Posted tagged ‘Internal Revenue Service’

Observations From The Margin

July 10, 2013

Observation Tower

-The Affordable Care Act [Obama Care], was signed into law on March 23, 2010, its implementation was delayed until 2014 so the results wouldn’t affect the 2012 Presidential election. Now they are delaying the implementation until 2015. Does anyone want to take a guess what happens in 2014 that would make them want to delay this for a year? I’ve got an idea, let’s have an election every year so the implementation of Obama Care will be on a permanent one year delay.

-Intelligence Director James Clapper admits lying under oath, but he says he is sorry. This is like the ever popular get out of jail free card, “I take full responsibility for………” No one is ever held accountable for their actions even though they take responsibility for their actions. The ruling elite; which consists of politicians, bureaucrats, and Government employees, are never held to the same standard when they break the law compared to what we citizens deal with everyday from a basic speeding ticket at the local levels, to IRS regulations at the Federal level. Two sets of rules exist in this country, one set for the ruling aristocracy and another set for the serfs. At some point people will not comply.

-The Obama administration is proposing changes in The Freedom on Information Act . These changes would allow federal agencies to lie about the information being sought. When you control information you control individuals. I’m surprised the administration would even worry about changing the rules, they have a track record of not abiding by rules in the first place. If no one holds them responsible for breaking the law, they will keep doing it, just like the dog that isn’t disciplined for peeing on your carpet, will keep peeing on the carpet.

-In all the scandals from Fast and Furious, the IRS targeting tea party groups, the confiscating of reporters electronic communications, the NSA data mining, the Benghazi fiasco, and many others, the administration says these were the fault of low-level employees, and the administration didn’t know anything about what they were doing. If they don’t have enough knowledge to control the Government apparatus, how is it possible for them to have enough knowledge to control the free market. The amount of knowledge needed to even begin to understand what is going on in the free market is exponentially bigger than the amount of knowledge needed to control Government.

-Our favorite  rock stars played in front of packed houses back in the day, now thirty years later they are playing in small clubs for hundreds of people. President Obama spoke in front of 250,000 in Germany before his first election, he was lucky to get  20 thousand two weeks ago for a speech at the same venue. It’s only been five years, either the presidency prematurely ages you, or the thrill is gone.

-Do people who condemn the U.S. for force feeding prisoners who are on hunger strikes at Guantanamo Bay realize the alternative is letting them starve to death?

-The President lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from ’92 to ’04. After watching the way he has used the constitution as toilet paper or a cape, I hope his students either got F’s or withdrew from the class.

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Must Reads For The Week 6/22/13.

June 22, 2013
Mightier Than the Sword

Mightier Than the Sword (Photo credit: jeffsmallwood)

Tap It: NSA Slow Jam (Featuring Remy), by Remy and Meredith Bragg, at reason.com. Short video about the surveillance State.

Rotting, Decaying And Bankrupt-If  You Want To See The Future Of America Just Look At Detroit, at zerohedge.com. The only difference is Detroit can’t print money. The Fed can, which leads to an even bigger default.

US Treasury Denies It Is Trying To Torpedo Bitcoin, at zerohedge.com.  … “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for” – Obi Wan Kenobi

10,600 Empty Rentals In The People’s Republic Of San Francisco At A Time When Many Can’t Find Rentals, at economicpolicyjournal.com. Government intervention creates an artificial scarcity.

Uncle Sam’s Growing Ownership Of Student Loans, at economicpolicyjournal.com. We discussed this in the post, Young People Get Hooked Into Huge Debt When They Take The Student Loan Bait.

Culture Of Corruption, Monty Pelerine’s World, economicnoise.com. Video of Congressman Trey Gowdy’s comments about the IRS. My suggestion is a flat tax, which would allow us to abolish the IRS and with it the problem, which is arbitrary power.

The Benghazi Stand Down Order, by Will Rodriguez, at sofrep.com. The guys at  Sofrep.com, know what went on in Benghazi.

Will The Real Traitor Please Stand Up, by Jonathon Moseley, at americanthinker.com. Is Edward Snowden a traitor to the Government, or is Gen. Keith B. Alexander chief of the NSA a traitor to the Constitution? Great article that shows verbal sleight of hand artists in action.

Tobacco Speakeasy, by Jeffery Tucker, at fee.org. The unintended consequences of Government intervention. People will not comply with an immoral law.

The Tollkeepers On The Road To Serfdom, by D. W. MacKenzie

June 21, 2013
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The Road to Serfdom, by Hayek.(Photo credit: UniversidadFrancisco Marroquin)

In this article by D.W. MacKenzie titled,The Tollkeepers On The Road To Serfdom, at mises.org, he explains that when bureaucracies grow, “democracies could not be relied upon to hold it in check”. He calls the IRS the toll keepers on the road to serfdom, and we are  the tollpayers on this same road.This is an outstanding article and a must read. Here are some excerpts from it.

“Elected Federal officials can be voted out of office. But the entrenched army of empowered, unelected Federal bureaucrats remains to wield its power, and the Internal Revenue Service bureaucrats are some of the worst.”

“Politicians see the IRS and its tax code as a means of fixing perceived political problems…. Yet, regardless of the legislative agenda, it is largely unelected bureaucrats who decide where tax money goes.

“The potential for bureaucratic abuse is pervasive. The worst rise to the top of bureaucracies in part because the people who want power most are, as Hayek put it, single-minded idealists. Single-minded idealists are intolerant, by definition, believing that their plans for society are objectively superior to any competing plans. Those who have a comparative advantage at acquiring and wielding power are the most ruthless and insensitive people in society.”

“Hayek pointed out that people complete the path from citizenship to servitude only after a psychological (or sociological) change occurs. Today’s change is from a free people believing in the primacy of individuals to make their own choices to dependence and acceptance of government as the entitled class.”

“Once people accept bureaucrats as authorities, as persons who should direct the actions of others, and reject dissenting views as illegitimate or illegal, they have taken up the mantle of serf.”

“Obama most likely did not directly order Lois Lerner or Holly Paz to “punish enemies” in the Tea Party movement, but Tea Party members were singled out. Since Tea Party groups oppose the current Federal tax/spending system, the single-minded idealists at the IRS thought these targeting actions to be justifiable.”

I have said that the President is just the face of the problem. The expansion of Government power is the problem. The bureaucracy has an inertia of its own, no matter who is elected. Bureaucrats are self-interested individuals like the rest of us, which is why they will try to use their power to undermine any person, or group of people, who talk like they want to cut the size of Government. Politicians and bureaucrats both want power, the difference is politicians can at least get voted out if they abuse their power. A bureaucrat is immune from losing his position, and may even get a promotion for abusing his power.

Related article,  America’s Road To Serfdom? by Richard Ebeling, at mises.org.

Related article, Terminus On The Road To Serfdom, by D.W. MacKenzie, at mises.org.

Must Reads For The Week 5/18/13.

May 18, 2013
The pen is mightier than the sword...

The pen is mightier than the sword… (Photo credit: mbshane)

Santelli On IRS Witch-Hunt Repercussions: “No Stent For You”, at zerohedge.com. The IRS is going to be in charge of health care enforcement. Rick Santelli isn’t happy about it.

Chinese Power Consumption Collapses: Economic Growth Slowest Since Early 2009, at zerohedge.com. If energy consumption is decreasing, your economy isn’t growing.

Obama Has Lost (Jon) Stewart, by Bob Murphy at consultingbyrpm.com. Is reality finally setting in that Government wields too much power? Watch this video before you answer.

Photo: Philadelphia Eagles Player Pees On IRS Sign, at economicpolicyjournal.com. Lineman Evan Mathis is starting the Pee Party Movement.

Video: Walter E. Williams – TSA (Thugs Standing Around), at libertypen.blogspot.com. The great Walter E. Williams, enough said.

Seat Belt Laws Can Be Deadly, by eric, at ericpetersautos.com. Government is going to force you to wear your seat belt, even if it kills you.

Nigel Farage Flees Barrage Of Abuse From Interventionist, at economicpolicyjournal.com. This is another great video of Farage pulling no punches in front of the EU parliament.

Two Moms vs. Common Core – A Mother’s Day Tribute, by Chris Littleton, at chrislittleton.com. The ideological war against big Government will be won on the local and state levels. A few courageous and committed people can stop a seemingly inevitable outcome.