Over the last few months I, like many of you, have been watching and analyzing the Presidential debates featuring the Republican candidates. At first, in early September, they started off great with people actually talking about “reforming” the political machine we call Congress. In my opinion the reason was the presence of a true outsider in Herman Cain. The former pizza CEO was rising in the polls on a platform of reforming the current tax code with his 9-9-9 plan. Say what you will about the plan but the fact of the matter is Herman Cain changed the dynamic of the Republican primary. Everyone was talking about it even chanted “nine, nine, nine” in large town halls and venues across America. Its popularity forced politicians to start talking about it. This was more than enough proof that the people of this nation wanted a change. It even forced Rick Perry to come out and introduce his tax plan which included a flat tax.
The current tax system creates special interests. It is convoluted and archaic. IRS employees don’t even understand it. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2008 the Internal Revenue Service employees were wrong about tax law about 10% of the time! How would you like to be one of the “beneficiaries” of this advice? I can hear it now…”but…but…an IRS employee said I could” as the clicking of handcuffs can be heard.
Members of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the IRS and taxes in general, is a favorite target for buying influence with political contributions. In 2008 alone the dollar amount of political contributions given to Congressional members of this committee eclipsed a staggering $55 million dollars. This alone is ammunition enough for the idea of tax reform.
Politicians use the current tax code to foster crony capitalism and engineer the voting electorate under the guise of helping the “poor” by the addition of “refundable” tax credits. The same refundable tax credits that brought about RAL’s (Refund Anticipation Loans) that prey on the low and middle class with egregious fees and interest rates. The same credits that now have 47% of Americans paying no federal income taxes and allow 30% to make money under the current system.
Since Herman Cain left the contest we have veered away from talking about tax reform. They are back to platitudes and talking points. Career politicians don’t bring it up any more because they don’t have to. There is nobody left in the race who is pushing this issue…and that is now the tragedy of the Republican primary.
Blaise Ingoglia, Founder Government Gone Wild!
