The great Black Hole for Money

When I think about this 800 BILLION bail-out, I find some things interesting:

A) The banks are claiming there is no way to track where or how they spent the Billion dollars they received.
For 3 of the past 5 years I have worked for banks. I know this to be false. Banks track every fraction of a penny. They know where it goes and where it comes from. Otherwise, they would be negligent in their obligations to their customers and stock holders.
Don't be fooled, if they say, "I don't know where it is, where it went..." they are lying to you.

B) Democrats (the "friends of the People") and Republicans (the "friends of the Big Business") seem to have swapped places. The Democrats were all hot to give money cart-blanch to the Auto Industry, while the Republicans were asking for all kinds of restrictions and oversight.
Bush, himself, is letting the Auto Industry go bankrupt, although it is in a more controlled way...but still...

C) Bush has been a "Tax-Break and Spend" kind of guy. We have seen all kinds of plans to give us a tax break and yet, the government is spending more now than ever before. The National Debt has grown from about 6.3 Trillion to 10.3 Trillion in 8 years.
Obama's plans follow this pattern. He is looking to give tax breaks and yet, even before he gets into office, the National Debt is going UP at an alarming rate. If he continues this policy, we could go from 10.3 to 16.3 trillion in the next 8 years.

This brings to mind a little saying:
If you always do what you have always done, you always get what you always got.

In order for anything to get better, we have to let the Free Market roam Freely...we have to see what prices and what value is placed on goods and services. And it has to be done without government interference (with the exception of Anti-Trust and Monopoly issues)...

We need to shrink the Government. We need to get control of the Government Spending. We need to get more people involved in Government (Grass Roots) as well as get the Good Old Guys out of Government. We need new ideas. We need to restructure the Tax Plan. We need to remove the "perks" of serving in public office. We need to restore the people's confidence in their Government.

This is all "DIFFERENT"...if we did this, we would have a DIFFERENT outcome, not the "same old thing"...

The Rules of Self Defense

There have been lots of discussions around the "art" of self defense, the "right" to self defense, and many other things related to self defense. There are, however, not enough discussions about the consequences and the choices leading up to those consequences...
So I would like to take a moment of your time to outline some "Rules" in relation to Self Defense.
First, there is one caveat, every area is different. You must check with your local ordinances, and state laws about how your city/state views self defense. Some places require you retreat, other do not, some outline (very clearly) what is and is not self defense, and some places leave a big hole where that knowledge is concerned. So, this is just a guide, not a definitive list.

#1) If you own and carry a gun for self defense (a good idea in this economy) you should also own and carry a cell phone.
While it isn't a law, it is most commonly understood that the first person to call 911 in a confrontation is the Victim. If you have to defend yourself, YOU are the Victim, and YOU should be the first one to call 911.

#2) Self defense is NOT when you go looking for a confrontation. If you come upon something illegal, and no life is in immediate danger, call 911, make a report, but do not engage. Give the 911 Dispatcher AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE (rage, gender, height, clothing, cars, license plates, etc)
This changes if there is a life in immediate danger, engage, but have dialed 911 (if you can) first, let them record the proceedings. Use verbal commands (without "waiting"...if the situation calls for it, forgo the verbal commands and ACT). Using verbal commands can stop a situation.

#3) Retreat if possible. If someone breaks into your house, and you come home to a burglary in progress, call 911 and wait outside or at a neighbor's house. Again, give 911 as MUCH detail as possible.
Retreating also works in public and semi-public environments where it might be easier to leave a potentially bad situation.
I will say, this situation again changes if there is a life in immediate danger. Then you engage, and defend (yourself or others - your choice).

#4) If you are in your home, at work, or at school, these are places you (normally) do not have to retreat from. If you are attacked in these situations, call 911 (if you can) and let them get it on recording. Use verbal commands if you can, without putting yourself in danger, and if all else fails, and you have to defend yourself, DO SO.

#5) Using #1 and a guide, if you have had to defend yourself, and you were not able to call 911 prior to engagement, then you MUST now call 911.
When you call 911, you should always say something like:
"I am in danger",
"he has a {insert weapon here}",
"send the police"
and if a shooting has happened, "send an ambulance"...
You don't need to explain more than "I am the victim" to the 911 Dispatcher. NEVER say "I shot someone" or "I killed someone"...bad mojo.

#6) When the police arrive, YOU are the one attacked, YOU should be filing the report. At first, they are going to want all the details and statements...DO NOT give them any more than the very basics (at first)...
"He came at me",
"I was afraid for my life (or the life of someone else)" (this is KEY),
"I tried to warn them off/leave (whatever), but they kept coming"...
Then this is the very next phrase you say to the reporting officer:
"I am terribly shook up, I will gladly cooperate with you in your investigation, but I would like time to calm down and contact an attorney to protect my rights, please give me 24-48 hours to make a complete statement."

If you don't "go looking for trouble", if you attempt to "stay out of it", if you only engage because your life or the life of another person is in jeopardy, THEN you are NOT the Bad Guy.
If you go into a situation because you have a gun, if you go looking for confrontation, if you chase someone around (shooting or not), THEN you are the Bad Guy...

The difference is, sometimes, subtle. But in most cases, if you did what you could to avoid the confrontation, and only engaged because there was no other way to save a life (yours or someone else's) THEN it will be a clear case of Self Defense. Otherwise, at a minimum, you get "assault with a deadly weapon" and at a maximum, you get "Murder".

Be careful out there. Follow the laws. Get a gun legally, carry it legally. Use it only if you have no other choice. Be the first to call 911. Cooperate with police, but not at the sacrifice of your rights.

Preying on the hopeless

I came across the Web Site "Swoopo.com" back in October. After looking at how they do their auctions, I decided to write the Utah State Attorney General's office to see if this kind of auctioning is illegal (since it more resembles a raffle than an auction, and many types of raffling are illegal in Utah (and other states))
This letter went to them on 10/23/08.
I read BoingBoing, and today they had an article linked about the same issue entitled "Profitable Until Deemed Illegal" http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001196.html by Jeff Atwood.

Because he comes to the same conclusion that I did back in October, I figured it would be about time to say something on my Blog (especially in light of the silence I have received from the Utah AG's office)...

Swoopo preys on the hopeless.

I work in Technology, and I buy a lot of computer equipment for personal and business use.
Because of this, I am always looking to save some money.
Especially in today's economy, when we are finding it more and more difficult to purchase even the necessities.
I came across a web site called Swoopo (http://www.swoopo.com) which touts itself as an auction site like Ebay (http://www.ebay.com). I did find, however, that there are several things wrong with their claims - it is more like a gambling or a raffle outlet than an auction house.

To clarify; Ebay, like any auction outlet, provides items for sale "to the highest bidder". This is a Fair and Free Market tactic to let society determine what something is worth. I have seen something you could normally buy at $10 go for as much as $90 and as little as $5. The point is, there is (normally) no "artificial inflation" of a product's worth, especially when there are multiple auction sites and Internet Retailers fighting for your business. Ebay takes a small percentage of the winnings, or there is a small fee to list your items on Ebay. This is their business model.

Swoopo, on the other hand, is free to join, but in order to bid, you must purchase "bids" in packages for a set amount.
Since I originally wrote the Utah AG's office, Swoopo has changed their bid buying model. It used to be that you bought "bids" for $1.00 each and each "bid" was worth $0.01 or $0.15. It is now that you buy 50 "bids" for $37.50 (for the math challenged, that is $0.75 each), and they are worth $0.01 or $0.15 each (depending on the type of auction).

My examples below are still geared toward the $1.00 bid price, so they are off by 25%, but it is still an insane amount of money...

They claim an item sells for it's face value, or for actual bid value, HOWEVER, if $1.00 = $0.01 then an item that they claim sells for $15.00 actually sold for $1500.00, and if I purchased 20 "bids" or $20.00 and I bid 20 times, and I win the item that is now listed at $15.00, it didn't actually sell to me for $15.00, but for $20.00.
ONLY, that isn't really correct. The item gets BID UP to $15.00 on a penny auction, and you put in $20.00 or 20 bids, then you have to pay for the item, which is now set at $15.00...
YOUR TOTAL OUT OF POCKET is $35.
THEIR TOTAL PROFIT is $1500 (bids) + $15.00 (final price) - (actual cost of item)

As you can imagine, I have some serious questions about the Legality of this type of "auctioning"...it sounds more like outright "gambling" than a "raffle", but maybe a "lottery" describes it better...
Unfortunately, lotteries, raffles, and gambling all do the same thing...they take money from desperate people who cannot afford to throw money away in this manner...but people do it for a couple reasons:
1) they want something of great value for a small price
2) they get financially vested in an item (via "bidding") and want to realize their "investment"

Aren't raffles/lotteries/gambling illegal in Utah (among other states)? This is, essentially, what it is that Swoopo is doing:
Instead of selling "tickets" or "chances", they sell "bids" - the more "bids" you buy, the better
chance you have of winning
Aren't they falsely advertising their goods/service? If they say something sold for $15.00, but in reality, the final price of the item might be $15.00, but the profit realized from the "$15.00" price tag was 100 times that. This is almost like a play on words...

This seems to me like a scam, a raffle, a lottery...it smells of false advertising, deception, and fraud. And it is DEFINITELY preying on the poor, especially in this economy.

There are some things that I neglected to mention, that Jeff points out...
Each time a bid is made, in the final few seconds of an auction, it extends out the time of the auction by another 15 seconds. This is the same kind of thing as enticing a mule to move by following a dangling carrot in front of its face...no matter how many steps he takes, that carrot is still just as far away...

They also "auction off" bids (the same as receiving quarters back from a quarter slot machine)...

And finally, they have a clause that allows "bait and switch". If I bid on an item, they can ship me an "equivalent" item...is that "equivalent" as in PRICE or in FEATURES and FUNCTIONALITY?

I am going to resubmit my email to the Utah AG's office, and see what happens. I will clarify and maybe even have them call me with any questions.

Paper and Ink tax vs. Ball and Powder tax

There is no secret that the government, failing to enact the type of gun restrictions it has been hoping for, has found a new way to prevent the use of firearms for anything but door-stops. They have determined that they can tax the ammo, or components of that ammo, at such a rate that a man can no longer afford to use a firearm.
This constitutes a "paper and ink" tax, which has already been struck down in Minnesota and has threatened to put "Student" newspapers out of business in California.
Article 1
Article 2

If the government cannot shut you up, they regulate you into silence. While it isn't common for the Paper and Ink tax to be instituted, and not at a high enough rate to prevent people from being able to express themselves, it is becoming more common for bloggers (like myself) to find themselves on the wrong end of the law. As if we really had to have a "press credential" to be able to report news, discuss our feelings and opinions openly, or investigate stories for discussion and informational purposes. The DMCA contains language to allow News Papers and other News publishers to force "free lance" bloggers into silence. Imagine that, those fighting for Free Speech fighting to silence individuals.

It all boils down to the same essence: the right to Free Speech is a "collective right" given to the Press only - the right to Bear Arms is a "collective right" given to the military only. What does this mean? That we can only do what the Government will allow us, regardless on who's RIGHT it is...

I (and the Founding Fathers) have a different view of this. Our Rights PRE-EXIST the Constitution, and the Constitution was devised as a method to Protect those Rights from our Government.

The right to free speech is regulated (and rightly so) to some degree...this prevents someone from entering a crowded movie theater and yelling "fire" when no fire exists. This kind of panic could cause the deaths or injury of hundreds of people, and infringes on those people's rights to NOT be injured or killed. One against the Many.
The same holds true for Felons and Firearms, although, I believe even that is too "general"...It should only prevent Convicted Violent Criminals from owning firearms. A felony for Fraud is different than a felony for Murder. But we still restrict this person from owning a firearm, because the Right for people to feel safe is greater than the right of the violent criminal to own a gun.

However, currently, according to the CDC, Alcohol and Tobacco are EACH more of a danger to the life and security of innocents than any firearm.

One must wonder why so much time, effort, energy, and money are being spent on the restriction of firearms when there are clearly more important issues to deal with.

All this proposed taxing schema will do is cost millions to fight in court on both sides. Another way for the Government to waste our tax dollars, especially in a time of hardship.

Another proposal is to serialize each component in the ammo making process. This will prove costly for everyone involved. It is intended as a way to trace ammo that is used in a crime, but in reality its is another restriction on your rights. It also makes instant criminals out of normally law abiding citizens (but this has never stopped California...)

Not to mention that NONE of these proposals will do anything to the Criminal, except make them find a new way around the law. After all, they said the same thing for putting cameras all over Miami, and to date (I believe it is 3 or 4 years running now) there have been NO arrests of criminals due to the cameras, face recognition, or any other reasoning they gave for their installation.
The same will hold true for these laws, regulations and taxes.

However, this won't stop the Government from trying.

My advice...
Fight for Net Neutrality and Blogger Rights
Fight for Freedom of Speech
Fight for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Fight for your Right to not be harassed by your Government

Go buy your reloading supplies now. Buy your guns, get prepared. At a minimum, it will be a long, hard 4 years...worst case scenario, it will be a long, hard 8 years...
And if we don't wise up in the next 4 - 8 years, it could even go longer.

Indoctrination vs. Education

We really don't have an educational system in the United States. We took all the competition out of it, so there is really no incentive to a) make sure our kids get educated, and b) make sure that the kids want to be educated.
All we do in indoctrinate our children to a defined set of "facts" and "acceptable" information heaped with "politically correct jargon" in a cesspool of intolerance.
I wonder why we wait until college (a school that isn't free and isn't mandatory) to teach our children about Critical Thinking, Logic, Tolerance, Acceptance, Government, Economics, and other important issues. Children should have even a basic understanding of these things by the time they get to Junior High. They should have a good understanding by High School, and by College, they should be learning the detailed skills they will need for their chosen career: med school, law school, engineering, advanced applied math, etc.
This will never happen in the current "educational system", and that is why we are failing when it comes to comparing our "students" with the students of other "advanced" countries.
How do we fix it?
Well, stop taking tax money to pay for schools and teachers. Privatize the school system, and let those that use the system, pay for it. Education is a privilege, not a "basic human right". When the parents are cutting the check every month for their children to go to school, they will make sure the kids go, and that they learn. A person's children, after all, are that person's responsibility, not the responsibility of the "state".
Schools could be non-profit or for-profit, but they could solicit grants, donations, scholarships, and other monies if they want/need.
I am afraid that this is the only way that we can get away from the failure that is our "educational system" and move in to a more enlightened and intelligent period. A place where children are taught all sides of the issues and are given enough information to make up their own minds, based on Logic and Critical Thinking.
Or, we can continue to go the rout we are going, and in another generation or 2, when these fool kids are being elected into political office (y'all complain about Bush...well just you wait...) and we will wish we had done something different, fixed the problem, instead of using band-aids.

The following story illustrates what I am talking about...
A teacher took HeliOS (linux) disks away from a student because a) it wasn't Microsoft Windows and b) no software could ever be free...
This just goes to show, even the Teachers need a little education...

If we spent billions on education instead of Microsoft Software, would the education system benefit? Note, I didn't say "do without computers and programs to help with education"...I said "not spend billions on Microsoft Software".
Linux is FREE. Linux takes a brain to operate (since we all have a brain, well, you get the idea). Linux offers opportunity for individuals to solve problems. Linux saves money.

Now, I don't what this to be another "linux rant", but I do want to point out that Education is more important than Indoctrination, and we are fully indoctrinated in the "educational system"...

Change, Mr. Obama? Lets do something about the State of Education in this Country.

We like to talk about security...

We like to talk about our safety and security...
We like to talk about our right and responsibilities...
But why is it that we seem to polarize on a single issue?
We are either "anti gun", when that doesn't increase safety or security...
Or we are "pro gun", when that isn't the only protection we should offer ourselves.
Business Week reports that the US is Loosing the Cyber War.

Is your computer running Windows XP or Windows Vista?
If so, YOU could be part of the problem.
According to Secunia, Windows XP still has 13% of its defects UNPATCHED. This is even after Windows XP's debut in 2001. In other words, after 7 years and 3 major "updates" Windows XP still leaves you vulnerable.
Windows Vista isn't much better, with 12% of its flaws still unpatched after being released in 2007, almost 2 full years, and one major update.
Can we really afford to loose the cyber war?
I am putting out the call, "To Arms"...but not to go out and grab your gun, but I am asking you to grab your "cyber gun"...
It is our responsibility to defend against those that would enslave us.
Be it the Government, Enemy Combatants, Terrorists, or just the regular, old Bad Guy.
How can we do this? What is a "cyber gun" in this case? LINUX.
Switch to Linux. In most cases, the average user will not even notice.
Email, Web Browsing, Chats, Pictures, Printing...even word processing and more. All provided at no cost. The benefit? Linux is a secure system. Secunia reports that Ubuntu, out since 2004, is reporting 0% Unpached Vulnerabilities.

Get out from under the Corporate Giant, do your part to ensure we win the cyber war, secure your data and your computer, install Linux and become one of the Internet Patriots.
I recommend Ubuntu, DOWNLOAD HERE, but there are hundreds of flavors to choose from. And support is as open and free as the operating system.

Oops! Missed One Fix — Windows Attacks Under Way

Microsoft warns of new Windows bug, says attacks under way

Microsoft issues mammoth security update, biggest in five years

Experts Say To Switch Browsers In Light of IE Vulnerability

Utah and Washington D.C.

I find the art of hiding legislation within legislation appalling. You know, when congress comes up with a real lemon, which fails the vote miserably and hides it in the tail end at the last minute of a real good piece of legislation?
One of two things happen in this case...
a) the bill passes, bringing the lemon into law, even after they couldn't pass it by itself
b) the bill fails, taking the good legislation down with the lemon
NEITHER of these scenarios are good, and neither SHOULD happen.

Well, there is this bill, (H.R. 1905)/(S. 1257), that could come again to a vote (some time in February, I believe). This bill wants to grant Utah another House seat, but it would also grant a House seat to "Washington D.C.".
This would clearly violate the Constitution which sets the District as being DISTINCT from the States. Granting Washington D.C. a Seat in the House would equalize the District with the States, negating the whole purpose of the District, namely to give our government a politically NEUTRAL area in which to do business, to provide for their own protection, and to be self reliant, instead of obtaining support from any one state. Granting any "state rights" to the District will remove its impartiality.

There are a lot of other really good arguments against letting Washington D.C. gain its own seat in the House, and many of them make themselves immediately apparent when you read the Wikipedia entry on Washington D.C....

The Constitution is the limiting factor, and any change to the status of Washington D.C. would require a Constitutional Amendment. This should never be taken lightly.
The argument about Taxation without Representation is valid, and because we cannot grant Representation to the District, it is a good argument to go to a Straight Federal Sales Tax. (FairTax.org)...this solves the problem of taxation while honoring the Constitution.
Changing the status of Washington D.C. would have far reaching and devastating effects on our Country. This change alone would grant the Government representation of itself, giving power and authority to act to itself, when that power and authority ultimately lies within The People, not the Government. It would be a spontanieous usurpation of power FROM the People, setting the Government above the People.

This legislation must not pass.

Where'd the Money Go?

As with all things, there is a solution to much of the financial woes we are currently experiencing:
STOP SPENDING MONEY
DON'T GO INTO DEBT
MAKE APPROPRIATE CUTBACKS
ELIMINATE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
BUY LOCAL

But BUSH and OBAMA, being the people that they are, have decided that SOMEHOW we can give tax cuts and tax rebates AND increase spending...
This is why the National Debt has grown so much under Bush, and with Obama's current thoughts on the Economy, it isn't going to end any time soon.
What we can do is tall the politicians to do something with Illegal Immigration. We are hiring illegals, because they will work for nothing AND we don't have to provide benefits, etc. However, they take most of that money, none of which has had any tax paid, and they ship it back to Mexico. Our money does us no good in Mexico...it does them a world of good, but it shorts our economy.
However, that doesn't make any difference to many politicians...they want to legalize the illegals, and create "guest worker" programs. Well, hold on...we have a dwindling economy, people out of work, and yet, we still want to invite people to come over and take jobs that rightly belong to Americans -
Ok, at least with a guest worker program, taxes are paid and benefits provided, but jobs and money are still GONE.

The other one is simple. Stop buying crap from China. Stop sending our money over seas. I would also say, stop buying gasoline, but that ain't happening...
Even with the price of gas down, we should be screaming for more fuel efficiency (which really hasn't changed since the 1930s) and for more alternatives to gasoline. I am just afraid that now that gasoline is under $2 that people will let this issue die.
Take a look at Dubai in the UAE...That is where all your money is going...
Funny thing is, if the Automakers sold the cars we want, and the fuel to run them (batteries, natural gas, hydrogen) then all that money would stay inside the United States, and our cities might look like Dubai...

Sad part is, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We have allowed things to get so bad. We buy our fuel from the Arabs and our junk from China. Electric cars have been around since the 50s, turbine cars (that will burn any alcohol (from plants, etc)) were produced (shortly) in the 50s, Bio Diesel has been around for about 30-40 years...there really is no excuse for our reliance on foreign oil. Oh, and everything sold to us by China could be manufactured and sold right here in America, if someone cared to do it...yes, it might cost a little more, but it would be free of LEAD (unless you like to eat off lead painted plates, or having your children put lead painted toys in their mouths) because our quality and safety standards are higher here then over there...

We need to make the right types and the right number of cuts in the government...and I don't mean in services alone...in personnel and in "special services" and salaries...I will write later to show just how much could be saved (estimate) if these changes are made. While I don't know for sure, and I can only make a slight guess as to they types and number of jobs that need cutting, I would say that we could save BILLIONS a year.

So, lets get off our duffs and get this situation FIXED. It isn't in the power of our corrupt politicians to do it, so we, THE PEOPLE, need to start forcing change...
Stop buying foreign, get out of debt, save money and invest in America, contact your congress critter and get them to rethink their spending policies...
Trust me, in 3-5 years, you will thank me for this advice...

Republicans and Democrats: Tax-Break and Spend

All Things in Common or How the Democrats will follow the Republicans into the Tax-Break and Spend Freely abyss...

President Elect Obama has decided that we would be better off if we had "all things in common", or basically, a socialist system in which the people that make less than $250,000 would have no increase in their tax. This puts more of the burden squarely on the shoulders of those earning more than $250,000.
While this might sound good, it is doomed to failure. Look at other programs that have tried the same thing: Russia and Communism, Canada and their failing Socialist Health Care System...the United States and Medicaid and Social Security.

We should also have a look back in History...
William Bradford, Governor of the Plymouth settlement in the 1600's, wrote in his journal, "Of Plymouth Plantation", about the first few years the colonists were in America:

"The experience that was had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato's and other ancients applauded by some of later times; that the taking away of property and bringing in community into a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God. For this community was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For the young men, that were most able and fit for labor and service, did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children without any recompense. The strong had no more in division of victuals and clothes than he that was weak and not able to do a quarter the other could; this was thought injustice. The aged and graver men to be ranked and equalized in labors everything else, thought it some indignity and disrespect unto them."

"And for men's wives to be commanded to do service for other men, as dressing their meat, washing their clothes, etc., they deemed it a kind of slavery, neither could many husbands well brook it. Upon the point all being to have alike, and all to do alike, they thought themselves in the like condition, and one as good as another; and so, if it did not cut off those relations that God hath set amongst men, yet it did at least much diminish and take off the mutual respects that should be preserved amongst them. Let none object this is men's corruption, and nothing to the course itself. I answer, seeing all men have this corruption in them, God in His wisdom saw another course fitter for them."

The early settlers tried to live with "all things in common" and it nearly wiped them out. It wasn't until they went back to a more capitalist approach that,

"They had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been. The women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to set corn; which before would allege weakness and inability; whom to have compelled would have been thought great tyranny and oppression? By this time harvest was come, and instead of famine, now God gave them plenty, and the faces of things were changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God."

This is why Thanksgiving didn't happen until 1623, even though they had been in the Americas since 1620.

Further back in history, we can look at people's reactions to communal living within the New Testament in the Bible:
Acts 4:32-37

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
33 ...
34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Ok, working so far...but now, human nature is introduced, the need to have something of our own, the desire to ownership, or having something more than someone else...

Acts 5:1-11

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy [Spirit], and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

These systems might work in a wholly religious aspect, but, as Peter alludes to here, it is VOLUNTARY, but must be done HONESTLY.

And more recently in History, Joseph Smith and the LDS Church set up what was called the Law of Consecration. This is a program similar to what you read in Acts above, but different in that people gave all to the Church, and were given a stewardship (a responsibility) for a portion of what the Church had. This stewardship made the individual responsible for whatever it was; a farm, a store, a printing press, etc. Similar to the parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:15-30.
With the Law of Consecration, each individual was responsible for "doing their part" to make it all work. But like as happened in the New Testament, and in the Early American Settlement of Plymouth, Greed and Slothfulness prevented this system from working.
These individuals were religious, all of them. And in a Religious society, the members "fear God" or rather, they fear not receiving their Eternal Reward. If these individuals can be caught up in Greed and Slothfulness, what hope do regular "non-religious" people have of making this type of system work? When people "want what they didn't earn" or when they "don't want to do the work for someone else" the system fails.
Especially when you take into account the desire of many Americans to remove religion from ANYTHING that touches the "public domain"...

And, just to bring about the death knell of this Obama "all things in common" thing...Bush's plan was to give tax rebates, and then spend more to help the poor...but if you give back taxes, where does the money come from to "spend more"?
"Middle class tax cuts, state bailouts could come soon"
"Obama's tax hike for the rich may be delayed"

Cut taxes (the equivalent of a "rebate") and spend more... Recently, our National Debt reached 10 TRILLION. It took Bush 8 years to go from 6.3 TRILLION to 10.7 TRILLION. If Obama continues this policy (as is in evidence by these latest news reports on his economic policy) we could hit 15 to 20 TRILLION in the next 4-8 years.

Our Tax Folly

The United States is not taking advantage of many trillions of dollars that it could benefit from...and no, I am not talking about any Government Bailouts, or Foreign Bailouts...in fact, I am suggesting the United States could become a tax haven for most of the world's money by simply dispensing with "income tax".

Some time ago, I thought a different tax system would better represent the people and their interests in the Government. The only problem is, there is really no way to appease all the people and squarely deal with everyone.
I am all for equal treatment...i.e. if you have money, you pay your fair share...if you don't have money, then you still need to pay your share, but "how" becomes an issue...
Our American Entitlement Mentality has lead us into troubled waters along this front.
Currently, things aren't fair at all...
Another Blogger, Dan S., uses an analogy that I have heard before to describe how our current tax system works... the link to his site
Now, I want to illustrate something quickly here...
The Federal Government has a budget. Currently, that Budget is approx. $3.1 TRILLION...
There are 301,139,947 people in the United States, (men, women, and children) which means that our FAIR SHARE is $10,140.76 EACH. (PER YEAR)...now, why it isn't fair for us to simply charge everyone $10,140.76 to pay the budget, I am not sure...
Even if we subtract the unemployed, the total bill per individual is $10,596.40, or less than $1000 a month.

Now, when we look at our tax system, the graduated income tax, we see that we are paying between 10% and 35%. I wish there was an easy way to break this down, but there isn't. We have 4 different filing categories, and they all incorporate different minimum tax amounts, etc...not to mention that the Government also collects all kinds of other taxes; gas tax, death tax, sales tax, investment tax, business tax...and then there are the fees for everything (supposedly for paying for those services - except, they are already included in the budget)...
So, since there is no easy way to calculate our total effect on the budget and tax structure, we will leave it at the analogy mentioned above (which illustrates why people got all up in arms over the Bush tax credit ...)

So, how is it fair that 20% of the population pays for 80% of the budget? Is this why we have so many companies moving their manufacturing and investments OUT of the USA?
Our system was originally supposed to fund the Federal Government by imposing tariffs, not an income tax. According to Federal Law, and the IRS's own Rules and Regulations (IRSC) an Income Tax is illegal. Income is a representation of your labor - put in 8 hours of work for $100...$100 = 8 hours labor. The Code/Law states that tax is to be collected on monies BEYOND "income"...i.e. foreign investments, etc. (if you don't believe me, the internet is full of resources with this information)...
So, what Free Trade (etc) has done is forced you to pay an income tax (the difference is, letting foreign companies, individuals, businesses pay a greater share of our Government's expenses, not the United States' People)

So, what can we do to make it fair? Well, as I mentioned above...the only way to make it fair (or even close) is to charge everyone directly for their "fair share" of the budget. Now the socialists will say that we cannot expect the poor to pay as much as the rich, because they don't have as much money...
Well, this is where "fair" takes a left turn, and goes out the window. SO we search for other solutions, like a Flat Tax.
Well, a Flat Tax doesn't work either. Sad but true. If we reduce the burden to a percentage of our "fair share" then we have to take a look at (more simplified data) the average income of the average person in the United States...
Since there is just too much math and other factors involved here, we will just "run with it" which will still give us an idea of what we are looking at...
The average Income for a US Household is $46,326
Anyway, this means that every household must pay (in my estimation) about 25% to be "fair"...
This means that those paying 10% will pay more, and those paying 35% will pay less.
However, this still isn't "fair" because now, even more people are unable to pay the tax, not just the unemployed...so, how do we compensate for them?

A new org has come out with an Idea that I believe deserves further study...basically a national "sales tax",
This puts the tax burden on those that purchase...purchase more, pay more...
People that have little money are usually only buying the necessities, so their burden will be light...while those that have money buy more and have a bigger burden of the tax (similar to the current system, except no one is exempt...)
Unfortunately, there isn't a real way to measure who spends how much, and where...but FairTax.org has done a great job and spent the money and done the legwork to devise a method of collecting only 23% in sales tax...while this sounds high...but it is still smaller than the 25% in the flat rate, and only on goods purchased. SO those receiving types of benefits (food and clothing) aren't spending, and aren't paying the tax.

Just the ability to save $280 BILLION in government spending makes me want to try this system...

This basically outlines the world of hurt we are in...we tax labor (illegal) instead of taxing purchases (legal) and in so doing, have the opportunity to give people more money to spend, and collect more in taxes...

And for all you bleeding heart liberals, you can still credit back the "poor" by making this tax 24% (or whatever) and returning the total tax collected to those that can prove they spent the money...bank account statements, receipts, etc.

Now, my original statement was, "we are not taking advantage of trillions of dollars..." and this is true...
If we didn't charge an income tax, then we would have more people investing and storing their money in US Banks, to gain the greater investment (tax free)...THIS is the biggest reason people move their money offshore, and THIS is why we must change the way we do things...
Smart people know how to use their money, WISE people know how to use other people's money...