Re-boot!

Unless Congress acts soon our country will hit the “fiscal cliff.” On January first, 2013 the Bush tax cuts will expire and everyone will pay higher taxes. On January first across the board spending cuts will be imposed on the military and other government services, the Alternative Minimum Tax threshold will drop and that means that more people will be taxed as if they were rich who are not rich, Social Security taxes will rise by 2%, federal unemployment benefits will expire, and approximately 22 new taxes will be imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obama Care) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. On January 1^st capital gains taxes will rise dramatically. The tax increases that will be imposed if we hit the fiscal cliff on January 1st will add up to the largest single tax increase in the history of the United States of America.

How might a collectivist view the fiscal cliff? Perhaps by saying that, "tax increases on others are good but any tax increase on me is a bad." In keeping with his/her collectivist principle of equality of outcome it will surely seem right to in the collectivist's mind to tax the rich. Which means, "tax anyone who has more money than I do and give some of that green to me so life will be fair by gum!"

How might an individualist view the fiscal cliff? Perhaps by saying . . . "The collectivists won the general election. The collectivists want higher taxes and more government spending. The collectivists have been complaining about the Bush tax cuts for years. The collectivists won, so let them have their cake and let them eat it too. Let the Bush Tax cuts expire. Let the tax rates go up on everyone. Let Obama Care engage with its mandate to purchase insurance or pay a big fine/tax and its 22 or so new taxes many of which will hit low income workers. Let the Social Security/Medicare taxes go up by 2% or more. Let capital gains taxes go up and up and up.  Let all the borrowing and deficit spending and stimulus spending go up and up into infinity.  After all, this is the will of the people as demonstrated in the general election.  Let Rome burn and then someday soon when we become like Greece and hit bottom maybe the American People will wake up and realize that there is no free lunch. The Nation cannot prosper and grow by borrowing and spending beyond its means."

I count myself as an individualist and here's what I say.  Let the Country hit the fiscal cliff and then, re-boot!  Re-boot with a Federal Government that cannot spend money on anything that it is not authorized to spend money on (i.e. the 20 or so powers articulated in Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution). Re-boot with a very low flat-tax that is applied to everyone in the work force so that everyone has skin in the game. Re-boot with a balanced budget amendment and a cap on tax increases for the Federal Government. Re-boot with a clearly defined separation of government and the private sector. Re-boot so that the Government gets back to its constitutionally authorized duty to protect individual rights and gets out of the business of running car companies, banks, solar panel companies, green battery companies, hospitals and the zillion other things that are being run or controlled by the Federal Government. Re-boot so that the Government gets out of bed with the private sector, i.e. no more crony capitalism, no more bailouts, no more picking winners and losers, no more subsidies, no more currency manipulation, no more payouts to special interest groups, no more corporatism. Re-boot so that individual rights including private property rights are truly and actually protected by the government.

Mark VanSchuyver