Labor Policies During The Great Depression

What was the U.S. government doing about labor policies during The Great Depression?  Very early in the recession the U.S. passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930.

In this video clip Thomas Sowell highlights its effects...

*clip from the Hoover Institution

Worldwide Taxation

Want to get out from under the thumb of the IRS?  No problem, just pay the U.S. State Department $2,350.

For this fee they "allow" you to cease being a U.S. citizen.

Why is it so expensive for citizens to unsubscribe from these United States?

"The fee for processing an application for Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship is increasing to reflect the true cost of providing this service."

So in order to no longer be branded "citizen" the same people who have previously branded you by this title are demanding payment from you.  This is what the state calls "providing a service".  I call it worldwide taxation.

The Unpopular 15% Social Security Tax

There are obvious reasons for young people to oppose the social security tax.  #1 in line is that the U.S. Treasury spends your tax payments on projects other than social security.

Not one dollar of your S.S. taxes are saved for you in any way, shape or form.

Harry Browne explains there is also reason for retirees to feel uncertain about collecting future social security taxes....

To find out more about where your social security taxes have gone check out "The Largest Lender to the U.S. May Surprise You".

Humpday Humor: Beer is a Drug

It turns out that drugs are already legal.  Some of them at least.

The late, great Bill Hicks explains more to CNN in 1991...

Humpday Humor: Government Buildings

The Department of Labor in Washington, D.C.

Photo credit: Benny Johnson 

Check out more awesome government buildings at BuzzFeed

Short, Honest Debate About Income Inequality

A self-proclaimed "progressive" engages in a debate about income inequality.  Cara Santa Maria at least comes off sounding honest.

Here is the 3-minute clip from the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast...

Mainstream Opinion of the TSA

Hear the mainstream opinion of the TSA that is regularly ignored by the outcast media outlets like CNN and News Corp...

Clip from the Joe Rogan podcast with guest Kevin Pereira.

What is the Role of The CIty?

Do wealthy residents of a city receive the same services as it's poor residents?

Perhaps, in order to maintain their position of power, "city fathers" have to discriminate in the delivery of city services.  In this video Walter Williams explains further...


Find out more about Walter Williams here.

Career Politician Waxman To Retire

After cashing $4,300,000 worth of welfare checks Mr. Henry Waxman will retire next month from his position in Congress.  

So what was Waxman all about?

Humpday Humor: Government Jobs

"The government should be fired for creating any jobs."

-Joe Rogan

Check out Joe Rogan's podcasts here.

Texas' Biggest Welfare Recipients

Dr. Reuben Elovitz, Welfare Recipient 

Thankfully more researchers are sifting through the data on who collects Medicare taxes.  The Texas Tribune published a table of the greatest Medicare welfare recipients in Texas...

Medicare Data Shines Light on Billions Paid to TX Doctors

Highlights from the research:

• 342 Texas doctors were paid over $1 million by Medicare in 2012
• 20 doctors hauled in over $3 million annually from Medicare
• Missing context like doctor's costs and number of patients treated make the data incomplete

Better Than Term Limits...99% Pay Cuts

The platform on which Harry Browne ran for president of the U.S. in 2000 included a $400 annual salary for congresspeople.  

Listen to his very aggressive (but simple) plan for his first day in the oval office....  

Video from C-SPAN.

Going In Debt to Buy Water

In response to nearly half of their residents falling behind on water bill payments The City of Detroit has resorted to extreme measures.  This week they announced plans to shut off water service to 420 customers.

Why is the cost of water out of reach for so many people in Detroit?

DEBT.

The city's water system has run up an incredible $6,000,000,000 of debt.  These debts are backed by revenue from the city's water system.

Lenders to Detroit expect (perhaps unreasonably) to be repaid.  The city's bankruptcy efforts notwithstanding don't expect a decrease in the cost of water as long as extreme levels of debts are outstanding.

In the meantime do current water customers of Detroit have an obligation to make interest payments on money borrowed by city officials decades ago?

More on the story from the AP.

File Under: Medicaid Fraud

The Texas Tribune reports on the most recent case of Medicaid fraud:

State spending on orthodontic services spiraled out of control: Between 2003 and 2010, Texas Medicaid payments for orthodontic services grew by more than 3,000 percent — from $6.5 million to $220.5 million — while program enrollment only grew 33 percent.

Just the state being swindled out of millions of your dollars, again.

Funny that you never hear about Starbucks squandering billions of dollars which lead to a 3,000% jump in coffee prices.  The people who serve you coffee seem to be better stewards of resources then the people who collect the taxes.    

Do You Need An "Immigration System"?

There are a handful of people in Washington, D.C. who are very concerned about children walking around freely in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

These D.C. people say they need more of your money in order to "detain, care for and transport" a bunch of these children who according to them have walked too far in the wrong direction.

Children from Guatemala allegedly walking the wrong way

(Omar Torres/AFP/Getty)

Allegedly these children were only supposed to walk so far north until they were not supposed to walk any further.  Despite this "illegal walking around" taking place 2,000 miles away from the D.C. people they want you to know they are working to fix the immigration system.

But first... they need another $3,700,000,000.  

Before you give them more of your hard earned money to fix the system, ask yourself if you really need an "immigration system" at all.

The Largest Lender to the U.S. May Surprise You

No one should be surprised to hear that the U.S. is in debt.  The average wage earner pays $2,800 per year just in interest payments to U.S. Treasury bond holders.  It's important to know how this stuff works.

So who is the primary lender to the U.S. Treasury?

You've probably heard that it's China.  Or maybe you read somewhere that it's Japan.  These are both incorrect.

Well then it's got to be the central bank of the U.S. (aka The Federal Reserve).  Close but not quite.

The largest lender to the U.S. would be...Social Security.

The United States is in debt to the tune of $2.6 Trillion to the Social Security and Disability Trust Fund. 

How did this happen?

Social Security Taxes go to Upgrade Air Force One
(Photo: Rex Features)

For three decades the United States has been collecting social security tax payments and spending them on programs other than social security.  These include overseas military bases, banker bailouts and fancy conference rooms on the Air Force One jet.

This means that in addition to the 15% social security tax working people already pay, these same workers "owe" $2,600,000,000,000 to social security.  This equates to $20,000 in additional tax payments from each worker to repay the SS trust fund.

Will the politicians be able to squeeze another twenty-grand out of everyone in order to make good on their promises to former tax-victims?  

A Peaceful Tax Revolt in Italy

An Independent Venice?

Over 2,100,000 Venetians have declared their independence from the state of Italy.  After a century-and-a-half as subjects of the politicians in Rome the people of Venice are finally fed up.

Can you blame them?

Unemployment in Italy is 13% and it is one of two Euro countries in recession (along with Greece).

Finally, The Atlantic tells us: 

Veneto, one of Italy's most prosperous regions, receives only five euros of government services for every seven euros it pays in taxes, with the remainder earmarked by Rome for regions in Italy's poorer south.

Hopefully the smaller state of Venice can put these taxpayer resources to more efficient use as the money is kept closer to home.

Greek Cleaning People Get a Bailout

A Greece court ruled that 397 cleaning people were wrongfully suspended from their jobs last year.  Where did these folks work?  In the tax offices and Finance Ministry.

With the Greek economy shrinking and 27% of its workers still unemployed there is no word yet as to who will be paying the taxes to pay for the cleaners salaries.  Perhaps an EU bailout for the cleaners is in order.

From the AP

Did You Vote on the U.S. Invasion of Yemen?

U.S. Bombing of Southern Yemen (2013/Reuters)

U.S. military members described as "elite and clandestine" were involved in the killing of 65 people in Yemen last month.  This is in addition to the roughly 1,000 people the U.S. has bombed to death in the country since 2009*.

With the U.S. invasion of Yemen lasting six years you would think that the people paying for the war would at least be asked to vote on it.

Did you see a ballot initiative about funding the war in Yemen?

Has your Senator called you and asked your opinion about the matter?

Maybe there was a box on the IRS tax form that asked how much of your tax dollars should go toward funding the war against the people of Yemen.

Or maybe the politicians simply don't allow their subjects to vote on important matters like war and peace.  

*data from The New America Foundation  

Happy Tax Freedom Day!

Workers in the U.S. can now spend the next eight months working for themselves.  Up until today all their previous income for 2014 will be used to pay taxes for the full year.    

Thanks to the Tax Foundation for calculating the people's total tax bill.  In these United States nearly one-third of total income is siphoned by the state.