Rolling around the internet is a letter to a newspaper’s editorial page entitled, "What Has America Become?"  One line in it is particularly cogent regarding the current fight over raising taxes or not.  The writer states, "Let's see: if we lie to Congress, it's a felony and if Congress lies to us it’s just politics."

Well, my friends, "just politics" sums up the bill of goods that this country was sold all the way back in 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson presided over the introduction of a "progressive" income tax.

Supposedly only to be applied on the wealthy of that era, it quickly expanded to include all wage earners.  And, like Topsy, it grew year in and year out until today, as we are faced with a dizzying array of exemptions, exclusions and downright confusion that costs us billions of dollars annually in taxpayer fees in order to comply.

But fully 45% of Americans managed to avoid this ogre (paying taxes) last year and so we now sit here with more households receiving money from the government than households that are paying in taxes!

The last time this situation existed was during the Great Depression. 

It's very easy for the Democrats to continue to beat the drum that we need to raise taxes on the "wealthy."  But this is where the Big Lie from Congress comes in...  If the Dems are successful in their call for higer taxes on those earning $250,000 a year ($200,000 for single filers), it is ONLY those "poor" suckers earning the $250,000 who will actually end up paying more.

The real "millionaires and billionaires" will continue to avoid paying their fair share because it is only this group of political cronies who have the cash and where with all to afford high-priced tax attorneys and accountants who scour the complex tax code, finding loopholes that allow them to pay far less than the rest of us and a whole lot less than their "fair share."

Thus, you hear and read about the Warren Buffets and Bill Gates of the country saying they're not taxed enough!  No, I guess they're not because they’re using the system to their own benefit.  The same can be said of corporate America when a company like GE can earn billions and pay nothing.  DISGUSTING!

This is why we NEED a FLAT TAX!

One lower rate, no deductions, no smoke and mirrors. 

I submit that those same billionaires would suddenly find that they're taxed enough!

Steve Forbes ran on the concept of a flat tax back in the 90's offering a standard deduction of $35,000 before a 17% tax rate would be applied.   It made sense then and it makes even more sense today given the deficit. 

We the "little people" would be able to file on a postcard by merely entering on line one how much we earned, putting 17% on line 2 (or whatever percentage is finally agreed to), doing the math and we'd be done. 

There would be no need for drawers full of tax files, weekends lost to calculating taxes and no payments made to accountants.

But the biggest benefit, ultimately, would be the end of special interests in our nation's capitol that spend millions greasing politicians' palms to further benefits that are good only for them. 

It is this process that has given us this tax code that NO ONE fully understands and has corrupted more politicians than we can ever imagine.

For me the Flat Tax is a far fairer solution than the "fair tax" being proposed by some Republican presidential candidates.  A tax on purchases would most likely lead to an underground market or black market in commerce necessitating "tax police" making the rounds of stores and businesses as is done in Italy... more government employees! 

Unless and until we finally rip this tax code out by the roots and replace it with a flat tax, we will continue to see the wrangling over taxes year in and year out until the country goes belly up.

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