrains the size and power of the federal government simply by
acting in harmony with the taxing clauses of the Constitution.
The "invisible hand" restraint mechanism is a subtle engine of
freedom, operating just like Adam Smith's better-known "invisible
hand" engine of prosperity. It is fueled by millions of decisions
intended only to benefit each American individually, each of which
nonetheless acts organically and inevitably to benefit everyone by
keeping the state small and more-or-less un-dangerous to liberty.
For nearly all of the 150 years or so during which the engine ran
strong before sputtering into "idle" in the 1940s, the state
remained small and in harness, and the American people grew in
prosperity while preserving their liberties.
This "invisible hand" engine of freedom is, in fact, the ONLY
mechanism whereby effective constraints can be laid on the state.
Certainly the founding generation felt this way, as evidenced by the
prescriptions and proscriptions within the federal charter. Had the
framers been willing to rely upon the political process to keep the
state under control, no rules concerning the taxing power would have
been seen as necessary. As I said last week:
The founders recognized that under no circumstances can a state
which is allowed to control the disposition of a significant
fraction of the country's aggregate resources be meaningfully
restrained in any respect. They also recognized by equipping each
individual with the power to largely decide how much of his or her
own resources stays home, the simple dynamic of each person looking
out for his or her own interests will operate as a mammoth
"invisible hand" on the state's shoulder, imposing a critically
important restraint which can be imposed in no other way.
OF COURSE, AS I ALSO SAID LAST WEEK, responsibility for keeping the
framers' engine of freedom humming along is on you and me. Left
untended, that engine will do nothing, and in the absence of the
countervailing pressure of each American to keep control of his or
her own money and power, the state's power will automatically grow.
As Jefferson observed,
"[In the absence of activism to the
contrary,] [t]he natural progress of things is for liberty to yield
and government to gain ground."
Nature tolerates no vacuums, and human nature especially tolerates no power
vacuum. When individuals relax their grip on their resources and the power that
attends control of those resources, opportunistic interests will rush to seize
them. It's up to each of us to keep things balanced the way the way their
supposed to be, with the state bound down to its proper size and role.
"A nation of
sheep will beget a government of wolves."
As Long As Myths About The Income Tax Persist,
The Misapplication Of The Tax Will Continue
FEBRUARY 3, 2013 MARKED THE 100th ANNIVERSARY of the adoption of the
16th Amendment. As was to be expected, a lot of punditry on the
subject could be found throughout cyberspace and in the mainstream
media harmfully mis-stating the facts concerning the amendment, and
thereby helping perpetuate the mis-application of the "income" tax.
The
chief error made in these articles is the characterization of the
amendment as the origin of the income tax. The
chief ill effect of this error is that imagining the 16th
Amendment to be the origin of the tax makes it very easy to
misunderstand the real nature of the tax as an excise of limited
scope on only distinguished, specialized receipts.
On the
other hand, understanding that the 16th is NOT the origin of the
tax makes recognition of the true nature of the tax virtually
inescapable. Understanding the true origin of the tax means
recognizing that the tax predates the amendment by many years
during which it was applied to the very same things to which it
applies now-- and was so applied without apportionment, while being properly
upheld by the courts as completely Constitutional. This, in turn,
reveals that the objects of the tax were, and are, of a limited,
distinguishable character that have always been suited to a
non-apportioned tax.
Because getting these things wrong conceals the true nature
of the tax, and getting them right reveals that true nature, this is
not only just a matter of academic and professional integrity.
Instead, it is a matter of enormous public interest concerning the
truth about a tax by which control of 35-45% of productive America's
earnings has annually been being transferred from its rightful
owners to a hungry horde of sociopaths intent on living by the
"political means".
CLEARLY, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT that punditry erroneously perpetuating
myths about the 16th Amendment and the tax be corrected, and this
will only happen if each of your reading these words help to educate
those responsible. You will all have seen articles this past week
about the amendment and/or the tax. Please send
the document you'll find here (preferably with a nice, polite
cover letter) to every writer responsible for such an article, and
to that writer's editor as well, where appropriate.
If
each of you takes part in this endeavor, we will soon see a welcome
transformation in the minds of everyone with whom those of us
standing up for the rule of law and the proper application of the
tax must deal. I don't need to explain what a difference that will
make.
P.S. That
document is a great tool for introducing the truth about the tax
to others, as well...
A New Page Dedicated To Trolls Lurking
Under Cognitive Crossings
FOR
ALL THE YEARS SINCE 2003 when
CtC was first
published, the government has engaged in a concerted effort to
frighten people away from its truths, which the government,
unsurprisingly, finds highly inconvenient. This effort involves
official government websites and press releases touting an
occasional court ruling that appears to be at odds with some
CtC-revelation
(but without details sufficient to expose the real substance of the
ruling so that it can be properly understood-- this practice, with
examples, is discussed below)--
and
sometimes even more mendacious behavior.
The
effort also involves online
activity by purportedly disinterested folks who we are supposed to imagine spend huge amounts of time posting "Stay away from this crazy stuff!" out of the goodness of their hearts and selfless concern for
the well-being of others. (In other words, this is online activity by obvious government-connected or
supervised "agents-provocateur" and the occasional "useful
idiot" shill, who imagines him- or herself to be a beneficiary of
the status quo, or who wants to be on someone's cocktail-party
A-list. Some of this latter group are also doubtless just shameless
hacks attempting to defend a professional career of thoughtlessly
buying into the "income tax" scam as commonly misunderstood, and see
their best bet at avoiding embarrassment in helping the government
bury the truth.)
These
"non-official"
posts (which can be found in newsgroups, blogs, and occupying entire
websites) are generally of a consistent character-- all either make
fallacious "resort to authority" arguments based on a careful
selection of misleading, irrelevant or demonstrably flawed material
from certain judicial rulings, present outright lies about events
such as tax-agency reactions to educated filings, present lies about
the content or arguments in
CtC, or do all
of these. All rely on the targets of their mendacities not
investigating matters for themselves, investigations which are often
time-consuming and sometimes outright difficult.
Here's
the simple, impossible-to-misunderstand answer to these efforts: The
IRS admits that tens of thousands of
CtC-educated filings have been
made since 2003. Here's the admission by an IRS office supervisor of
what just her one office alone had processed between 2005 and 2009
when this admission was made under oath:
The IRS has many offices, and plainly a HUGE number of
CtC-educated
filings have been made. Now consider how many allegedly adverse
court rulings are claimed in these official and non-official
scare-you-away-from-CtC efforts...
When it's been since 2003 and there have been literally
tens-of-thousands of incidents over those long and many years,
with more and
more every day as the government continues to return every
penny to CtC-educated
claimants without interruption even while struggling to eke out
a few rulings in its favor, the fact that the government has
only managed to pull off a win in a half-dozen-ish cases against
CtC-educated
Americans actually debunks these efforts.
Furthermore, even the tiny handful of
rulings cited in these efforts involve cases in
which the filer brought a complaint against the government, NOT
cases in which the government felt itself legally able to
propose a complaint against the filer. Thus, the character of
these cited cases actually belies the use to which they are being
put, because even disregarding their scantiness, these
"government wins" are really only instances in which the state
dodged bullets by legal gimmickry and with the help of friendly
judges. They only appear significant to those who overlook
this fact (which those citing them hope for, since their
purpose is to mislead).
On the other hand, the scores of losses by the government as
plaintiff (such as those in federal district court cited
here and
here,
and those in various parts of the administrative process of
which Tax Court is a part documented
here and
here)
are carefully left off the roster of outcomes referenced by the
official and non-official posters of these scare efforts...
We each have our reasons, and our story. It's time, and it's needed, for
you to share yours with the world.
Everyone's failure to step up and fulfill
this simple request is really getting to me, now...
"The day we see truth and do not speak is the
day we begin to die."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
What does it
for you?
Is it simply
because no moral and upstanding person has any choice when it comes to
telling the truth over his or her signature, whether on tax forms or
anywhere else?
Is it recognition of the critical importance of the rule of law,
and the knowledge that if everybody leaves its caretaking to someone else,
it will soon be lost to us completely?
Is it the money?
Maybe it's
just simple respect for your own rights as a human being, who is not and
cannot be not involuntarily subordinated to others?
Maybe it's just
simple respect for your general civic responsibility to be the grown-up and
enforce frugality and restraint on a big, powerful creature of our own devising
which otherwise is like a badly-raised teenage boy given whiskey and car keys
and let loose on the road to wreak havoc?
Or is it, perhaps,
a more acute anxiety that if our bonfire of a state isn't damped, and quickly,
it'll soon burn down the house around us all?
What IS it that
firms up your jaw and stiffens your resolve?
It's time to
take off the bushel and share your light!
I would like
you to think about what it is that motivates you for a few moments (or all
day, if you like), and then send me your thoughts. I want to put YOUR reasons to work inspiring folks who
don't yet understand what this is all about.
In this day
and age, the most effective way
for you to share your thinking
for the benefit of others is to video-record yourself talking about how you
feel, and explaining what inspires and motivates YOU.
All you need is a
webcam or cell-phone equipped with a camera. If you don't have, or know how to
use, one of these, have a friend help.
If needed, write a little script for yourself. Better, though, to just speak
extemporaneously, after spending a little time sorting out your thoughts and
getting down into your heart.
Keep yourself to
no more than 2 or 3 minutes,
and keep in mind that the purpose is not to educate, but to
INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE and ENERGIZE. Your video will be one of many to be shared.
You needn't
feel any obligation to be profound, and you shouldn't try to explain
anything about the law, other than to say that you have read it and you know
it's on your side. You just need to be sincere, and uplifting. Your object
is to make your audience want to have what you have, and to be where you are
in your heart.
Keep in mind that you're speaking to an
audience that doesn't yet know ANYTHING about the subject, and whose first
reaction is, "This must be illegal; this must be dangerous; this is too good to
be true." You want to pull that audience right past such things, and
straight to a focus on truth, morality, and our American heritage of liberty
and the rule of law.
Remember:
INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE, ENERGIZE.
Speak about rights. Speak about morality, and the obligation of a grown-up
and responsible person to speak the truth and to enforce the Constitution. Speak
about everyone's duty
to give to God what is God's, always, and to Caesar only
what is really Caesar's. Speak of your obligation to respect yourself, and to
look out for the current and future well-being of your children and your fellow
citizens.
If you have had victories, describe them.
Better still, show them, if possible.
Be clear about
just what you accomplished: EVERYTHING
back-- Social Security, Medicare and all; a "notice of deficiency" closing
notice; an on-paper agreement or acknowledgment that your earnings weren't
subject to the tax and everything withheld or paid-in was an "overpayment";
a transcript showing all $0s; or whatever happened.
When you speak of state victories, name the state. If you had to
overcome balkiness from a tax agency before winning any victory, describe that,
too!
Remember, your
purpose is to INSPIRE, ENCOURAGE and
ENERGIZE.
If you're dealing with ongoing balkiness, describe that,
too, if you wish-- but be sure to explain why you're not discouraged, and why you are not
standing down, not slinking back into the barn, and not choosing to endorse the lies.
Mention what you do for a living, whether you're a doctor, homemaker, lawyer,
trucker, IT guy or gal, or a retiree or student. Help people understand that the
company of grown-up activist Americans they are being invited to join cuts
across all demographics and all interests-- with the common denominator being
respect for the law and love of the principles on which this great country was
founded.
This is
your chance to get a LOT accomplished.
We've all had
frustrating occasions of trying to explain all this to a friend, neighbor,
family member or co-worker, only to pile up against the wall of a mind not
yet ready to listen and learn. Here is your chance to address a
self-selected audience of folks who have themselves decided that it's time
for them to begin paying attention, and have clicked on your testimonial for
exactly that reason.
So, please
make and send those videos right away! The restoration of institutional
respect for individual rights and the rule of law depends on enough
individuals insisting upon it. Do your part to let those starting to rub the
sleep from their eyes know that there is a community already waiting for their
fellowship with open arms and open hearts and shining spirits.
"There are two distinct classes of men...those who pay taxes and those who receive and live upon taxes." - Thomas Paine
CtC Warrior Ike Hall has been engaged in a very virtuous project-- creating a study guide for new students of CtC. This remains a work in progress at this point, but I think what Ike's done so far is already worth sharing with the rest of the community. Click here to download the guide-- now complete through chapter twelve!
For more clarifying resources click here; and click here for more tools for spreading the truth.
Getting Free Of The "Income" Tax Scheme Is As Easy As Falling
Off A Bike
To get an
idea of how today's "income" tax scheme works, try this little
exercise:
Think
of the federal government as a guy named Bob, who lives down the
street from you in a town that is really big on bicycles. Bikes
get used for commuting, deliveries, shopping, etc.. In fact,
other than walking, bicycles are the exclusive form of
transportation in your town.
Your neighbor
Bob has a by-the-mile bicycle-renting business-- "Bob's
Bicycles". Bob's Bicycles is far and away the biggest business
in town.
Part of Bob’s
success is because he does a lot of contract business. However,
Bob doesn't just get paid by riders who have signed an agreement
with him, or even just those using Bob's bikes. Bob gets
something every time anybody in town does any riding at all,
through an odd combination of circumstances that took many years
to come together.
Here's how it
happened...
Bob's
Bicycles was launched long ago by the great grandfather of the
present Bob (Bob IV). Great Grandpa Bob started out not only
with a main location for his contract business-- he also had the
bright idea of setting up spots around town where he parked some
of his bikes for use by the more occasional rider, on an "honor
system". Anyone could take and use one of these bikes, but they
were expected to keep track of their mileage, and send Bob a
"1040 Mileage Ridden/Rent Due Form" (and the appropriate rent),
periodically. The initial design of the form was like this:
I, ___________, rode a
Bob's Bicycle a total of _____ miles this year.
At Bob's rental rate of
$.15 per mile, I owe Bob $_____
I said that
Great Grandpa Bob planned to deal with these occasional riders
on the "honor system", and that's true. But he liked his money,
too, and didn't want to miss anything that was due him. So,
after setting up the "self-serve" locations, Great Grandpa Bob
went around handing out "W-2, 1099 or K-1 Rider Reporting Forms"
to every other business in town. The forms-- accompanied by
notices that if Bob didn't get his rent from someone riding a
bicycle in connection with any business, he would sue the
company involved-- said:
You Can’t Fight Well When You Don’t Know What You’re Fighting About.
If you are having an argument with the IRS or any other tax agency,
You are NOT being presumed to have made “corporate profit”.
You are NOT being alleged to have received “foreign income”.
You are NOT entangled in an invisible “adhesion contract”.
You are NOT being obligated by a law whose subject is never identified.
You are being targeted because REAL EVIDENCE exists that YOU PERSONALLY HAD “INCOME” to which the revenue laws apply-- even though that evidence is almost certainly incorrect, and CAN be corrected.
Seriously. Do you want to win? SPREAD THIS FILE AROUND!
Doing so will accomplish more than anything that happens in a courtroom, more than any argument you make with any bureaucrat, more than ANYTHING else that you can do.
Are You Not Bothering?
Then You're Just Talking The Talk.
You've GOT To Walk The Walk If You Want To Win.
"Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated."
CtC Warrior SanDiegoScott has put together a great little 20-question quiz to test your knowledge of the law regarding the United States "income" tax. Test yourself, test your friends and family! Test your accountant and tax attorney, and help them learn the liberating truth!!
A "Pragmatic" Perspective On The Tax And The Rule Of Law
Hey, don't bother me with that "morality" argument, and all that stuff about "upholding the rule of law". I'm a pragmatist. I'm just interested in looking out for "numero uno", and living my life without any hassles from the IRS!
So I'm okay with submissively letting the government:
take 45% of my earnings;
habituate itself to the conveniences of "creativity" in the writing of laws and the behavior of its officers in courtrooms in order to take that wealth from me with an appearance of legitimacy;
use my money to mess with foreigners on behalf of special interests, engendering hatred and contempt of all Americans-- including me;
use my money to finance an army of bureaucrats who rule my life for the benefit of themselves and their special-interest clients;
use my money to pay for an army of lawyers who will sue me or prosecute me if I try to make my own choices about who works for me and on what terms; about what I say-- and when, and how; about what I do with my own property; about whether I'm equipped to defend myself and those I love; and about how I raise and educate my children;
-- just as long as I'm left alone, dude!
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it."
If each person receiving this newsletter each week distributed as few as 100 of any of the great outreach tools featured here to co-workers, friends, neighbors and family members (or just strangers on the street, in the mall, etc...), we could have SEVERAL MILLION new Americans suddenly introduced to the liberating truth about the tax!
When directed to a page by topic or link, read everything.
I know that this can mean the investment of a lot of time, attention and effort, but although some may imagine otherwise, I don't write as much as I do because I can't think of any other way to spend my time...
Furthermore, when you encounter a hyperlink within, or associated with, the text you are reading, follow it!
It is pretty common these days for web-based material to be littered with hyperlinks. Sometimes the purpose is to provide definitions or examples, in order to ensure that folks reading the original material aren't presented with a word or reference which they don't understand. Sometimes the links lead to illustrations pertinent to the original text.
It is common-- and perfectly understandable-- for folks who are confident that they are familiar with language or references within the main text they are reading to get in the habit of skipping over included links. I do it all the time, myself!
However, I very rarely include links for definitional or explanatory purposes; and when I DO make a link out of text in one page it is generally to another self-contained page, rather than merely illustrative material. These other pages contain material the clear understanding of which I deem highly important for the proper and complete understanding of the original page. (Links to CtC, the Victories pages, CtC Warriors and so on are obvious exceptions to this general rule. On the other hand, a link to the victory Highlights or 'Every Which Way But Loose' pages, which might seem like such exceptions, are not. The special selection of victories on those pages, and the filed docs and tax-agency correspondences included therewith, themselves constitute highly instructive material which merits careful attention. Thus care needs to be taken in all cases.)
Please make a habit of clicking on all provided links and at least looking briefly to ensure that the linked page is one with which you are completely familiar from another study session.
Finally, please keep in mind that, annoying though it may seem at first blush (but not, I trust, upon reflection), I constantly tweak material already posted. Obviously this doesn't mean that every page is in flux at all times, but it does mean that if you are directed to a page that IS familiar, it's worthwhile to read it through again if it's been a month or two since your last having done so.
