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National and Local FairTax Efforts Strengthen Each Other A Message from Ken Hoagland WOW! and THANK YOU! FairTaxers from coast to coast answered our "SOS" call for contributions with generosity and understanding, pulling the FairTax national campaign out of a dangerous funding slump as grassroots FairTax supporters—and the entire nation—watched the Gulf Oil spill disaster with horror.
More than 2,000 FairTax supporters who had never before invested in the FairTax campaign gave donations for the first time and thousands more heard and answered our plea to help us retire April 15th related expenses that had gone unmet when grassroots funding unexpectedly came to an almost complete standstill after the Gulf oil spill.
While the work of the national campaign is going forward, thanks to loyal and supportive FairTaxers, the work of advancing the FairTax issue is also continuing in hometowns across the nation. Thank you to all.
Jim Bennett of New Jersey talked with people at a July 4th gathering. Others held FairTax TV show viewing parties. Mike McLean with more than 6,000 miles already accomplished is riding his custom $40,000 Harley motorcycle across the country with stops at FairTax events. Barry Hinckley of Massachusetts is arranging high level Congressional meetings. Foster Freiss of Wyoming has made possible a FairTax presentation at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver. At county fairs and political gatherings across the country, at post offices every April 15th and at meetings, rallies and in everyday one-on-one conversations, FairTax volunteers are bringing our message of hope and a better government and future to their fellow citizens. Read more»
Fairtax TV Show a Hit!
Thousands of Americans tuned into the first ever national FairTax TV show on July 4th and many new supporters called 1-800-FairTax to either join our ranks or ask for additional information. "We all know that when people learn about the issue, they like it," said Ken Hoagland. "This was one more way to bring the FairTax message to living rooms across the country and it worked!" said Hoagland.
The TV show featured talk show Hall of Famer, Neal Boortz as well as former Congressional leader, Newt Gingrich and Ronald Reagan's eldest son, Michael Reagan and was hosted by Hoagland and "man on the street", Paul Bartlau.
FairTax supporters provided the funds for broadcast time and private investors provided funds for the production and editing costs. "We are grateful that so many FairTax grassroots supporters helped us put this on the air and we will be doing this again," said Hoagland. Read more» Grass Roots Call to write the White House Continues
FairTaxers and their fellow tax protestors sent tens of thousands of e-mails to President Obama in the last week asking him to help Gulf Coast residents whose lives have been upended by the Gulf oil spill now in its 11th week. While the White House has not yet responded Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio added his voice to the effort and Misssissippi Governor Haley Barbour's noticed our call to action and expressed gratitude and support.
"The magnitude off this disaster requires us to bend IRS rules instead of kicking these people after they have just been hit by a truck," said Hoagland. "The President can call the IRS and tell them to forgo tax bills to people who have used too-small and too-late BP checks just putting food on the table, "he said.
More than 270,000 Online Tax Revolt marchers (see: onlinetaxrevolt.com) "made camp" in New Orleans in support of Gulf oil victims whose relief checks will be taxed by the IRS if the White House or Congress do not intercede.
"We all work for needed tax reform and upending the IRS and the broken income tax system," Hoagland said. "Let's not lose sight of the fact that it is hurting people right now and let's join together to do what we can to help them". Read more» Freedom Ride Update - Around The Nation
After a few days in NC for maintenance on the FairTax Bike, (logging 6,300 in June!) we departed for a beautiful ride through Tennessee and the Cumberland Gap on our way to meet the Kentucky and Ohio riders in Lexington, Kentucky. Robin Pierce, KY Sons Of Liberty Riders President, his son, and two of the Ohio SOLR rode with us to the Ohio line, and then up to Dayton.
On Saturday we held a combined event with the Ohio SOLR and Steve Curtis, the Ohio FairTax State Director, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, where Frank Poinsett, a FairTax supporter, has been on maintenance staff for many years. Frank's work to rebuild and remember our impressive history of just a couple generations ago left us in amazement at a citizenry that stood up when called. On July 4th, the Ohio and Indiana SOLR bikers rode to Lawrence Park outside of Indianapolis for a traditional 4th of July parade and picnic. At the end of the day, we rode with Will and Beth Huston of the Indiana SOLR to the Illinois State line, said our thanks, and continued to Champaign, Illinois for the night. We were fortunate to happen upon one of the best fireworks displays we have seen in a while, despite hearing that many smaller cities had to cut back this year.
For the rest of the week, we're moving through Miami, OK where Miki Booth has organized a meet and greet with supporters and candidates for Congress at the Route 66 Motorcycle Museum. Houston will be our destination Saturday for "The Dam Tax Revolt" at The Dam Ice House with AFFT FairTax volunteers, Texas SOLR, and other local invited guests. Read more»
FairTax National "Webinar" Schedule for July 22
WHAT: Understanding the FairTax webinar for July 2010
SPECIAL TOPIC: The FT impact on the housing industry.
WHEN: Thursday July 22, 2010
TIME: 8 – 8:45pm Eastern Time 7 – 7:45pm Central, 6 – 6:45 Mountain, 5 – 5:45 Pacific
WHERE: Your home, your Personal Computer
WHY: To provide an interactive forum for people who cannot get to local meetings to learn about the FairTax and to present Special Topics that are frequently misunderstood or not generally discussed.
Join Marc Manieri, Americans for Fair Taxation Community Coordinator in the Greater Orlando, Florida Area. Into our second year now, Marc's webinars draw national participation from seasoned FairTax supporters as well as those just getting started as a supporter. We help build the knowledge base of those on the front lines as well as those wanting to know what the FairTax is about. We educate candidates and sitting Congressional Representatives on the merits of the FairTax.
The PowerPoint presentations are available from Marc. When you get your email after the webinar just 'Reply' and it will be sent to you.
To participate it is necessary to pre-register at this web link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/259690458
You will receive a confirmation email with instructions for signing in at the time of the Webinar. For additional information contact Larry Walters at repeal_16@earthlink.net. Read more»
| | In The News National Debt Hits Highest Level Since World War II
From Politics Daily
Christopher Weber
Correspondent
The national debt will make up 62 percent of the U.S. economy by the end of the year, the highest percentage since the end of World War II, according to a report released Wednesday by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf broke down the numbers in a blog post, explaining that the dramatic jump in debt stems partly from lower tax revenues and increased federal spending "related to the recent severe recession and turmoil in financial markets."
One of the biggest challenges to keeping a manageable debt level remains soaring health care costs, specifically those related to Medicare, according to Elmendorf.
"CBO projects that if current laws do not change, federal spending on major mandatory health care programs will grow from roughly 5 percent of GDP today to about 10 percent in 2035 and will continue to increase thereafter," he wrote.
Elmendorf outlined what he considered to be the most significant "negative impacts" that an out of control national debt would have on the overall economy: Read more» Are middle class tax increases on the way?
From "Wallet Pop"
Kelly Phillips Erb
Jun 28th 2010
In 1988, then presidential candidate George H. W. Bush uttered the now (in)famous phrase, "Read my lips: no new taxes" at the Republican National Convention. The pledge was considered to be one of the keys to Bush's success in winning the presidency that year. Two years later, the pledge came back to haunt President Bush when he raised taxes as part of a budget agreement; it is considered one of the reasons for Bush's failure to win a second term in 1992. Making promises, something that politicians do all of the time, is tricky business, especially at the top.
President Obama is hoping that history isn't bound to repeat itself. Twenty years after Bush's speech, then presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged not to raise taxes on the middle class. However, as spending continues to skyrocket and tax revenues plummet, there is considerable concern among Democrats in Congress that it might not be possible to keep that promise.
This week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) became the first high-ranking Democrat in Congress to signal that the party might not permanently extend President George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class. Hoyer wouldn't go so far as to say that tax increases were on the table but suggested that any extension of middle class tax breaks would likely be short term, perhaps as short as one year. Those tax breaks were passed during President Bush's first term and have not been renewed since; they are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010.
It has been largely assumed that the Democrat-controlled Congress would extend tax cuts for the middle class and allow those breaks for the upper class (families making more than $250,000 per year) to expire. In recent months, however, Congress has failed to push any tax relief measures through Congress amid concerns about the ballooning debt. For most of the 1990s, the deficit remained relatively flat, making those tax cuts under President Bush appealing. However, as spending increased and revenues decreased, the debt nearly doubled under President Bush, going from about $5.5 trillion when he took office to $11 trillion when he left. The debt currently sits at $13 trillion. To put that into perspective, if you spent $1 every second, it would take more than 414,000 years to spend $13 trillion.
That assumption became even more cloudy this week when Sen. Hoyer remarked that "raising revenue is part of the deficit solution." Republicans immediately zeroed in on Hoyer's comments, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saying, "It's now official. Top Democrats on Capitol Hill are starting to signal their intention to raise taxes on the middle class."
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Hoyer's comments are indicative "that he supports raising taxes on the middle class to pay for more government spending."
Despite the public bickering, Sen. Hoyer's comments echo what many in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, have been saying privately for weeks. Realistically, tax cuts are most attractive from a vote-getting perspective. From a fiscal perspective, the amount of tax revenue being collected isn't enough to support the amount of spending. This dilemma has been at the forefront of Congress' failure to pass any of a number of versions of H.R. 4213 (originally referred to as the Tax Extenders Bill), which has been in Congress since December of last year. Read more» | | | Take Action | | Did You Know? Two of the largest economies in the world rely almost solely on sales taxes: Florida and Texas. Many civilizations in history have relied solely on transaction-based consumption taxes: A percentage of a grain shipment in exchange for a safe harbor. Even a cursory study of history shows that nation/states that relied on consumption taxes flourished and prospered, supported democracies/republics, had expanding economies, and high levels of civil rights for their citizens. The exact opposite is true for empires that relied on income/poll/head taxes. These taxes were used to support despots, eventually collapsed the economies in which they were applied, and sundered civil rights.
The sales tax is a familiar tax, being a major source of revenue in 45 states and the District of Columbia. It is true, however, that no post-industrial nation, until now, has ever repealed its income tax and replaced it with a federal retail sales tax. However, England did repeal its detested income tax upon the defeat of Napoleon and enjoyed the fastest, longest expansion of its economy in its long history. An expansion that ended only with the -- you guessed it -- re-imposition of an income tax.
No other country has a system of government like ours, and no other country has led the world in so many fields as ours. It was France and Germany that forced the imposition of a VAT in addition to income taxes across the European Community. Shall we follow France's lead?
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