Sorry, had a glitch and posted on it's own. To continue, even the President. I'd like to insert an article being submitted to a local paper, if I can get it from a disk onto this page. (here it is) The American political system is currently one of the most corrupt governments in the free world, with a so called democracy. Big business is firmly entwined in government, and government into big business as well. Each with hands deeply planted into the back pockets of the other, regardless of political affiliation.
The politicians of this country need to remember that they work for the American people, instead of benefiting themselves at every turn. How can they make decisions for us with their first thought being how will this benefit me? Asking themselves that is human nature. When we hear about new laws we ask ourselves, how will this impact me, my family, our future? But, our political representatives do not have that luxury. They have to be above being selfish, and think for the good of every person in this country, rich or poor. Each person in Congress should 'always’ vote conscience', not strict party line. It’s not conceivable that all of one party totally agree on every issue, it’s just not possible. If you put all of them on a street corner where they all just witnessed an auto accident, how many versions of it would you come up with? One? It’s impossible. So, it’s fair to conclude that Congress ‘does not’ make decisions based on what each of them think. Without first considering peer pressure, favors owed to contributers, their own personal and business concerns, and a political agenda.
There is a way out of this mess. Imagine a system where each and every member of Congress could vote his own heart and soul for the good of all without ‘any’ pressure from peers or constituents. No favors owed to big business. On the other side, big business would have no reason to ‘buy off’ politicians. Imagine a system that allowed our representatives to expedite extremely important legislation without being bogged down by political bickering because of party lines. Imagine a system that is truly designed to allow the American people to elect all political representatives without any regard to party, but instead just elect the best of the candidates, including the President. Imagine a system that the checks and balances in the Congress are each and every individual and not a party line. The majority rules regardless of and without a party line system. We already have such a system in place. It’s called ‘The Constitution’. It was designed by the people for the people without regard to party, political affiliation, but by individuals for individuals. If it had been written in a partisan way they would still be trying to get it done.
The way out of this mess is really not that complicated. There are many who would not like the system, and those who would welcome it. Under the present system, and history will bear this out. The rich continue to get richer, and the poor continue to get poorer. The reason being that the gap between the rich and poor keeps getting larger. Why? Tax breaks, government to big business favors and contracts, big business favors and giveaways to corrupt politicians. All costing the American tax payer millions, perhaps billions each year. Another fact is the percentage of tax paid by the average citizen, and big business. Tax incentives, tax breaks, and total non-payment of taxes, allow big business to continue to widen the gap between rich and poor, while the poor just keep going into a downward spiral. Congress will probably vote themselves a $3000.00 a year raise, while the country endures a trillion dollar deficit, and the people can’t even get the minimum wage raised to $7.00 per hour. Hello? Are we missing something here? Something has to change, and it all starts with big government, big business, over-taxing the poor and middle class, and under-taxing the rich.
There is a way out! It’s called a ‘flat tax’. A flat tax will level the playing field. An equal percentage of tax would be automatically withheld from all citizens. There would be an exception to that rule concerning the poverty level. Those making $xxxxx of dollars or less per year would be exempt. There would be no need for tax returns as we know them to exist. Less educated folks will no longer have to fear tax time, and the same as well for even more educated that have some difficulty preparing a very complicated tax return. Another advantage goes to our heavily in debt administration. Tax revenue ‘not’ being collected by big business will now be collected. Our national debt could be wiped out within as little as three years. No longer would government have ‘any’ reason to be in bed with big business, and vice versa. No more buying and selling politicians, or politicians owing huge favors to big business. As mentioned in the ‘imagine a system’ paragraph, the flat tax system allows our representatives to finally vote individually with conscience, no peer pressure, no big favors, just their own heart and soul for their country.
The changing of one system in this country can alleviate many problems in government and society. As mentioned above there are those who would not want to see this happen. They are the corrupt rich who just want to get richer, with only their own agendas in mind. Their days of sponging off of the government and us would be over. They will have to pay their fair share. Corruption in government and business would be seriously damaged. Those who would welcome this system? The people, and those in government and business who do happen to be honest, and have a true desire to do the right thing and be a part of the most amazing and greatest country in the world, ‘The United States of America’. Let me know what you think, is it possible? Or are the powers that be 'too' powerful?
