Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Somebody’s actually doing something about the 16th Amendment (Income Tax) and a few other things (simultaneously). I listed the items below but you might want to visit their website and read about what and why they’re filing suit against the Government (and winning!).
You can find them and their brief and a petition, etc. at: http://www.givemeliberty.org/ (I like the name.)
I disagree with their grievances vis-à-vis the Iraq Resolution (perhaps they have a point on the method?) and the Patriot Act (although I could be swayed at some time to join in on the fight against the Patriot Act, now is not the time.) Nevertheless, they are fighting the good fight against the IRS and the Federal Reserve (we should own our currency, don’t you think?)
I’ve been hopping on the 16th Amendment for some years now and I was very well pleased to find someone who is making headway with the fight against it. Unless you agree that the Government has a right and a claim on any and all of your labor and the fruits therein, you should give these people a good long read. Schedule some time, an hour at least, and click on over to them. Read the petition and don’t be discouraged by the long, long list of names at the beginning (over half the 90 page document [PDF]), the brief actually starts on page 65 of the PDF document at:
http://www.givemeliberty.org/RTPLawsuit/CourtFilings/ComplaintAmended-9-15-04.PDF ).
I am considering signing their petition, regardless of the connections to the Patriot Act and the Iraqi War. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no good can come from any body, any group, or any Government that has access to (virtually) limitless funds. The 16th Amendment gives access to those endless amounts of money.
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The core of the petition:
Plaintiffs have petitioned defendants for a Redress of Grievances relating to:
a) The taxing clauses of the Constitution and the direct, un-apportioned tax on labor.
b) The war powers clauses of the Constitution and the Iraq Resolution.
c) The money clauses of the Constitution and the Federal Reserve System.
d) The “privacy” and due process clauses of the Constitution and the USA Patriot Act.
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Here is my previous blog from my former blogsite (which is still active at http://aimew.spymac.net/blog/ ==>
Finally, we have a President who wants to completely overhaul and balance out the Federal Income Tax monster. Praise God, and pray that there will finally be fairness instilled on the outrageous current system.
As my long-term readers know, I have been calling for an outright repeal of the sixteenth amendment for a long, long time now. As I was reading the Washington Post today I saw the following story:
and by an odd coincidence (is there really such a thing?) I had shown what I have written to date on the subject to a new friend (who I met at a party, yadda, yadda…). So, here we are. I think I’ll post what I have written, so far, on my blog site. Please, comments are welcome – for, against, and/or ideas for embellishments and enhancements.
(I think I will be changing my position on a military draft, for example; my position on that has actually changed 180° and I do feel that there should be a mandatory draft of every high-school graduate who is physically and mentally able, no other exceptions. The well-to-do can just steam, their precious little, silver-spoon-fed, precocious little brats will have to go too. The only thing that needs polish on that concept is the duration. I will look into how
Here are my nascent thoughts to date:
A Proposal to Regain the Government for the American People.
Our Government has been so out of control for so long, and so insidiously, that altogether too many people have become so acclimated to those excesses, and for so long, that most of the things the government does seems normal to them (and the rest of us) - almost.
By comparison, our government today is more heinous to its population than George III’s was to the colonists in 1776. Of course no one cares now or even notices it because of the way that the changes have evolved. For example there was a second American Revolution that was lost on February 12, 1913 - when the sixteenth amendment to the constitution of the
In my opinion, we need to implement an amendment to the constitution that disallows the government from circumventing the original core issues of the constitution; those that are defined in the original document even before the “Bill of Rights” was amended to it.
We then need to amend the Constitution so that any proposal that effects the people directly needs to be approved by popular referendum.
We then need to implement an amendment to either repeal the sixteenth amendment outright; or at least to modify it so that all people are taxed equally (either by amount or percent.)
A graduated tax is a political instrument that encourages class warfare and in reality, over taxes the very people that it pretends to assist. The money in any society is, after all, dispersed among the middle class; the larger the population group the larger the total money held by them. The individual may see himself and his peers as poor but, in fact, they hold the monetary reigns of the government.
Then, as the classes are fighting each other, the government is free to oppress whomever they will; and they have done that, all too often.
I am certainly not a proponent of any socialist scheme; quite the contrary: I am a capitalist, a Libertarian, and specifically a proponent of the way our government was before it had access to more money than any man or group of men could possibly handle benignly.
I have some serious doubts as to the usage of the sixteenth amendment, the one that gives the federal government the right to collect an income tax. The one that was so abhorrent to the authors of the constitution that it was addressed, and excluded, as a means to collect revenue in the body of the constitution.
Article 1, section 9:
The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxvi.html
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.
No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another.
No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.
No title of nobility shall be granted by the
It is also interesting to note that the government used the constitution here to circumvent the constitution. That is, they changed it, against the people, on there own; 2/3 of congress and ¾ of the states’ legislatures without it ever appearing on a ballot for the people to review. Slam, Bam, Thank-you ma’am, we’re all enslaved to the federal government. (1/7th to over 1/3rd of all income sounds like a strong-arm partner to me. Nothing short of the old ‘protection racket’ and what are you going to do about it except pay, and maybe argue whether or not you should get some of your money back?)
The Sixteenth Amendment to the
Amendment XVI
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
There are plenty of ‘conspiracy theory’ nuts orbiting this one, and no wonder. According to the records of the states it may not have been passed at all, at least not as it was written. Even so, something so hideous as repealing, not just a previous amendment, but a section of the body of the original constitution should have been passed by the people, don’t you think? Just how close to 3/4th of the states do you think would have passed this on an open referendum? Consider the question on the ballot…
Do you want the federal government to take any amount of what you make, that they see fit to take, by way of a payroll deduction tax?
Oh, yeah, I think I know how I would’ve voted – OH, please, take it all, take it all!
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Pretty simple isn’t it? Where does the idea for a graduated tax structure fit in? It surely doesn’t seem like equal treatment under the law. It’s more like the class warfare as outlined in the communist manifesto. Consider the 14th amendment:
Amendment XIV
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxxvi.html
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Now, the 16th doesn’t mention a “graduated tax” and the 14th guarantees ‘equal protection.” How then is the current system of a graduated income tax legal? (Well, of course, the government says they can so I guess they can.)
Well, how is it that not only you, but your employer has to disclose the most private details about your financial being when the 4th amendment says:
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Right, try and not tell the IRS anything they want to know. And speaking of that what about the 5th amendment?
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Since when is an IRA audit considered “due process?” (except by the IRS?) … private property taken, without just compensation… I guess my money isn’t private property, nor is yours!
Now consider how the IRS has leave to deal with you in private and without due process…
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Yes, they audit you, declare you ‘guilty’ and assess any and all of your property. Any lawyer you are allowed to have will work under the understanding (as will any judge and jury, if you can get one) that they will be audited next if they get in the way. Just how do you go about finding an impartial jury when dealing with the IRS?
[POP QUIZ: How do you get a fair trial against the IRS when all the lawyers, jurists and judges are under their dominion? ]
Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the
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The Constitution and the Bill of Rights has been eroded so much and are under continuous attack by “The Government” (that those documents were supposed to protect us from) that I propose the following Amendments be necessary in order to roll-back those encroachments.
1- That the Constitution not be amended except by ratification of the people, not just the State legislatures, by binding referendum in each state, passed by a 2/3 majority of the people in each state; and a ¾ majority of all of the states be necessary for that ratification.
This is to insure that the government can no longer pass amendments which are good for it but detrimental to the people.
2- The repeal of the 16th Amendment, re-invoking the original wording of the Constitution as worded in Article 1, Section 9.
This is to insure that the government no longer has free access to as much of the people’s property as they want, nor will they have unlimited funds to do what they will with.
3- That no military draft be imposed on the people except in times of War as declared by the Congress. Nor shall any member of the
So that debacles such as “The Vietnam War” will not happen; also that our military will not be loaned or sold for use of any other nation or group of nations (such as the United Nations.)
4- That neither Congress nor the States may pass any law impeding a citizens right to keep and bear arms except where a person be a convicted felon or declared mentally incompetent by due process; and that any armament employed by any part of the government or armed forces also be available to private citizens.
To reinforce Alexander Hamilton’s idea that the people will have the ability to dissolve the government if and when it becomes so offensive to the people and by outright revolt if that becomes the last resort. In a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, the people must have the final power over the government.
5- Except during a war declared by the Congress the military budget shall be no greater than (percent to be determined) of the nations GNP.
To limit the size of the peacetime military/industrial complex. (This may not be necessary due to #2)
6- That all bills passed by the Congress shall have a statute of limitation attached to it so that no law becomes permanent. Any law or Bill that is deemed to be necessary and permanent should be ratified by binding referendum of all the people as a simple majority in each state and a simple majority of states.
All laws will be periodically reviewed for validity as the needs of society grow and change. Any permanent law needs to be approved by the states and by the people of the states.
7- That any Senator or Representative may be recalled by a referendum vote of 3/5th of the people of the state that elected them.
So that when their representatives depart from the ideals and the platform that were elected on, then the people can send someone else who will represent them.
8- All Supreme Court Judges to serve no longer than 16 years, but need to be re-confirmed by the Senate, without committee, every 4 years. (A no-vote within a time to be specified will constitute a confirmation.)
So that they are accountable and unable to usurp legislative powers.
9- All judicial appointments must be settled within one year by the Senate or they are seated automatically.
So that there will no longer be appointments simply withering on the vine.
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