Virtual Reality – Not Just for Computers
Despite my long career as a cynic, I am still often surprised by things that should have been obvious. A couple of recent examples:
- A number of folk seem to have recently discovered, to their collective horror, that there is no constitutionally-guaranteed right to vote in presidential elections. Gee, I wonder how this could be?
- Allegedly intelligent candidates for the highest offices in this land have lately been heard arguing about whether, or how much, corporations should be taxed. (Personally, I want to tax the Sun for causing global climate change — but, I digress.)
There are other, equally strange examples but these 2 will suffice for this particular rant. My responses…
OK, who took my federal election voting right?
As so many have recently discovered, our Constitution is silent on the subject of voting in federal elections. There is an extremely complicated reason for this — namely that there are no federal elections. Since there are no federal elections in the United States, the Founders saved a bit of ink and parchment by not addressing the matter. Seems they were content to leave the voting problem, like so much else, to the States. For more, please watch the Government category.
So, next time you hear a discussion about the right to vote in federal elections, perhaps you should ask what country the questioners refer to?
You might as well try and tax the wind…
Rather than discuss if or how much a corporation should be taxed, I prefer to ask: Can a corporation be taxed? The instant answer is no (I cheated – I already knew that). Why, you ask, can’t we tax these fonts of greed and evil? For the simple reason that they are artificial constructs. That is, they exist only because we say they do. Allow me to share a little known secret. Only the producers can be taxed. This is because they are the only source of new value in the economy, also the only valid basis for the issuance of new money which, after all, simply reflects the new value injected into the economy by the producers. Oh, before I forget, ALL the producers are humans. Folks. Creatures just like you and me (hmmm… now that I think of it, they are you and me).
But there are taxes on all sorts of things and entities you argue. And of all the things that deserve taxing, corporations have to be at the top of the list! Sorry. Nice try but not true. Corporations are not humans. Yes, they employ humans, their activities are directed by humans, but they are not human themselves, ergo, they cannot be taxed. This brings us to dirty secret number 2. While non producers cannot actually PAY tax, they can be involuntarily enlisted by your government as unpaid COLLECTORS of tax. And, you must admit, this is an almost magic trick. The government taxes the (word of your choice) out of you and me, all the while making us think someone or something else is paying. Not especially ethical but darned clever.
I have an idea that would save an enormous expense while making America even more productive. Why don’t we demand an honest and accurate accounting from our corporations then, otherwise, leave them alone to create the jobs that create the wealth of our nation?
So, next time you hear would-be leaders debating if or how much to tax corporations, please ask them to explain exactly how that works. Inquiring minds want to know.
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◄Dave► Said,
October 11, 2008 @ 11:40 am
Great post, Troy. Just last night I republished my old “Who Really Pays Most Taxes” essay in my blog’s “Pages” section, which I renamed “Essays.” It expands on your premise here to show that only consumers pay ALL taxes, which of necessity are embedded in the price of the goods and services they purchase. ◄Dave►
Daedalus Said,
October 12, 2008 @ 11:27 pm
First, thank you for the opportunity for discourse. I have missed reading your posts (and sometimes replying).
Troy said ” That is, they [corporations] exist only because we say they do.”
Never the less they do exist. Corporations exist because of an agreement (contract, implicit or explicit) among people. It is true that when the corporation is taxed the loss to the corporation comes out of the pockets of real people. The loss can take many forms. It can be an increase in price to the consumer and or a loss in present profit to the corporations owners. It can also mean a loss in the decrease of price due to delay of implementing new tool and equipment. If the corporation has a research budget that is cut there can be future losses to consumers owners and workers if it is reduced.
Corporations are taxed. What varies is how the costs of the taxation are distributed across various people. The corporation (it’s board of directors) might be benevolent and might discontinue that activity if it found the tax burdensome thus only hurting “non producers.”
I agree with you in principle that it is counter productive to tax corporations, but it does raise the question of what is the moral way to pay for the limited but essential services of a government.
THOUGHTS ALOUD » User Pays Said,
October 13, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
[...] made a comment over at Troy’s place that I would like to explound upon beyond what might be appropriate in a comment section: I agree [...]
Troy Said,
October 13, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
Dae, How nice to hear from you again.
You asked “what is the moral way to pay for the limited but essential services of a government?”
I make no secret of the fact that I favor the consumption tax plan known as the FairTax. With its “prebates” it is much fairer to the poor (because it also eliminates the Payroll Tax (FICA & Medicare). And it encourages economic activity through elimination of corporate and capital gains taxes.
The thing I like best is that it takes away from Congress, much of their ability to “sell” tax indulgences. I find that one of the most corrupting influences in D. C.
Daedalus Said,
October 13, 2008 @ 9:25 pm
Troy,
I happened to be in Borders bookstore today and picked up a copy of “Fair Tax” by Boortz & Linder. I have been in favor of abolishing the income tax for a long time & replacing it with a sales tax. I will be interested to see what the details of the proposal are.
P.S. I only paid $3.99 for my copy, found it on the bargain table.
Daedalus Said,
October 19, 2008 @ 11:39 am
Sign me on for the fair Tax.
One question I haven’t seen answered yet is does they prebate supplant or supplement present social security payments.
Troy Said,
October 19, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
If you mean payments FROM Social Security, my understanding is that they stay the same. Payments INTO Social Security go away.