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My Two Cents

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by My2CentsDealW/it!
Dear2c@HoTMaiL.com
My Two Cents
on Government Extortion
Does the phrase "Taxation
without representation" ring a bell? Do you even realize how much you pay
in taxes? A friend of mine is currently in a situation that, for me, illustrates
Government Extortion in clear detail.
Here's the situation:
My friend made the mistake of letting his vehicle registration expire. Granted,
that was his mistake, since registration is required by law and incidentally
that is one of the MANY "taxes" that we pay. Anyway, to continue, he
subsequently lost his job due to lay-offs and was unemployed for 2 months.
Having exhausted his savings, he was in danger of losing his home, not to
mention being unable to feed his family. Needless to say, he could not afford to
pay the vehicle registration and of course got a ticket for the expired
registration. That put him in the position of not only having the expired
registration he couldn't pay for, but also having a ticket that he could not pay
either. He contacted the court to see if he could arrange an extension so that
he could find a job and get it taken care of without going to jail, which his
family could not afford. He went back to work a week or so later and 3 days on
the job, still having not even gotten his first paycheck yet, he is pulled over
again and ticketed AGAIN for the expired registration. Now he has the
registration and TWO tickets to pay, on top of trying to feed and house his
family AND get caught up on other bills he is behind on due to his unemployment.
You know, those minor things like WATER, ELECTRICITY, etc...
So, here we have a hard
working American, down on his luck and being repeatedly fined by the government
which keeps him unable to get back on his feet. Upon explaining to the second
officer that he has already been ticketed for the registration and is working on
getting it corrected, the officer explained the EXTORTION in no uncertain terms.
He said, "It doesn't matter if you have been ticketed already, or that you
are working to correct the situation, any officer that pulls you over between
now and the time that you get it corrected can ticket you for it. You could get
pulled over again a mile down the road today and get another ticket".
ex·tor·tion n.
-
- The act or an instance of extorting.
- Illegal use of one's official
position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage.
- An excessive or exorbitant charge.
Now, granted this is
"Legal", but other than that it fits. Use of the police, courts and
fines to obtain funds or property (ticket fines/court costs or vehicle
impounding). Excessive or exorbitant charge (multiple fines for the same
offense). For this particular offense (expired registration) most states give
you 10 to 14 days to correct it for a reduced fine or show proof that it was NOT
expired to get it dismissed. However, that 10 to 14 days does not protect you
from further citations in the mean time, thus opening the door for multiple
fines, possibly from multiple towns, cities or counties.
Do I have an answer? No, but I
do have an idea. Is it so unreasonable to give someone the benefit of the doubt?
It is possible for such things to expire without the owner being aware of it. If
the fine can be reduced if corrected within a certain amount of time, then why
can't the person be exempt from further citations during that time period? If
they are unable to get it done in the time allotted, they can go to court and
have the judge grant an extension. Why can't that exemption also be extended?
What purpose does it serve to continue to issue citations with fines attached to
someone who is unable to pay to correct the situation that caused the original
citation? That merely adds more expense, further delaying the correction of the
original offense. Let the original citation stand with appropriate fines
attached and leave it at that. Each request for an extension in court will add
additional monies to the fine on top of the cost to correct the problem. That
should be incentive enough to encourage people to keep their vehicles legal.
There is no need to add continued extortion of more monies to feed the
government greed.
That was just one example,
home or land ownership is another. Even if your house or land is completely
bought and paid for, you do NOT own it. Failure to pay taxes on it will result
in the government confiscating YOUR PROPERTY and auctioning it off to the
highest bidder!
Taxes we pay in the USA!
Income tax and Social Security, before we even get our paycheck.
Out of that remaining paycheck we pay:
Sales tax, property tax, inheritance tax, capital gains tax, luxury tax, school
tax, vehicle registration, vehicle inspection (if required, it's a tax), car
insurance (being required in many states makes it effectively a state tax).
These are just the few that come to mind off the cuff. Each of these taxes are
extorted from us. In each and every case, failure to comply and pay, will result
in loss of something whether it be the inability to purchase the goods you want
unless you pay the sales tax, loss of property (property/school taxes), fines or
loss of property (vehicle) in not complying with the vehicle taxes. Loss of all
or part of your inheritance, which are goods and monies that have ALREADY been
taxed while in the possession of the person who left you the inheritance.
Even if you are single, not a
home owner and take public transportation rather than own a vehicle, YOU still
pay these taxes. They are figured into your rent and the cost of your public
transportation.
Repeal the 16th Amendment
which would abolish the income tax and the I.R.S.
Replace all direct taxes with indirect
taxes by replacing income tax,
property tax, capital gains tax, and inheritance tax with sales or consumption
tax. Article 1, Section 9, of the US Constitution states, "No
capitation, or other direct tax shall be laid,...."
The income tax was imposed briefly after the War Between The Federal Government
and The Southern States. However, the US Supreme Court overturned it with
these words, "The income tax is indeed a direct tax and therefore
unconstitutional." Pollock v. Farmers Loan & Trust Co., (1895)
It was unconstitutional then, and it is unconstitutional NOW!
Reform Social Security
by gradually replacing it with Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's) which
would allow workers to retire with more income than that received while working.

Citizens
for Constitutional Government & Help Abolish the IRS!
So, what have you got to say?
Let me know and I'll tell you if it's
worth 2 cents!
Dear2c@HoTMaiL.com
*note: all names and handles will be
changed or removed to protect the pathetic* |