The thing I loathe most about election season is reflected in the central fallacy that drives progressive discussion the minute “Ron Paul” is mentioned. As soon as his candidacy is discussed, progressives will reflexively point to a slew of positions he holds that are anathema to liberalism and odious in their own right and then say: how can you support someone who holds this awful, destructive position? The premise here — the game that’s being played — is that if you can identify some heinous views that a certain candidate holds, then it means they are beyond the pale, that no Decent Person should even consider praising any part of their candidacy.

The fallacy in this reasoning is glaring. The candidate supported by progressives — President Obama — himself holds heinous views on a slew of critical issues and himself has done heinous things with the power he has been vested. He has slaughtered civilians — Muslim children by the dozens — not once or twice, but continuously in numerous nations withdrones, cluster bombs and other forms of attack. He has sought to overturn a global ban on cluster bombs. He has institutionalized the power of Presidents — in secret and with no checks — to target American citizens for assassination-by-CIA, far from any battlefield. He has wagedan unprecedented war against whistleblowers, the protection of which was once a liberal shibboleth. He rendered permanently irrelevant the War Powers Resolution, a crown jewel in the list of post-Vietnam liberal accomplishments, and thus enshrined the power of Presidents to wage war even in the face of a Congressional vote against it. His obsession with secrecy is so extreme that it has become darkly laughable in its manifestations, and he even worked to amend the Freedom of Information Act (another crown jewel of liberal legislative successes) when compliance became inconvenient.

He has entrenched for a generation the once-reviled, once-radical Bush/Cheney Terrorism powers of indefinite detention, military commissions, and the state secret privilege as a weapon to immunize political leaders from the rule of law. He has shielded Bush era criminals from every last form of accountability. He has vigorously prosecuted the cruel and supremely racist War on Drugs, including those parts he vowed during the campaign to relinquish — a war which devastates minority communities and encages and converts into felons huge numbers of minority youth for no good reason. He has empowered thieving bankers through the Wall Street bailout, Fed secrecy, efforts to shield mortgage defrauders from prosecution, and the appointment of an endless roster of former Goldman, Sachs executives and lobbyists. He’s brought the nation to a full-on Cold War and a covert hot war with Iran, on the brink of far greater hostilities. He has made the U.S. as subservient as ever to the destructive agenda of the right-wing Israeli government. His support for some of the Arab world’s most repressive regimes is as strong as ever.

Read it all at Salon.com.

by Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, and host of The Peter Schiff Show, broadcasting live from WSTC Norwalk CT from 10am to noon Eastern time every weekday, and streaming at

Herman Cain has been gaining much traction with his 9-9-9 Plan, a bold proposal to replace our dysfunctional tax code with what could be a simpler, less invasive, and more economically stimulative alternative. While I don’t agree with the full spectrum of Mr. Cain’s policy choices, I applaud his courage on the tax front. Judging by his rising poll numbers, this appreciation is widely shared. However, the plan has deep flaws, the most glaring of which is its creation of a hidden payroll tax which represents a fourth “nine.” This serious pitfall has been unmentioned by Mr. Cain and overlooked by those who have analyzed his plan.

Cain would replace the current system of income and payroll taxes with a 9% flat-rate personal income tax, a 9% corporate tax, and a 9% national sales tax. Great idea. Such a system would unburden businesses, provide a tax cut for most Americans, and shift taxation to consumption and away from income generation. This is exactly what our economy needs. But unlike our current corporate tax system, the plan eliminates the deductibility of wages and salaries from corporate income. The net effect is the creation of a brand new 9% tax on wages. When this fourth 9 falls from Cain’s sleeve, many of his opponents will likely accuse him of cheating.

Much of the plan’s virtue lies in its elimination of Social Security and Medicare taxes (payroll taxes) that fall heaviest on lower income workers. This includes the 6.2% Social Security tax and the 1.5% Medicare tax paid directly by the worker. But it also includes the 6.2% and 1.5% portions paid indirectly by workers through their employers. Payroll taxes are, in reality, a cost of employment. From the employer’s perspective these costs are part of the wage package. Absent these taxes, employers could raise wages by an equivalent amount without raising labor costs. Inclusive of this portion, payroll taxes currently cost workers 15.4% of their wages.

The Cain plan scraps this tax. But the elimination of wage deductibility from corporate taxes replaces it with a 9% payroll tax. Therefore a more honest name for Cain’s proposal is the 9-9-9-9 plan. The forth nine changes everything.

Cain admits that the 9% sales tax would fall heaviest on the poor, but he claims that the elimination of the payroll tax would more than compensate. But when the hidden 9% payroll tax is factored in, more than 50% of workers who currently pay an average income tax rate of just 3% would see a huge tax hike, from 18.4% (former payroll tax plus income tax) to 27%: 9% payroll tax, 9% income tax and 9% consumption tax (poorer worker generally spend all income).

On the other hand, high income tax payers get a huge break. Not counting the consumption tax, the 9-9-9 plan reduces the highest marginal tax rate from 38% (35% income tax and 3% payroll tax – on income over $105,000) to just 18% (9% income tax plus 9% payroll). For the self-employed, who can transform their wages into dividends (that are deductible business expenses under the 9-9-9 plan), the rate would fall to just 9% (all income tax, no payroll or business tax). Of course, in either case, the 9% sales tax will apply to spending, but even if 100% of earnings are spent (which is generally not true of high earners) the top rate would still top out at only 27% for the highest salaried employees and just 18% for the self-employed. In essence, tax cuts for the rich are paid for with tax hikes on the poor and middle class. If these aspects were widely known the plan would become a political dead letter.

Even with its flaws, the 9-9-9-9 plan would create an economic windfall by lowering the top corporate rate to 9% from 50% (35% at the corporate level and 15% on dividends taxed at the individual level), and simplifying the tax code to reduce unnecessary compliance costs and the economically inefficient behavior that is created by perverse tax incentives. These changes alone will make America far more globally competitive. Also by taxing individuals based more on what they spend rather than on what they earn, the plan will encourage more savings (which is a key ingredient for economic growth). As a result, the economy will grow faster, generate greater output of goods and services, and create more jobs.

The problem for Herman Cain is that unless he slashes government expenditures, his pro-growth tax structure will inevitably shift more of the tax burden to low and moderate-income people. The only way to combine tax reform with tax reductions for most taxpayers is to shrink government to a more manageable scale.

The size of the tax increases required to keep Cain’s 9-9-9-9 plan revenue neutral demonstrates just how high a percentage of our current taxes are being paid by affluent taxpayers. Couples making more than $250,000 and individuals making more than $125,000 only constitute about 3% of taxpayers but pay almost half of all taxes. Any policy that cuts their taxes will inflict a disproportional hit on government revenue.

Contrary to the rhetoric emanating from the American left, the “rich” are currently paying a lot more than “their fair share.” It is only a handful of mega-rich, those whose entire incomes are derived from dividends and capital gains, rather than salaries or business profits, who have the ability to pay lower tax rates than some members of the middle class. The left knows this but continues to build their “free loading millionaire” straw man because it makes good politics.

In the final analysis, if Cain really wants a 9-9-9 plan that doesn’t raise taxes he needs to remove the hidden 9% payroll tax.  However, the only way this could be done, without blowing an even bigger hole in the federal deficit, is to combine his plan with significant spending cuts. If he can pull that off, three nines may be a winning hand after all.

Peter Schiff is president of Euro Pacific Capital and author of ”How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes.”

New Special Report: For an in depth look at the prospects of international currencies, download Peter Schiff’s and Axel Merk’s Five Favorite Currencies for the Next Five Years.

For the better part of a century the foundations for a semi-comfortable retirement for many Americans have rested on the financial pillars of rising real estate and equity prices, positive real interest rates on savings, the continued solvency of public and private pension plans, and the reliability of national entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicaid). But in the last few years, the economic sands have fundamentally shifted and these pillars are no longer sturdy, some have cracked completely. For many Americans, the traditional idea of a comfortable retirement, filled with golf carts, cruises, and fishing trips, is going the way of the dodo bird.

Over the last decade incomes and job growth have stagnated, causing savings rates to drop. According to Jim Quinn author of the Burning Platform, 60% of retirees have less than $50,000 in savings. Such sums won’t last very long, especially when consumer prices are up 3.2%, import prices are up 12.5% and commodity prices are up 35% year over year. What’s worse, any savings placed in a bank will pay next to zero interest and will likely not even pay for the fees associated with the account. With cash savings essentially non-existent, the other pillars of income take on paramount importance. But these former bastions of financial security are being washed away by a torrent of red ink.

For years the essential Ponzi-like structures of Social Security and Medicare were concealed behind positive demographics. But once taxes collected from current payers fall short of the required distribution owed to current recipients, the ruse will be laid bare. That day is now in the foreseeable future. With insolvency a real and present danger, at least a consensus is now forming that Social Security must be structurally altered if it is to survive.

According to the Social Security Administration, in 2008, Social Security provided 50% of all income for 64% of recipients and 90% of all income for 34% of all beneficiaries. With these numbers, it’s not hard to see how even small cuts will spark big protests. Now try cutting the $20 trillion prescription drug program and the $79 trillion Medicare entitlements and watch the political sparks fly! However, given the realities, it’s hard to see how the program can escape deep cuts.

In the past many retirees could count on accumulated stock market wealth to help fund retirement. Not so much anymore. As of this writing, the S&P 500 is now no higher than it was in January of 1999. For over 12 years the major averages have gone nowhere in nominal terms and have declined significantly in real (inflation adjusted) terms. The dreams of becoming rich from investments have crashed along with Pets.com and Bernie Madoff.  Then there is always the supposedly safest asset of all-a retiree’s home.

Despite a misguided faith that real estate prices could never fall, they have done just that…with a vengeance. According to S&P/Case-Shiller, the National Home Price Index has declined some 30% to levels not seen since the middle of 2002. And prices are still falling, with the rate of decline accelerating. The National Index dropped 4.2% in Q1 of 2011, after dropping 3.6% during Q4 2010. This means that only those retirees who have owned their homes for at least 10 years have any hope of selling at a profit. Ownership of significantly longer periods may be needed to have built up significant equity.

That leaves public and private pension plans. But here again there are serious issues. Let’s just look at state public pension shortfalls. According to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, “States report that their public-employee pensions are underfunded by a total of $438 billion, but a more accurate accounting demonstrates that they are actually underfunded by over $3 trillion. The accounting methods that states currently use to measure their liabilities assumes plans can earn high investment returns without risk.” Huge returns without risk? Bond yields are the lowest they have been in nearly a century! What world are these states living in? With few options, the states will undoubtedly look to the Federal government (taxpayers) for a bailout. Failing that, cuts are inevitable.

The sad facts are; Americans are broke, the real estate market is still in secular decline, stock prices are in a decade’s long morass, real incomes are falling, public pension plans are insolvent and our entitlement programsare structurally unsound. If the pillars that seniors have relied on in the past fail to miraculously regenerate (and there is certainly no reason to believe they will), all that most retirees will have will be freshly printed greenbacks that come from a never ending policy of federal deficitsand an obliging Federal Reserve. Unfortunately, the inflation that will result from such a policy will sap most of the purchasing power that those notes possess. In other words, for most people retirement is now an illusion, and many Americans will find themselves working far longer, for far less real compensation, then they ever imagined. The quicker we realize this, and plan accordingly, the better off we will be.

The feedback we received about our Social Security campaign makes it obvious that many people have been seriously misled by political saviors. What follows is for those who prefer fact to fantasy . . .

The story of one person can tell the whole story of Social Security.

Ida Fuller, a law secretary from Vermont, was the first person to receive monthly Social Security checks.

* Her first check came on February 1, 1940.
* By the time she received this check she had paid a total of $24.75 into the Social Security System.
* Her first check was for $22.54.
* By the time Fuller received her second check she had already received more than she had contributed to Social Security.
* She lived to be 100 and collected a total of $22,888.92.

It should be perfectly clear to anyone who can handle basic math, that Ms. Fuller’s benefits did NOT come from amounts she had contributed into a trust fund. Instead . . .

Ms. Fuller’s benefits came from the Social Security taxes paid by her children and grand-children over the remaining 35 years of her life. In other words, the taxes WE pay go to fund the benefits of previous generations, NOT our own benefits.

The way Social Security functioned for Ida Fuller is how it still operates today.

* Social Security benefits do NOT come out of a trust fund
* They do NOT come from payments beneficiaries have made to the system
* There was NEVER any trust fund
* Payments into the system have always been LESS than the size of future obligations
* Current taxpayers have always paid for the benefits of previous generations, NOT their own benefits

So why do politicians talk about a trust fund? There are two reasons . . .

First, politicians are con artists. They lie. Just because they use the words “trust fund,” and even include those words in legislation, does NOT mean that such a fund actually exists. The Social Security Trust Fund is a legal fiction. There are NO actual funds being held in trust. Instead . . .

All Social Security taxes are spent as soon as they’re received.

Second, in 1983 the Social Security tax was raised a little higher than was needed to keep paying current benefits. This surplus was then spent by the politicians on other things. Treasury Bonds equal to the surplus income from Social Security taxes were then credited to the so-called Social Security Trust Fund, but . . .

These bonds are essentially worthless, because . . .

The real source of the money to pay future benefits will be future taxes, NOT bond redemptions.

* Money to pay off these bonds will come from taxes that will then be paid to Social Security recipients, so . . .
* If you ignored the bonds entirely and just took the taxes and gave them directly to Social Security recipients, you could bypass the ceremonial, bond-redemption process

Let’s bring the Trust Fund lie down to a very personal level . . .

You can’t create an asset by writing yourself an IOU. If you take $10 out of your right pocket, spend the $10, and then write yourself an IOU for $10, the IOU is worthless, EVEN if you place it in your Left-pocket Trust Fund.

The Social Security Trust Fund is really the Left-pocket Trust Fund.

And these so-called bonds are just another political con-job designed to dupe the American people.

But what if you took these bonds seriously?

Well, they still wouldn’t amount to much. As Robert Samuelson of the Washington Post has observed: “The trust fund’s $2.6 trillion would provide only 3.5 years of benefits.”

Meanwhile, the unfunded future liabilities for Social Security amount to many tens of trillions of dollars. This huge burden will crush the life out of future taxpayers, or result in huge benefit cuts, unless action is taken soon to lower costs in ways that won’t hurt those who are dependent on Social Security.

It is to achieve these goals that we have made our proposals about Social Security. We hope you will be moved to support our effort. You can send a letter to Congress using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

Here’s what I wrote in my personal comments, which you can borrow from or copy . . .

The old and the young must protect each other. Otherwise, America will go bankrupt, like Greece. And when that happens real, deep, painful cuts will be FORCED on America’s seniors in the most inconvenient way at the most inconvenient time. Therefore . . .

* Slowly raise the retirement age. I’m asking you to do this even though it will impact me, directly. I’ll pay this price.

* Means-test benefits so that we don’t cripple young people for the benefit of those who have independent means of support.

* Reduce Social Security’s future unfunded liabilities by allowing young people to forgo future benefits for the sake of lower taxes now.

* Cut other spending so as to enhance the Social Security opt-out for young people. Make real cuts, not the puny cuts Congress has debated so far. Include sacred cows, like so-called national defense and the Department of Education.

END LETTER

Please educate and recruit people to help by sharing this Dispatch with others.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDtP18Ldlm4

Is Congress attempting to bribe seniors with your children’s money? The House of Representatives is considering the “Seniors Protection Act,” which gives recipients of Social Security, and other government retirement or disability programs, a $250 bonus check.

It’s one thing to call for cuts in current benefits, and another thing to suddenly ADD more spending to the ballooning national debt. Seniors, in particular, are wise enough to know the difference. And yet . . .

Apparently, a majority of legislators think that being “generous” with YOUR money – or more accurately, your children’s money — will be rewarded by senior citizens in the 2012 elections.

We suspect (and hope) that most seniors, who voted out incumbents in the recent elections, are insulted by this bribe.

Please send a letter urging Congress to defeat this bill using DownsizeDC.org’s Cut Spending campaign.

The hardwired portion of the letter begins, “Please cut federal spending.”

Here’s how I continued this letter to my representatives in Congress . . .

I want you to slash spending. The electorate wants deficit and debt reduction. They made that clear just a couple of weeks ago. And yet…

HR 5987, the “Seniors Protection Act,” will “compensate” Social Security recipients, retired or disabled, as well as railroad and military pensioners, because they won’t get a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) next year. Apparently, lame-duck Congressmen learned nothing on November 2.

Supporters say it costs “only” $14 billion. But keep in mind that $14 billion is larger than ALL government spending just 70 years ago! http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/year1940_0.html#usgs302

That’s how we got into the current fiscal mess. Congress threw $5 billion here, $10 billion there, and now the nation is bankrupt.

Borrowing money is the same as a tax increase on our kids. This bill will cost future families about $140 each, in order to give $250 to each senior citizen.

Does that sound fair to you?

And what’s really insulting is that this redistribution scheme is characterized as “stimulus.”

Congress has been “stimulating” the economy for nearly three years. All these efforts have failed. All we got is more UNEMPLOYMENT and more DEBT.

If you really want to “stimulate” the economy, CUT FEDERAL SPENDING to free up the capital that allows the private sector to thrive.

Do NOT spend even more money that WE don’t have, for your political gain. I insist that you oppose HR 5987!

END LETTER

You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

And we invite you to share this message with your friends and re-tweet it. http://twitter.com/#!/ddcdispatch

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

WASHINGTON – Looking toward the 9/12 Tea Party events in Washington, DC, Libertarian Party executive director Wes Benedict issued the following warning to Tea Partiers: “Republicans are trying to fool you again.”

“There are two kinds of Tea Partiers,” said Benedict. “One kind is so blinded by its hatred of Obama and Democrats that it cannot see fault with Republicans. It’s the other kind the Libertarian Party is reaching out to.”

Libertarian Party staff and volunteers will participate in the Washington, DC Tea Party events on September 12. They will distribute flyers pointing out how the Top 10 Disasters of the 2009-2010 Obama administration mirror the Top 10 Disasters of the 2001-2008 Bush administration.

Benedict continued, “Libertarians have much in common with Tea Party goals of reducing government spending and taxes. While many Tea Party supporters will admit that George W. Bush’s administration grew government, Libertarians want to remind Tea Partiers about previous Republican administrations that loved big government.

“Republican Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America promised to eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy. Yet once Republicans took control of Congress, they failed even to reduce the spending on those departments.

“Republican President George Bush, Sr. remains famous for coining the phrase ‘Read my lips, no new taxes,’ and then raising taxes.

“Republican President Ronald Reagan grew federal government spending to the highest level it had reached since World War II. He also ‘saved Social Security’ by raising payroll taxes.

“Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole was a huge supporter of taxpayer subsidies for corn and ethanol.

“In 1971, Republican President Richard Nixon instituted wage and price controls. That made a group of free-market supporters so angry that they decided to form the Libertarian Party.

“Republicans seem to think we’re idiots. For decades they have paid lip-service to shrinking government, while consistently doing the opposite in office.

“Our fear is that Tea Partiers might say ‘This time it will be different.’ No it won’t. If you vote for Republicans this time, it will just reinforce the message that they can lie to you and grow government with impunity.

“Current Republicans are just as bad as past Republicans.

“This year, Libertarian Party co-founder David Nolan is running for U.S. Senate against Republican John McCain, who famously suspended his 2008 presidential campaign so he could rush back to Washington to bail out the banks.

“Republican leader John Boehner might end up as the next House Speaker, and he voted for George W. Bush’s huge 2003 Medicare expansion.

“John Cornyn, Republican senator from Texas, and current chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, voted for the TARP bailouts.

“Ron Paul is probably the only Republican congressman willing to point out the huge cost of America’s foreign wars and empire building. Other Republicans pretend that spending trillions on the military just doesn’t count as big government.

“With Social Security, Medicare, and military spending making up the vast majority of federal spending, you can’t cut significantly without cutting those. But Republicans refuse to touch them.

“Libertarians welcome the Tea Party movement’s focus on the problem of government growth. However, we are concerned that Tea Partiers might fall for the Republicans’ trickery.

“Republican leaders have brought up distractions like New York City mosques and gay marriage to distract voters from Republicans’ big-government track record. We hope that Tea Partiers will see through the smoke and mirrors.

“While our nation is declining dangerously right now, a turnaround could be straightforward and simple with Libertarian steps like these: 1. Bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan; 2. Stop rewarding failed companies with bailouts; 3. Cut taxes and spending and let the free market work.

“The Libertarian Party is fielding 168 candidates for U.S. House, and 20 candidates for U.S. Senate this year. Win or lose, a vote for a Libertarian sends a clear message for smaller government and more freedom. What message does a vote for John McCain send?”

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

Contact: Wes Benedict, Executive Director
E-mail: wes.benedict@lp.org
Phone: 202-333-0008 ext. 222

by Neeraj Chaudhary, Investment Consultant in the Los Angeles branch of Euro Pacific Capital

In his weekly radio address this past Saturday, President Obama happily commemorated the 75th anniversary of Social Security. From my perspective, the milestone is nothing to celebrate. For although the president spoke earnestly about the “obligation to keep the promise” of Social Security, in reality, the program will wreck the government’s finances within 10 years.

The numbers are simply astounding. Social Security is the largest social program in the world, making up over 40% of all federal spending. Over 58 million Americans – 1 in 5 citizens – receive a monthly check from Social Security. Although these numbers are already daunting, demographic realities will soon cause the program to expand much more rapidly.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), entitlement programs and net interest costs may be expected to consume fully 93% of federal revenue by 2020. Think about that: in less than 10 years, the Social Security program (which includes Medicare and Medicaid) will have gotten so big that only 7 cents of every dollar of federal revenue may be left for everything else.

What exactly does “everything else” include? Try the entire military, FBI, freeways, disaster relief, NASA, housing agencies, and the postal service – to name a few. If new revenue is not found, and if current Social Security obligations are not changed, the remainder of federal programs would have to be cut by 88% by 2020. Simply put, the “third rail” of American politics is about to electrocute us all.

Enacted in 1935, Social Security turns 75 this year (its sibling, Medicare, is a mere pup at age 45). By comparison, our great republic is over 200 years old. In other words, for most of our nation’s history, Americans have not relied on a Social Security check or Medicare insurance in their old age.

These programs have grown rapidly during the historically brief period since their inception. Even after adjusting for inflation, Social Security taxes have risen fourteen-fold since 1935, and Medicare taxes have risen at least four-fold since 1965. And yet, despite massive tax increases for both programs, their balance sheets have only deteriorated. But it’s important not to confuse size with permanence.

Instead of tackling the issue head-on by cutting spending, leaders in both parties continue to exacerbate the problem. Medicare Part D – signed into law by former President George W. Bush just seven years ago — increases our nation’s unfunded liabilities by nearly $16 trillion! And while the fiscal impact of President Obama’s health care reform law is still being debated, one thing is for certain: total expenditures will rise, not fall. Those Americans who criticize Europeans for spending so much money on social programs should take a good look in the mirror.

If an American politician were to take a courageous stand to reform this failing system, how would the nation react? One can already picture elderly Social Security recipients being trotted out by the mainstream media in a heartbreaking plea for sympathy. Any intimation that our seniors might suffer would surely stop the debate cold. No matter that a bankrupt program would offer far fewer benefits than one that has been reformed.

The original mission of Social Security was to provide a basic subsistence income to the elderly during the Great Depression. But while the initial intention may have been laudable (no one wants to throw Grandma and Grandpa out on the street), the program has predictably spiraled out of control. In 1935, each person receiving funds from Social Security was supported by 17 workers. By 2020, a Social Security recipient will rely on just about 2 workers paying in. Since neither Republicans nor Democrats have demonstrated a willingness to cut those monthly checks, get ready for higher taxes (and higher inflation).

Alarmingly, there is growing evidence that the current tax bite, and the prospect of higher taxes in the future, is already destroying jobs in the American economy. In a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, small businessman Michael Fleischer vividly described his reluctance to hire more employees due to the current burdens of health insurance, Social Security payments, unemployment insurance, and other government-mandated costs, as well as the potential for added burdens in the near future. No doubt this sad drama is playing itself out in company after company all across the country.

We are saddled with a large and growing tax burden that will eliminate jobs, an exploding but untouchable government program that is set to consume nearly every dollar of federal revenue, and virtually nothing left for essential programs such as national defense. Happy birthday, Social Security?

Neeraj Chaudhary is an Investment Consultant in the Los Angeles branch of Euro Pacific Capital. He shares Peter Schiff’s views on the US dollar, the importance of the gold standard, and the rise of Asia as an economic power. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Today: The Social Security Administration (SSA)

About: “The Social Security Act was signed by FDR on 8/14/35. Taxes were collected for the first time in January 1937 and the first one-time, lump-sum payments were made that same month. Regular ongoing monthly benefits started in January 1940. ”
FY 2010 Budget: $695 billion in benefits + $11.6 billion in administrative costs (Source)

That’s right – Social Security. The gift that keeps on giving, if you consider higher taxation, retirement ages, and future entitlements to be a gift. Social Security is the elephant in the room in American politics: everyone knows it’s an issue, but no one is willing to cut. Don’t you care about the poor and the elderly? We can’t just kick them out into the street! Anyone who proposes the end of Social Security must be a heartless monster!

Certainly, an abrupt end to Social Security would spell disaster for the millions who paid in and are dependent upon it today. Social Security, unlike most wasteful government programs today (GIPSA, anyone?), will not be abolished overnight. However, phasing out this unsustainable safety net must be a priority of fiscal conservatives, who certainly can’t be pleased with a quarter of their paycheck being pilfered before it ever finds their hands. How can it be done, while still demonstrating the respect and support that our elderly have come to expect through a lifetime of the SSA?

First, allow the young people to opt out. As a 22 year old, I don’t ever expect to receive a dime of my involuntary Social Security payments. Due to the inflationary monetary policy set by the Federal Reserve, any benefits that are paid out today to individuals are much higher than the receipts from those same individuals 10, 20, or 30 years ago; the system is inherently unsustainable. What if SSA was optional? What if, rather than being required to pay into a fiscally and morally bankrupt system, I could keep my money and choose to save or spend it where I wish? In the short term, this may cause a further increase in the deficit as we must honor our commitments to those reliant on Social Security; in the long term, this reduces the future liabilities and the size of government.

Next, end automatic payroll deductions for Social Security for those who choose to remain in the system. Certainly, when faced with explicitly paying hundreds of dollars per paycheck for the government to handle your retirement, that pill becomes much more difficult to swallow. It highlights the true nature of the problem: that the government assumes it can handle your retirement savings better than you could on your own accord.

Finally, a goal should be set to limit payments to individuals. Ultimately, even in an “entitlement” program, citizens should only be “entitled” to the money they paid in, adjusted for inflation. Again, this would need to be a long-term goal to be accomplished over a period of 10-20 years in order to treat those in the system fairly. Decreasing caps on the “amount over rightful entitlement” could be set over that time period until the cap was eventually reduced to zero. The time period would be long enough so that individuals set to retire in 10, 20, or 30 years could plan accordingly – and, in combination with the aforementioned changes, they could choose to opt out altogether.

Besides, does anyone really believe that there was ever any constitutional authority for the Social Security system? Well – aside from the SSA itself, and the Supreme Court (the great protector and defender of the Constitution that it is). You have to love that a document so explicitly written could have an interpretation known as the “implied powers” doctrine. As James Madison said: “For what purpose could the enumeration of particulars be interested, if these and all others were to be included” in the “general welfare” clause?

Results
Constitutionality: None (unless you believe in “implied powers”)
Visibility: Very High
Ease of Abolishing: Very Hard
Taxpayer Expense: Very High
Priority: High

Here is a sampling:

President Barack Obama and the sitting members of Congress have not been charged, much less convicted and sentenced, for crimes that make Bernie Madoff’s look like child’s play. Note well: I am referring here not to the assorted murders, assaults, and batteries for which these men and women are manifestly guilty—I say guilty because they not only admit these crimes, but proudly take public credit for them—but to certain of their strictly financial crimes.

Read the rest, you’ll be glad you did.

A few choice quotes from Higgs are below.

“Don’t just stand there, undo something!”

“The FDA is probably better than any other government agency as an example of fraud.”

“Government purports to help the little guy… but government is not beholden to the little guy. Government is beholden to all those interest groups organized for supporting politicians for office and keeping them there.”

“Government is organized coercion…. It’s like a loaded gun sitting there waiting for someone to pick up and use for their own purposes.”

On systemic risk (Too big to fail): “Systemic risk is a very very small risk, almost negligible risk. But it’s a very fine political lever..”

“I’m going to try to stay afloat in this world. I don’t like the shape it’s been put in, but I didn’t put it in this shape.”

“The corporations only have as much power as they wield through government.”

I could quote Higgs on and on, but you get the idea. I must say that I haven’t enjoyed listening to someone speak free market language this much since Ron Paul’s presidential campaign of 2007 and 2008. Higgs is a breath of fresh air as we lovers of liberty navigate through the socio-fascist flatulence cloud emanating from the Obama administration. Please find time to watch this. You’ll be glad you did.

Watch Higgs here.

When taking a look at the list below, keep in mind that the U.S. Constitution, which created our Federal Government, clearly enumerated 18 specific functions that it is given.  For all other things, the 9th and 10th amendment make it clear that the individual states have the power.  Note that it states in the Constitution that it is the Supreme Law of the Land, which can be usurped by no other.  This means that all opinions to the contrary made by the Supreme Court are technically invalid.  Throughout the past couple of hundred hears the Supreme Court has rule one way or another on some “interpretation” of the Constitution, but in fact no interpretation is necessary, as the intention of the founding fathers are quite clear.  For example, if the “general welfare” clause or the “interstate commerce” clause was intended to be used as a catch-all for any arbitrary piece of legislation, then the 10th amendments which reads:

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.

would be completely meaningless.  So simple logic, in addition to the writings of Madison and other founding fathers, dictates the notion that the Federal Government was set up to have very little power, and that these United States are intended to be a loose federation of sovereign states.

Only due to politician’s greed and overwhelming desire for power does the Constitution get relegated to the trash heap.

So, despite the  noble intentions of many of these bills, it doesn’t mean they are legal.

No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce it.
– 16 Am. Jur. Sec. 177 late 2d, Sec 256

Of the bills introduced yesterday, these are ones that are clearly not legitimate functions of the Federal Government  [as always, my commentary will appear in red]:

• HR1892 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 102 North Main Street in Cedarville, Ohio, as the “William ‘Brent” Turner Post Office’.
• HR1929 – To establish the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Investigative Commission to investigate the policies and practices engaged in by officers and directors at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac responsible for making the decisions that led to the enterprises’ financial instability and the subsequent Federal conservatorship of such enterprises.  [Keep in mind that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been basically nationalized, which is, of course, unconstitutional.]
• HR1925 – To designate as wilderness certain Federal portions of the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin Deserts in Utah for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
• HR1924 – To amend the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Technical and Legal Assistance Act of 2000, and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to improve the prosecution of, and response to, crimes in Indian country, and for other purposes.
• HR1922 – To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to hold at least 1 public hearing before issuance of a permit affecting public or private land use in a locality.
• HR1921 – To establish an Office of Public Advocate within the Department of Justice to provide services and guidance to citizens in dealing with concerns involving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and for other purposes. [Fantastic!  Create another layer of bureaucracy to help people deal with bureaucracy...]
• HR1978 – To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to improve the ability of State and local governments to prevent the abduction of children by family members, and for other purposes.
• HR1977 – To require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study drywall imported from China in 2004 through 2007, and for other purposes.
• HR332 – Providing that the House of Representatives will focus on removing barriers to a prosperous economy and therefore renew the dream.  [Reading the full text of the bill it all sounds nice, but it's really nothing more than platitudes.  Nothing will come of this.  It's not recommending anything concrete.]
• HR1971 – To provide for the elimination of duties on certain comforter shells
• HR1970 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to exempt unsanctioned State-licensed retail pharmacies from the surety bond requirement under the Medicare Program for suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS).
• HR1969 – To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam.  [Oh god. Oh god, no! Haven't we gotten ourselves into enough jams with this interventionist crap?]

• HR1968 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the limitation on capital losses to $10,500 and to index such limitation to inflation.
• HR326 – Expressing support for designation of the week of April 13, 2009, through April 17, 2009, as “Protect Your Pharmacy Week”, and for other purposes.
• HR1966 – To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to cyberbullying
• HR1964 – To address HIV/AIDS in the African-American community, and for other purposes.
• HR1962 – To authorize the Space Shuttle to be flown from 2010 through 2015, and to authorize appropriations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for this purpose.  [Ron Paul might even vote for this one, because he's supported NASA in the past.  But I maintain the the existence of NASA is unconstitutional, and the private sector would be able to perform these tasks more efficiently and more inexpensively.]
• HR1961 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the availability of the saver’s credit, to make the credit refundable, and to make Federal matching contributions into the retirement savings of the taxpayer.
• HR1957 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a higher education tuition credit in place of existing education tax incentives.
• HR1956 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow an offset against income tax refunds to pay for State judicial debts that are past-due.
• HR1955 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income amounts received on the sale of animals which are raised and sold as part of an educational program.
• HR1954 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make higher education more affordable by providing a full tax deduction for higher education expenses and interest on student loans.
• HR1952 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for amounts contributed to charitable organizations which provide elementary or secondary school scholarships and for contributions of, and for, instructional materials and materials for extracurricular activities.
• HR322 – Expressing support for the designation of July 25, 2009 as “National Day of the Cowboy”
• HR1951 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals a credit against income tax for tuition and related expenses for public and nonpublic elementary and secondary education.
• HR330 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of the Navy should name an appropriate Navy ship in honor of Marine Corps General Clifton B. Cates of Tiptonville, Tennessee.
• HR329 – Recognizing the anniversary of the tragic accident of the steamboat ship SS Sultana
• HR328 – Expressing the sense of Congress that all Americans should recognize National Military Appreciation Month with appropriate programs and activities.
• HR327 – Honoring the humble service of Edward Cardinal Egan as Archbishop of the New York Archdiocese and congratulating Archbishop Timothy Dolan on his appointment by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to succeed Cardinal Egan.
• HR1945 – To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility and suitability of constructing a storage reservoir, outlet works, and a delivery system for the Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation in the State of California to provide a water supply for domestic, municipal, industrial, and agricultural purposes, and for other purposes.
• HR325 – Expressing support for designation of a “Free Enterprise Education Week” to encourage elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education, and small and large businesses to educate students about free enterprise.
• HR319 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should take all necessary steps to expeditiously deploy a missile defense system in Europe that will help provide such a defense to United States allies in Europe while enhancing United States defenses against missile attacks.
• HCR99 – Supporting the goals and ideals of a National Early Educator Worthy Wage Day
• HR321 – Congratulating the boys’ basketball team at Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California, for winning the State championship.
• HR320 – Honoring the Life and achievements of Dr. John Hope Franklin
• HR331 – Supporting the goals and ideals of National Drowning Prevention and Water Safety Month
• HR1935 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the treatment of partnership interests held by partners providing services.
• HR1933 – To direct the Attorney General to make an annual grant to the A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center to assist law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing children, and for other purposes.
• HR1932 – To increase the number of well-trained mental health service professionals (including those based in schools) providing clinical mental health care to children and adolescents, and for other purposes.
• HR1931 – To improve the treatment of juveniles with mental health or substance abuse disorders by establishing new grant programs for increased training, technical assistance, and coordination of service providers, and for other purposes.
• HR1930 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a loan repayment program for faculty members at programs of general dentistry or pediatric dentistry to alleviate faculty shortages.
• HR1873 – To amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 with respect to juveniles who have committed offenses, and for other purposes.
• HR1928 – To increase home healthcare services, particularly for underserved and at-risk populations, by assisting visiting nurse associations and other non-profit home health agencies to improve training and workforce development for home healthcare nurses, promoting and facilitating academic-practice collaborations, and enhancing recruitment and retention of home healthcare nurses.
• HR1927 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide comprehensive cancer patient treatment education under the Medicare Program and to provide for research to improve cancer symptom management.
• HR1926 – To authorize the National Science Foundation to establish a Global Warming Education Program.
• HR1869 – To require the President to call a White House Conference on Food and Nutrition  [What? The Congress is going to require the the president do something?  How is that possible?  And on top of that, what they want to require of him is blatantly unconstitutional!]
• HR1923 – To require the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to make video recordings of the examination and testing of firearms and ammunition, and for other purposes.
• HR1920 – To prohibit United States funding for the 2009 United Nations Durban Review Conference (“Durban II Conference”) or any other activity relating to the planning, preparation, or implementation of a follow-up meeting to the 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (‘Durban I Conference’) in Durban, South Africa.  [Bills like this make me want to vomit.  Of course I agree with the intent of the bill, but doesn't the Constitution already prohibit the US from funding such things?  Ugh.]
• HR324 – Expressing support for designation of April 2009 as “Jazz Appreciation Month” and April 25, 2009, as “Willis Conover Day”, and honoring the global impact of jazz music.
• HR1979 – For the relief of Mary Cole, Decontee Cole, Emmanuel Cole, Anna Cole, Yon Deh Cole, and Emmanuel Cole, Jr.
• HR1976 – To authorize grants for nongovernmental organizations that use independently produced documentary films to promote better understanding of the United States abroad and better understanding of global perspectives and other countries in the United States.
• HR1975 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 100 West Percy Street in Indianola, Mississippi, as the “Minnie Cox Post Office Building”.
• HR1974 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the depreciation classification of motorsports entertainment complexes.
• HR1912 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for qualified conservation contributions which include National Scenic Trails.
• HR1911 – To amend the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to require funding to help award recipients defray the costs of data collection requirements initiated pursuant to such Act, and for other purposes.
• HR1907 – To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to use consumer information maintained by retailers to improve recalls of food, and for other purposes.
• HR1905 – To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation planning and response program, and for other purposes.
• HR1904 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individual taxpayers to designate a portion of income taxes to fund the improvement of barriers at the United States border, and for other purposes.
• HR1903 – To provide incentives for the residential housing market
• HR1901 – To provide for a comprehensive study by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to assess the water management, needs, and conservation of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River System.
• HR1900 – To provide for emergency deployments of United States Border Patrol agents and to increase the number of DEA and ATF agents along the international border of the United States to increase resources to identify and eliminate illicit sources of firearms into Mexico for use by violent drug trafficking organizations and for other lawful activities and for other purposes.  [This really about gun control and the war on drugs.]
• HR1899 – To extend Federal recognition to the Muscogee Nation of Florida
• HR1898 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under the Medicare Program for consultations regarding orders for life sustaining treatment and to provide grants for the development and expansion of programs for such orders.
• HR1897 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit to employers for the costs of implementing wellness programs, and for other purposes.
• HR1896 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify that installment sales treatment shall not fail to apply to property acquired for conservation purposes by a State or local government or certain tax-exempt organizations merely because purchase funds are held in a sinking or similar fund pursuant to State law.
• HR1895 – To provide driver safety grants to States with graduated driver licensing laws that meet certain minimum requirements.
• HR1894 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve access to, and increase utilization of, bone mass measurement benefits under the Medicare part B program.
• HR1893 – To prohibit any person which sells to or otherwise disposes of any asset through a public-private investment program, including the Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets, from purchasing or otherwise acquiring any other asset from or through such programs, and for other purposes.
• S-826 – A bill to promote renewable energy, and for other purposes
• S-827 – A bill to establish a program to reunite bondholders with matured unredeemed United States savings bonds.
• S-828 – A bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to provide loan guarantees for projects to construct renewable fuel pipelines, and for other purposes.
• SCR17 – A concurrent resolution authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the unveiling of a bust of Sojourner Truth.
• SR100 – A resolution expressing the support of the Senate for the establishment of an Urban Youth Sport Initiative in partnership with the United States Olympic Committee.
• HCR96 – Recognizing the importance of autism awareness, supporting efforts to increase funding for research into the causes and treatment of autism and to improve training and support for individuals with autism and those who care for individuals with autism.
• HCR98 – Recognizing the disparate impact of climate change on women and the efforts of women globally to address climate change.
• S-781 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for collegiate housing and infrastructure grants.
• S-782 – A bill to provide for the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System.
• S-783 – A bill to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently prohibit the conduct of offshore drilling on the outer Continental Shelf in the Mid-Atlantic and North Atlantic planning areas.
• S-784 – A bill to provide for the recognition of certain Native communities and the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for other purposes.
• S-785 – A bill to establish a grant program to encourage retooling of entities in the timber industry in Alaska, and for other purposes.
• S-786 – A bill to authorize a grant program to provide for expanded access to mainstream financial institutions.
• S-787 – A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify the jurisdiction of the United States over waters of the United States.
• S-789 – A bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility and suitability of constructing a storage reservoir, outlet works, and a delivery system for the Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation in the State of California to provide a water supply for domestic, municipal, industrial, and agricultural purposes, and for other purposes.
• S-790 – A bill to improve access to health care services in rural, frontier, and urban undeserved areas in the United States by addressing the supply of health professionals and the distribution of health professionals to areas of need.
• S-791 – A bill to direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out programs and activities to improve highway safety.
• S-792 – A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the National Program of Cancer Registries by expanding data collection and allowing data sharing for public health objectives, while preserving the confidentiality of patients, and for other purposes.
• S-793 – A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a scholarship program for students seeking a degree or certificate in the areas of visual impairment and orientation and mobility.
• S-795 – A bill to amend the Social Security Act to enhance the social security of the Nation by ensuring adequate public-private infrastructure and to resolve to prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, and prosecute elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, and for other purposes.
• S-796 – A bill to modify the requirements applicable to locatable minerals on public domain land, and for other purposes.
• S-797 – A bill to amend the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Technical and Legal Assistance Act of 2000, and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to improve the prosecution of, and response to, crimes in Indian country, and for other purposes.
• S-798 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend existing elective tax treatment for Alaska Native Settlement Trusts.
• S-799 – A bill to designate as wilderness certain Federal portions of the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin Deserts in the State of Utah for the benefit of present and future generations of people in the United States.
• S-802 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow Indian tribes to transfer the credit for electricity produced from renewable resources.
• S-803 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit to employers for the costs of implementing wellness programs, and for other purposes.
• S-804 – A bill to amend subpart 2 of part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish incentives for States to extend the minimum length of the school year to 200 full days by 2014, and for other purposes.
• S-805 – A bill to provide for a comprehensive study by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to assess the water management, needs, and conservation of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River System.
• S-808 – A bill to amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to reauthorize the Act, and for other purposes.
• S-809 – A bill to establish a program to provide tuition assistance to individuals who have lost their jobs as a result of the economic downturn.  [People out of work are probably busy trying to find another job, anyway.]
• S-810 – A bill to establish 4 regional institutes as centers of excellence for research, planning, and related efforts to assess and prepare for the impacts of climate change on ocean and coastal areas and for other purposes.
• HR1880 – To establish a system of regulation and supervision for insurers, insurance agencies, and insurance producers chartered or licensed under Federal law that ensures the stability and financial integrity of those insurers, agencies, and producers and that protects policyholders and other consumers served by such insurers, agencies, or producers.
• HR1881 – To enhance the transportation security functions of the Department of Homeland Security by providing for an enhanced personnel system for employees of the Transportation Security Administration, and for other purposes.
• HR1882 – To amend the Truth in Lending Act to provide safeguards for credit card holders whose accounts were, or are about to be, terminated for inactivity, and for other purposes.
• HR1883 – To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a demonstration grants program to provide for certain patient coordination, outreach, and assistance services to reduce barriers to receiving health care and improve health care outcomes.
• HR1884 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the participation of optometrists in the National Health Service Corps scholarship and loan repayment programs, and for other purposes.
• HR1886 – To authorize democratic, economic, and social development assistance for Pakistan, to authorize security assistance for Pakistan, and for other purposes.
• HR1888 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax to vehicle fleet operators for purchasing tires made from recycled rubber.
• HR1889 – To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reserve funding for American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
• HR1890 – To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to increase the percentage of State revolving loan funds reserved for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
• S-811 – A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to promote mental and behavioral health services for underserved populations.
• S-812 – Rural Heritage Conservation Extension Act: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the special rule for contributions of qualified conservation contributions.
• S-813 – A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to apply the protections of the Act to teaching and research assistants.
• S-814 – A bill to provide for the conveyance of a parcel of land held by the Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice in Miami Dade County, Florida, to facilitate the construction of a new educational facility that includes a secure parking area for the Bureau of Prisons, and for other purposes.
• S-817 – A bill to establish a Salmon Stronghold Partnership program to conserve wild Pacific salmon and for other purposes.
• S-818 – A bill to reauthorize the Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001, and for other purposes.
• S-819 (also HR1878) – A bill to provide for enhanced treatment, support, services, and research for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families.
• S-820 – A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the automobile assistance allowance for veterans, and for other purposes.
• S-822 – A bill to support the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services personnel, and for other purposes.
• S-823 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a 5-year carryback of operating losses, and for other purposes.
• S-824 – A bill to establish a Jobs Creation Coordinator in the Department of Commerce to ensure that agencies in the Department use resources in a manner that maximizes the maintenance and creation of jobs in the United States, and for other purposes.
• HR1906 – To permanently prohibit oil and gas leasing off the coast of the State of California, and for other purposes.
• HR1908 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit for property certified by the Environmental Protection Agency under the WaterSense program.
• HR1913 – To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes.
• HR1914 – To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide for the suspension of each provision of the Act during periods of drought with respect to Federal and State agencies that manage Federal river basins that are located in each region affected by the drought.
• HR1915 – To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for expanded coverage of paramedic intercept services under the Medicare Program.
• HR1916 – To amend the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act to provide for a revised schedule of price increases for the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, popularly known as the “Duck Stamp”, and for other purposes.
• HR1917 – To establish the Centennial Historic District in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and for other purposes.
• HR1871 – To designate certain counties in the State of Arizona as high-intensity drug trafficking areas.
• HR1874 – To provide Federal contracting preferences for, and a reduction in the rate of income tax imposed on, Patriot corporations, and for other purposes.
• HR1876 – To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the incorporation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles in military construction projects carried out in the United States or overseas, to require a specific goal regarding the use of renewable energy sources on all military installations, and for other purposes.
• HR1877 – To amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to reauthorize the Act, and for other purposes.
• HR1938 – To amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Public Health Service Act to set standards for medical diagnostic equipment and to establish a program for promoting good health, disease prevention, and wellness and for the prevention of secondary conditions for individuals with disabilities, and for other purposes.
• HR1939 – To direct the Attorney General to establish a system of background checks for employers and employees of the electronic life safety and security system installation and monitoring industry, and for other purposes.
• HR1940 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a Wellness Trust
• HR1941 – To allow for additional flights beyond the perimeter restriction applicable to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
• HR1944 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend the subpart F exemption for active financing income.
• HR1887 – To establish a Presidential Commission on Women, and for other purposes  [WTF?]
• HR1946 – To amend the Public Health Service Act to address health workforce shortages
• HR1947 – To regulate certain deferred prosecution agreements and nonprosecution agreements in Federal criminal cases.
• HCR95 – Recognizing the importance of the Department of Agriculture Forest Service Experimental Forests and Ranges.
• HR1949 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit for elementary and secondary school teachers.
• HR1950 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax credit for professional school personnel in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 through 12.

Each bill introduced takes countless hours to be drafted, typed up, disseminated, put through the various stages of the process, all costing time and money.  So even if the bill seems minor, such as SR85 (”Congratulating…”), it costs you money.  Do you want your tax dollars being spent on this stuff?

Please take a couple of minutes out of your day to contact your representatives via telephone simply to tell them that you support or oppose a particular bill.  It’ll most likely take you less than two minutes, and it’s so very important that we stand up to our increasingly tyrannical government.

If you don’t know who your Senators are, or how to contact them, click here to found out.

If you don’t know who your Representatives are, or how to contact them, click here to find out.