Taxflation

 Taxflation

Increasing taxes and rising inflation are a deadly combination. "Taxflation" is what we find ourselves in now globally as freewheeling politicians ratchet up the pain and are beholden to nothing but their own egos. Be afraid on this solemn day dear readers of the unencumbered politicrat whose loyalty lies only with increasing power. Beware what constitutes your "fair share," as soon it will be your full share! 

Every year Americans dutifully write out a myriad of checks to local, state, and federal governments to help fund our collective defense, social programs, and politicians' salaries under the banner of "civic duty" which is enforced by the threat of imprisonment. What other "civic duty" is compelled by the potential loss of liberty? What would be the collection rate if taxes were voluntary? Imagine if freewill dictated the scope of the government we received.

While the Biden Administration is planning to increase the budget of the IRS to something akin to a nation-state, increase tax rates, and (obviously) increase spending, the barn door is wide open out back. Billions in fraud, pork, and ill-executed government spending leaves the taxpayer without a doubt as the most maligned and least-loved animals in the barn. If America was "Animal Farm" the taxpayer would be the horse. And I think I have a pretty good idea who the pig(s) are feeding at the trough.

What to do dear financial farmers? "Fight, fight, fight against that dying light" of freedom! Readers of this blog well know I support voting, and especially voting with your feet out of states entrenched in burgeoning socialism. For those with strong backbones, however, there is yet another option: Run. And by "run," I mean run for office at the most promising level where victory may be assured. Change the potential outcomes of a country increasingly on the course of taxflation. It's your money, and the politicians work for YOU...isn't it about time we see some real return on our investment? 

The Legend of Poopy Britches

The Legend of Poopy Britches

Occasionally a story is so bizarre, so outrageous, so unreal that it obviously MUST be true...hence is the case with Poopy Britches. Dubbed "the most significant fraud on taxpayer funds in California history," (which is actually really, really saying something), California has paid in excess of $1,000,000,000 in fraudulent unemployment claims to prison and jail inmates.

For some unknown reason, there doesn't exist a system to cross-check whether a citizen is in jail prior to paying out unemployment benefits. There are cameras at every street corner in LA to fine motorists. There are elaborate sting operations to catch people with more than 3 households for Thanksgiving. A surfer was arrested for...surfing. But things are so bad at the EDD (Employment Development Department) that not only are funds being dispersed to criminals currently in jail, but debit cards were issued to such outrageous names as Poopy Britches without any sanity checks.

Politicians are poor stewards of taxpayer funds because there is no incentive for them to be good stewards. Has there been any bigger victim to the largesse of government than the taxpayer? If ever there was a concrete reason to dismantle a complicated taxation system, this is it. Any time money is laundered through the government for benefit programs, inevitably there is "leakage." Why not change the policy to reward work? Eliminating the payroll tax benefits everyone, yet billions in PPP loans were issued with massive amounts of fraud, waste, and abuse.

Poppy Britches should teach us all that rather than launching payment programs funded by taxpayer funds, we should rather eliminate or reduce existing taxes and laws. Streamlining efficiency should be the goal, work should be rewarded, and ultimately bureaucracy that is not a good steward of taxpayer funds needs to be eliminated tout de suite.

 

Carlos Ghosn

Carlos Ghosn

The story of Carlos Ghosn will hopefully become legendary, it already stands in the annals of history as one of the greatest escapes of all time. From a larger context, it shines a searing spotlight on regulatory overreach, denial of basic humans rights, and the failure of at least one nation-state in providing any semblance of a just trial. It is also emblematic of not only the Japanese government, which obviously needs an entire reboot of its judiciary system from the top down, but also of many, many national and state governments around the world. 

The root cause of Ghosn's flight from captivity was a total and utter lack of due process. That basic human right, perhaps the most important, didn't happen from day one. Working backwards, it is logical to assume that a judicial system like this is flawed by its very existence, meaning anything so repressive has at its heart a flawed democracy. Japan doesn't hold the monopoly, however, on government failure.

In the United States with increasing frequency year after year additional laws, rules, codes, regulations, guidance, and such are "passed" without a vote from the citizens. Elected officials appoint bureaucrats who then expand the regulatory environment. The cost of this largess is your freedom my friends.

Freedom is eroded on a daily basis, and it often takes a stark example like Carlos Ghosn fleeing injustice to wake the world up to what it would otherwise ignore for the common citizen. The common citizen would have sat in prison for years and under Japan's legal system the prosecution has upwards of a 100% success rate. But there are plenty of agencies, commissions, local authorities here in the USA that aren't much better for a small business or citizen.

A big part of the R.I.S.E. Movement is identifying threats to your portfolio and asset base. Sadly, your own government is a signifiant threat. Don't pay your real estate taxes and see who owns your house. Or your commercial real estate. Or your savings account. Or your brokerage account. There are numerous abuses of power that can result in forfeiture of your assets without you seeking legal recourse...and legal recourse is expensive and takes precious time. A government or regulatory agency has limitless resources from your tax dollars at their disposal.

So how did Carlos Ghosn do it? How did he escape captivity? What can we learn from him? First, he had the means. But, from what I've read his wife probably would have found a way to help him regardless. He had multiple passports and citizenships. He had a vast network of friends. He was/is a successful businessman. This plan seemingly took weeks to implement. The takeaways for the average person faced with a challenging dilemma?

Family fighting for you is vital. Having assets your family or friends can access to pay for your defense is essential. Being in the right helps. Having a network of friends helps. Essentially, Mr. Ghosn did not "dig his well" when he was thirsty...he had a lifetime of building relationships with his family, friends, and government officials. I think this is something we can all aspire to, especially family.

The Ghosn story is troubling for many patriots across the world as it clearly illustrates the abuse of power by government agencies and the lack of accountability. It is just plain scary what happens when unelected officials have the ability to regulate the population without just democratic principles. It should be a warning shot to us all about the danger of complacency; complacency encourages governments to expand their powers and reduce your freedoms.

As Will Rogers once said, "It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for." Amen. Let's all make a concerted effort in 2020 to find out what exactly our elected politicians are doing in their respective local, state, and federal positions to eliminate bureaucracy. Our liberty depends on the American voter, not an unelected bureaucracy.