Well, tomorrow’s the day that every red-blooded American hates – April 15th – Tax Day. Most of us have sucked it up, gotten all our receipts, and W-2’s, and 1099’s, and all the rest together, figured out the final damage on what we owe, and sent it off to the I.R.S. (or filed for an extension).
It seems to get more and more complicated every year, despite promises of tax simplification, a flat tax, or a friendlier I.R.S. (HA!), or whatever. And not only is it getting more complicated, but there are really scary signs out there that the average person’s taxes are likely to go up – a lot – if this Administration and this Congress get their way.
Doug Elmendorf, the head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), has admitted that his people (with Nancy Pelosi breathing down their necks) have begun a detailed study on how to implement a new, European-socialist-welfare-state-like VAT tax (a form of national sales tax) on the American people. Now there was talk years ago, when the bad old Republicans were in control of Congress, to maybe push for a VAT tax, but that was to REPLACE income taxes altogether, and get rid of the I.R.S. once and for all. Pelosi, Reid and Obama have a different idea – they intend to put this new tax ON TOP OF the income taxes we already pay – and that would be a disaster.
Part of their strategy for getting this done, is to have a purportedly “independent”, bi-partisan commission recommend that it’s necessary to raise taxes for the good of the country, or for the children, (or some other nonsense). When Obama couldn’t get the Republican Senators to agree to setting up such a sham commission, he decided to go ahead and set one up on his own – by Executive Order. (Now where have I heard that term before? Oh yeah, when Obama tried to give so-called pro-life Democrats like Bart Stupak, who just announced his retirement, and our own Steve Driehaus, political cover during the abortion/health care debate.) This new “fiscal responsibility commission” (HA!) is going to study the huge debt that’s threatening to bankrupt our nation, and make recommendations as to what to do about it. The study will happen in the months leading up to this November’s election, so that Democrats (like Steve Driehaus) who have been voting time and again with Pelosi and Obama to add more and more spending to the bloated budget, can act like they really care about reducing the deficit, and are doing something about it (when of course they really aren’t).
Then after the election this November, the so-called “independent” commission will make their recommendations. I can almost guarantee that they will recommend two main things: 1. Reduce spending (which Democrats in Congress are genetically incapable of doing), and 2. Raise taxes (the new VAT tax, as well as lots of other taxes – which they want to do, but want to have the political cover of the commission recommending they do it).
The one flaw in their plan is – YOU. There is an election coming this November and it could throw a monkey wrench in the best laid plans. Voters will have the opportunity in November to vent their frustration with this Administration and this Congress’s march toward bigger government, more spending, and higher taxes.
The American people are fed up, and for good reason. They’ve suffered through a stimulus package which stimulated more government, but no jobs in the private sector; a government takeover of health care, which will potentially bankrupt the country; and higher and more complicated taxes, with even higher taxes staring us in the face in the very near future. More and more Americans are making up their minds to do whatever it takes to change the direction of our country. November is only a little more than six months away, and the waters are rising; the tsunami is coming.
