| |
April 13, 2006 | By Nathaniel Ward
Uncle Sam wants your money
This year, Americans will spend more than $100 billion to prepare their tax returns, a nightmare of bureaucratic paperwork that requires 6.6 billion hours a year to prepare, according to IRS statistics. And next Monday, all this paperwork comes due.
There has to be a better way. And there is.
As Heritage’s Dan Mitchell explains, a flat tax would be an ideal replacement for the current convoluted tax code. Such a reform would include:
- A simple and fair rate—a flat rate, probably less than 20 percent, means that a person who makes 10 times more money than someone else pays 10 times more in taxes
- Elimination of special preferences—the government eliminates complicated loopholes and no longer treats certain behaviors or activities differently
- No double taxation of savings and investment—this eliminates the government’s bias against capital, encouraging economic growth and jobs creation
- Territorial taxation—the government can only tax transactions that take place within our borders, making our companies more competitive overseas
Better yet, you’d submit your tax return on a form the size of a post card. No more 1040s, 1099s, 4868s or any other form. No more poring over fine print.
It’s hard to say no to a plan that’s simple and fair, rewards economic growth, encourages wealth creation and gets rid of government preferences and meddling.
‘Stop the economy. I want to get off!’
Liberals continue to be obsessed with blocking any reforms to big-government entitlements, calling conservatives all sorts of names for proposing even the smallest of cuts to the out-of-control growth in social programs.
Heritage’s Ed Haislmaier has come up with a new way to explain this kooky way of thinking: “They want the economy to conform to their social policy, not the social policy to the economy,” he said Monday. Of course, he explained, it isn’t 1935 any longer, but the Left continues to pretend the world operates today the same way it did then. “They want to apply 20th century social programs to the 21st century economy.”
Liberals are saying, in effect, “Stop the economy, I want to get off,” he added.
Look for innovation from individuals, not bureaucrats
Our nation faces a tremendous set of challenges, from terrorism to illegal immigration to out-of-control entitlement spending. Despite all this, government remains wedded to the same old, tired solutions: spend more, interfere more. As Heritage President Ed Feulner and Newt Gingrich write in today’s New Hampshire Union Leader, the poor quality of government is especially bad given the private sector’s recent innovations.
Contrast this intolerable performance by government with the speed, convenience and efficiency of self-service gas pumps, Travelocity, FedEx and Google and it is hard not to conclude that government is on a collision course with reality. An ATM anywhere in the world can access your bank account and dispense cash in the local currency in about 11 seconds. Yet, people in need are waiting months to receive simple government transfers following Katrina.
The solution, they write, requires a return to our basic principles. “Innovation comes from individuals, not bureaucrats. Security comes from strength, not appeasement. And America's future lies in reform, not rigidity. People expect results, not excuses. Real change requires real change.”
Heritage's Bob Moffit explains free-market health reforms at the Massachusetts health care reform signing ceremony. Gov. Romney is at left.
Gov. Romney signs health care reforms
Heritage’s Bob Moffit, one of the most vocal critics of President Clinton’s 1993 health care proposal and a strong advocate of market-based health care reform, joined Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) in Boston yesterday as the governor signed into law the state’s new health care program. Gov. Romney also vetoed some of the bill’s worst portions, including the employer mandates.
Moffit, whose speech on conservative reform (pictured at right) drew the attention of the Associated Press, was captured on film during the signing by a photographer from the governor’s office; he’s in the top row, third from the left.
The New York Times ran a photo which incorrectly identified Moffit as standing immediately to the governor’s left as the bill was signed (that’s actually Massachusetts Health Secretary Tim Murphy). It’s not every day that the Times gives Heritage this much credit—whether they have their facts right or not.
Amnesty is encouraging immigration—before it’s passed
The Senate proposal to grant legal status to more than ten million illegal immigrants is backfiring already—even though a compromise fell apart last week. As the Associated Press reports, border states are seeing a rush of illegal immigrants entering the country to take advantage of the amnesty.
The Border Patrol reports “a surge in migrants” compared to this time last year, with up to four times as many illegal aliens staying in shelters.
One illegal immigrant who spoke to the AP said the Senate’s amnesty proposal had encouraged him to cross the border. “My brothers said there is plenty of work there, and that it looks like they will start giving (work) permits.”
Not only does amnesty undermine the rule of law by rewarding those who illegally entered the country, but it encourages additional lawbreaking. Those who break the law should not be rewarded. They should be held accountable.
Assimilation and illegal immigrants
Tuesday’s e-mail on the patriotic assimilation of immigrants prompted several responses from readers. They correctly pointed out that many pro-illegal immigration protesters carried American flags not because of any inherent interest in assimilation but because protest organizers told them to. But while these protesters may not necessarily be prime candidates for assimilation, legal immigrants should all undergo a program of patriotic assimilation so they become Americans through and through.
Rewarding illegal immigrants is a bad idea; assimilation should be reserved for legal immigrants. Illegal immigrants must be made to leave the country; only then could they apply for legal status.
In other news
- Iran’s president said today that his country will continue to process uranium despite strong international objections. Demanding that the world recognize Iran as a nuclear power, he said he will not negotiate on the nuclear program.
- Many liberals have said America cannot win the war on terrorism since the people aren’t “sacrificing enough.” In other words, the government isn’t taxing the population to excess or imposing rationing. But as Heritage’s James Carafano tells the Associated Press, the last thing the government should do in a long struggle is damage the economy. “The notion that somehow a nation is only at war if everyone is growing a victory garden is silly,” he said.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.
- On Friday, April 21 at 10:30am, Heritage will host a panel of experts to discuss how the war on terror has influenced federal spending and the overall economy, and what we can expect down the line.
- On Monday, April 24 at 11:30am Central, Heritage and the Concord Coalition will host an event in Kansas City, MO as part of the nationwide Fiscal Wakeup Tour. Visit the Concord Coalition website for more details and to RSVP.
- On Tuesday, April 25 at noon, Border Patrol chief David V. Aguilar will speak at Heritage about the administration’s efforts to secure America’s borders.
- On Monday, May 1 and Tuesday, May 2, The Heritage Foundation will host its twice-annual President’s Club meeting in Washington, DC. Speakers include House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, television host John Stossel, columnist George Will, and Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) of the Republican Study Committee. The event is open to President’s Club members.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
Fill out the form below to receive this e-mail product and more from MyHeritage.org as soon as it's released.
|
Send to a Friend |
Increase Font Size