The United States is in serious financial trouble. In 2011, the Federal Government borrowed over 40 cents for every dollar it spent, and the Federal Reserve Bank bought 61% of all the debt that the United States Treasury issued. When the Federal Reserve buys the debt, it is called “quantitative easing”, which is a euphemism for creating money out thin air (not money printing--but the creation of electronic money). Eventually, that will lead to high inflation, which is already becoming painfully visible in the prices for food and gas.
Tax freedom day in the United States is allegedly in April, but the hidden taxes of inflation make it much later in the year–in a manner that is completely dishonest. Henry Hazlitt wrote in Economics in one lesson (1949–in pdf) p. 20:
Here we shall have to say simply that all government expenditures must eventually be paid out of the proceeds of taxation; that to put off the evil day merely increases the problem, and that inflation itself is merely a form, and a particularly vicious form, of taxation.
Veteran investor Marc Faber suggests that wealthy people will likely face a minimum of 50% reduction of wealth due to inflation, war and civil unrest, and asset price collapse. How can people protect themselves? Physical gold, say some. But alas, gold investors fear desperate measures by confiscatory governments to seize gold and to try to stop the gaps of their own uncontrolled spending.
In this light, John Rubino of dollarcollapse.com predicts that people will have to practice civil disobedience in order to protect themselves against an out-of-control government that is tending towards dictatorship. For example, he suggests putting gold in a foreign bank where the IRS can’t get to it. I have also suggested in certain cases that civil disobedience is a proper reaction to the IRS. For example, it is high time that those of us who are living abroad as citizens of other countries begin to practice disobedience to the unreasonable and unconstitutional demands that the IRS has been making against us. We have the great advantage, over US-based people, of having already made our great escape from the tyrannical grasp of this country, once-great but now turned desperate and evil.
We must do this because we cannot possibly meet the demands of two taskmasters (or tax masters). We must learn to disobey cheerfully, so that our grief does not kill us.
Hat tip: Monty Pelerin
There is a link on his site where you can send Michael Moore interesting articles – and give them a suggested title. I sent this link http://business.financialpost.com/2011/09/24/u-s-campaign-to-catch-tax-cheats-snaring-canadians/ , and this is another story that repeats Ambassador Jacobson’s baseless claims about the IRS:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/18/taxes-us-citizens-canada.html
“My message on this one is to sit tight. We are not unreasonable. We are not unsympathetic. We are not irresponsible,” David Jacobson said during a speech to the Canadian Club in Ottawa.”
……
“Given our budgetary problems, the United States wants to make sure we are paid all the taxes we are owed. American citizens shouldn’t be able to avoid their tax obligations by establishing a residence in a tax haven,” Jacobson said.
He used the example of a 70-year-old “grandma” born in the U.S., but moved back to Canada as a young child, never earned any money in the U.S. and dutifully paid all of her taxes in Canada.
“She didn’t file a U.S. return because she didn’t think she had to. And because she didn’t owe any U.S. taxes. Nonetheless, Grandma could be theoretically subject to serious penalties. To my knowledge we have never gone after a Grandma in those circumstances.”
Jacobson said he became concerned about the issue after seeing media coverage and hearing that people are worried the U.S. Internal Revenue Service will come after them.
He and the Commissioner of the IRS decided to work to see if they can accommodate people like the grandmother and those in similar scenarios in Canada.
But we have to figure out a way to do it without letting the person who is trying to evade taxes in the Cayman Islands off the hook.”
That was reported by The Canadian Press
Posted: Oct 18, 2011 9:43 PM ET and we’re still waiting.
I think that it might appeal to Michael Moore if we can get his attention. Perhaps people could e-mail him and include those two links – because they represent the human face of the situation plus the facile and baseless claims made by the US ambassador. Moore could do one of his signature interviews!
You can also ask him a question, and he is on Facebook and Twitter. http://www.michaelmoore.com/mike-faq/submit/
Our own Marg Delahunty – Princess Warrior – Mary Walsh is fearless about confronting politicians. Can you picture her asking the US Ambassador to Canada what he is doing to help our Grandmas who are still ‘sitting tight’ ? Here she is confronting Palin http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/article/730455–when-marg-delahunty-met-sarah-palin. Video here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/video/palin-meets-marg-delahunty/article1376930/
Now that would cheer me up!!
How can we contact Mary Walsh?
Hey, This Hour Has 22 Minutes is on Facebook and Twitter. I don’t see Mary Walsh currently listed as a cast member – but she did visit Mayor Ford’s home in Warrior costume not too long ago, so she is still in character. Here is the show’s webpage: http://www.cbc.ca/22minutes/cast.html