I didn't hear anything about Bobby Jindal... I thought he rose high on the scale last night and was very impressive. I am wondering if he is among the favored. Remember, my follow-up view is limited. I don't have everyone sending their posts to my page, but I am seeing some of the conservative media responses.
- I got a direct plea for donation from the Ted Cruz camp... in my emails, I think... not sure why.
- I noticed several Rubio posts on Facebook about his great performance at the debate... and finally a plea for a donation. I think he did a really great job, so it wasn't offensive to see.
- The only woman in the pack has risen to higher stature in the competition... and was a serious presence in the responses she made. I haven't been able to watch the expose videos myself... I am already pro-life and can't bear some of the materials that are attached to the battle for children's lives. I was amazed at her statement about what she saw... I couldn't believe that anyone would actually do that to a baby, without any sense of remorse.
- Rand Paul was in my Facebook timeline several times. I shared my comment on one that I thought he held his own pretty well in the debate.
- The highlight, for me, was a post by Trump about the ratings for CNN... he asked if they would be sending him a thank you. :-) He has certainly raised the level of attention for the Republican Party. I suppose his media attention also has raised the national level of the candidates.
It's hard to know who would be the best president.
Our country is at such a huge crossroads. In one presidential reign our survival as a country has been jeopardized with too much debt, unnecessary added expenses, and by a disregard for the authority of the voter. I am not sure we will ever recover from it.
If the economy folds in the near future, the next President or two will have to deal with all the issues it will bring. I keep remembering that it took Detroit sixty years to declare bankruptcy. The government thinks raising taxes is the answer to every problem, but the citizens that pay those taxes can't pay more... they are already paying too much.
Our national and our citizen debt levels leave us without the room we need to flex in emergencies. I know what it means to face a crisis without any resources, but without the ability to use a credit card or print my own money. I see that the government is again attacking the poor as the reason for all their problems. No one is considering that we need to create a plan for when the economy falls... and that plan has to include emergency measures like food stamps, emergency care, shelter.
This has reminded me of the conversations in the debate about tax reform and implementing a flat tax instead of a variable rate. If I remember right, there were three candidates who mentioned a flat tax approach for reforming our system. I remember one candidate saying that 14.5% would be a worthwhile tax rate, along with other changes in the structure of the tax process. (I believe Rand Paul was the one with that proposal.) Another candidate, possibly Huckabee, mentioned a flat rate approach at 20%, I believe. If I remember right, Dr. Carson also mentioned a flat tax, but I am not sure it was him. I was happy to be hearing any suggestions of a flat tax as a reform for our tax system.
I changed my view of taxation when I realized the only tax
that can be applied at a GLOBAL level is a sales tax.
I decided that ten percent was a reasonable tax relationship and a sales tax was the best way to collect a tax payment for the government. It means the government will go through a serious withdrawal period, much like an addict does, but the result will be a better country.
Here are some of the reasons I decided on a single flat-rate sales tax...
- Property taxes are unfairly applied and distributed. Our schools are a mess because the funding we use to provide for education is not equal. Instead of rich neighborhood getting more money for their students, all students should get the same amount, and parents need to decide where that education money will go... public school, private school, charter school, homeschool, etc.
- Property taxes allow the government to confiscate the property of citizens. Funding the government was not meant to be a way to take a citizens home or business away from them. We need to get out of the property tax arena completely.
- Income taxes need to be eliminated because they allow the government access to personal information they really should not be able to access... or should not need to access. To verify your income, you have to give the government permission to access any and all records pertaining to you. Isn't that a serious infringement on our freedoms? A sales tax would eliminate that right of the government. NOTE:: Receiving any government money has this invasion attached to it, including Obamacare, welfare and food stamps, Medicaid, etc.
- Income taxes, as they are applied now, have created the rich versus poor conflicts we repeatedly endure. A sales tax funding source for the government would eliminate the conflict. Everyone would pay the same rate, and rich households would pay more taxes because they would purchase more products.
- A sales tax of 10% would be higher than the current tax requirement for some products, like gasoline.
- A sales tax can be divided easier among government departments (global-1%, federal-3%, state-3%, county-3%), collected immediately and deposited automatically into specific bank accounts (with automatic receipts for recordkeeping), can be adjusted as needed in the same automatic way, and can be spent immediately if it is necessary.
- A sales tax can be applied to different needs, such as taxes on automobile products going to transportation programs, medical purchases going to medical programs, food taxes going to food programs, etc.
- A sales tax would keep us dependent on consumption. Spending seems to be the measure of our financial health as a nation. Purchases create jobs, jobs create the ability to purchase. In time, you will only need to purchase necessities, so I don't know if that is the best foundation for citizens or nations, but that seems to be what we have been depending on.
- At some level there would be a minimum tax amount for government to budget, which would be food, clothes, gas, housing, and basic needs. That would be the starting point for a budget.
- A flat-rate sales tax would force the government to budget realistically, to actually try to save money, to stop spending recklessly, to return to a dependence on community charity programs for the care of people in need, and reduce their wages and benefits.
Another thing to think about :: a lot of the fees we pay for government services are actually taxes. We would need to clarify what is a tax and what is a product or service of the government, and then create a reasonable cost for that product or service... like a driver's license or ID, a license plate, park camping, and other government programs.
We will have to find a better way to do things. Changing the tax system might force a lot of the changes that are necessary to keep America healthy financially.
And, eventually, there will have to be a global court, prison, military, and policing system and it will have to be paid for somehow. Right now we have a membership system for the UN, which is the likely organization to take on our global responsibilities. In time, a taxing system will take that over.
I have mentioned a lot of this before, but this seemed like the right time to mention it again. :-) I have considered it might take a national law created by the vote of the people to force government into this kind of limitation, but it would be a good thing to do as a long-term solution to a lot of our national problems. I probably won't see it in my lifetime... but it would be nice.
It looks like I went past midnight in creating this post, but it is still a post for Thursday. I wanted to comment on other things so I may write again later in the day. If not, have a wonderful weekend... I will see you next Monday.
