The Second American Revolution--One Way Or The Other
“An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.” Chief Justice John Marshall, writing in M’Culloch v. Maryland (1819).
When some Gibbon of the future writes The Decline and Fall of the American Empire[i], he will mark the beginning of that decline as the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Ann Coulter, in her book Treason[ii], outlines the Socialist impulses of Mr. Roosevelt and his top advisors, which included Soviet spy Alger Hiss. This author remembers as a child sitting with his family in a semi-circle facing the radio, listening to Roosevelt’s “fireside chats.”
In later life he would talk about the reverence Roosevelt was accorded, jokingly relating to friends, “in my family the Trinity was God the father, John L. Lewis[iii] the Son and FDR the Holy Ghost.” The great mass of people who revered Roosevelt most likely would not have known at the time what a Socialist was - and would not have cared if they were to learn he was one. However, they do know now about the tax burden Socialist policies and the expansion of the federal government cause.
The author’s generation, born before World War II, will be the last to remember the American Republic as it was before Roosevelt started down the Socialist path, before the United States Supreme Court seized power and corrupted, perhaps forever, the democratic process—and before Congress discovered that people were so gullible it could bribe them with their own money! Americans who came of age during or after the tenure of Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969) will have no personal memory of what it was like to vote for congressional representatives who actually made the laws we live under, and who made reasonably restrained decisions about spending other people’s money.
A detailed examination of the Roosevelt Administration is beyond the scope of this essay, which will focus on what we must do to slow the decline of America. Historian Edward Gibbon cites five reasons the Roman Empire declined, decayed and died:
Divorce. Intact, traditional families are essential to the welfare of society;
Taxes. Profligate spending on welfare programs and entertainment for the masses;
Hedonism. The pursuit of pleasure and rising levels of violence in sports;
Armament. Excessive war preparation when the real threat was internal decadence;
Religion. The decay of religious faith and the elevation of form over substance.
One need not be a serious scholar (or an alarmist) to see the similarities in modern day America.
TAX REFORM/LIMITED GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL
To slow the decline of America, top priorities must be to curtail Congress’ taxing authority and to stop the Supreme Court from unilaterally, and without any authority in law, amending the Constitution—including the amendment giving the federal courts the power to tax!
The 10th amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Notwithstanding that prohibition, the federal government has grown until it would not be recognizable by the framers of the U. S. Constitution. The state governments must limit the size and power of the federal government by using the legal means provided to them in the Constitution.
This essay presents a method to begin the process of tax reform and limiting the size of the federal government. It is intended to encourage readers to demand that the legislature of their state use its Constitutional power, granted by Article V, to petition Congress to call a convention where the states could propose amendments to the United States Constitution.
To believe that the average heroin addict will voluntarily give up his habit without some drastic intervention by an outside force is naïve. To believe Congress is going to restrain itself from spending money goes beyond naiveté to delusional. For there to be meaningful tax reform and/or limited government, there must be some draconian action by the people to impose limits that Congress cannot avoid. The essays which follow over the next two days will outline proposed amendments to curtail Congress' taxing power and will also address the abuses being perpetrated by the United States Supreme Court along with some proposed solutions.
It will require extremely harsh action by the people to rein in both Congress’ fiscal “reign of terror” and the oligarchic Supreme Court—both of whom have elevated themselves to a permanent ruling class, out of touch with the people they rule. Article V contains the authority to amend the United States Constitution:
"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes." [Emphasis added]
Note the language, if two thirds of state legislatures petition Congress, Congress shall call a convention to propose amendments. It is not optional: “shall” in law means it is mandatory. The beauty of having the states petition Congress to call a convention is it can be done by a simple majority vote of two-thirds of the legislatures rather than a two-thirds vote of Congress (which would not be possible if the effect was to ration the money Congress has become addicted to).
Forward-thinking Americans must use the tools the Constitution gave them to begin that Second American Revolution. Failure to do so will inevitably lead to a violent revolution when the federal courts add their power to tax to the 40% tax burden Congress will impose by 2075 ( according to a Congressional Budget Office study). We may see in our lifetime the fulfillment of that "power to destroy" Marshall warned about in 1819.
_______________
[i] Edward Gibbon wrote a multi-volume The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
[ii] Coulter, Ann. Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, Crown Forum (2003)
[iii] President, United Mine Workers Union (1920 to 1960)
When some Gibbon of the future writes The Decline and Fall of the American Empire[i], he will mark the beginning of that decline as the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Ann Coulter, in her book Treason[ii], outlines the Socialist impulses of Mr. Roosevelt and his top advisors, which included Soviet spy Alger Hiss. This author remembers as a child sitting with his family in a semi-circle facing the radio, listening to Roosevelt’s “fireside chats.”
In later life he would talk about the reverence Roosevelt was accorded, jokingly relating to friends, “in my family the Trinity was God the father, John L. Lewis[iii] the Son and FDR the Holy Ghost.” The great mass of people who revered Roosevelt most likely would not have known at the time what a Socialist was - and would not have cared if they were to learn he was one. However, they do know now about the tax burden Socialist policies and the expansion of the federal government cause.
The author’s generation, born before World War II, will be the last to remember the American Republic as it was before Roosevelt started down the Socialist path, before the United States Supreme Court seized power and corrupted, perhaps forever, the democratic process—and before Congress discovered that people were so gullible it could bribe them with their own money! Americans who came of age during or after the tenure of Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969) will have no personal memory of what it was like to vote for congressional representatives who actually made the laws we live under, and who made reasonably restrained decisions about spending other people’s money.
A detailed examination of the Roosevelt Administration is beyond the scope of this essay, which will focus on what we must do to slow the decline of America. Historian Edward Gibbon cites five reasons the Roman Empire declined, decayed and died:
Divorce. Intact, traditional families are essential to the welfare of society;
Taxes. Profligate spending on welfare programs and entertainment for the masses;
Hedonism. The pursuit of pleasure and rising levels of violence in sports;
Armament. Excessive war preparation when the real threat was internal decadence;
Religion. The decay of religious faith and the elevation of form over substance.
One need not be a serious scholar (or an alarmist) to see the similarities in modern day America.
TAX REFORM/LIMITED GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL
To slow the decline of America, top priorities must be to curtail Congress’ taxing authority and to stop the Supreme Court from unilaterally, and without any authority in law, amending the Constitution—including the amendment giving the federal courts the power to tax!
The 10th amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Notwithstanding that prohibition, the federal government has grown until it would not be recognizable by the framers of the U. S. Constitution. The state governments must limit the size and power of the federal government by using the legal means provided to them in the Constitution.
This essay presents a method to begin the process of tax reform and limiting the size of the federal government. It is intended to encourage readers to demand that the legislature of their state use its Constitutional power, granted by Article V, to petition Congress to call a convention where the states could propose amendments to the United States Constitution.
To believe that the average heroin addict will voluntarily give up his habit without some drastic intervention by an outside force is naïve. To believe Congress is going to restrain itself from spending money goes beyond naiveté to delusional. For there to be meaningful tax reform and/or limited government, there must be some draconian action by the people to impose limits that Congress cannot avoid. The essays which follow over the next two days will outline proposed amendments to curtail Congress' taxing power and will also address the abuses being perpetrated by the United States Supreme Court along with some proposed solutions.
It will require extremely harsh action by the people to rein in both Congress’ fiscal “reign of terror” and the oligarchic Supreme Court—both of whom have elevated themselves to a permanent ruling class, out of touch with the people they rule. Article V contains the authority to amend the United States Constitution:
"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes." [Emphasis added]
Note the language, if two thirds of state legislatures petition Congress, Congress shall call a convention to propose amendments. It is not optional: “shall” in law means it is mandatory. The beauty of having the states petition Congress to call a convention is it can be done by a simple majority vote of two-thirds of the legislatures rather than a two-thirds vote of Congress (which would not be possible if the effect was to ration the money Congress has become addicted to).
Forward-thinking Americans must use the tools the Constitution gave them to begin that Second American Revolution. Failure to do so will inevitably lead to a violent revolution when the federal courts add their power to tax to the 40% tax burden Congress will impose by 2075 ( according to a Congressional Budget Office study). We may see in our lifetime the fulfillment of that "power to destroy" Marshall warned about in 1819.
_______________
[i] Edward Gibbon wrote a multi-volume The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
[ii] Coulter, Ann. Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, Crown Forum (2003)
[iii] President, United Mine Workers Union (1920 to 1960)
posted by GN at 7:04 AM
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