Today is the 100th anniversary of the 16th
Amendment. Tax lawyers, accountants and
federal bureaucrats are celebrating with unabated cheer. For if it weren’t for this monstrosity, the
general government wouldn’t be able to tax your income directly. The Constitution forbade that. Originally, taxation was apportioned by the
States.
What a blessing the Progressives gave us. Now, we’re
subjected to an incomprehensible and confiscatory tax code. President Woodrow Wilson please take a bow,
for he couldn’t wait to usher in this new source of revenue. He called for a special session of Congress
on April 13. They directed an income tax
of 1% on incomes above $3000 and applied surcharges between 2% and 7% on income
from $20,000 to $500,000. That was the
beginning of it all. Here is a prophetic
prediction by an opponent of the 16th Amendment:
Richard
E. Byrd, speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, predicted, "a hand
from Washington will be stretched out and placed upon every man's business. . .
. Heavy fines imposed by distant and unfamiliar tribunals will constantly
menace the taxpayer. An army of Federal officials, spies and detectives will
descend upon the state. . . ."[14]
Not
only have they descended upon the state, they have descended upon the citizenry
with a vengeance. Under the Obama
administration, an army of IRS agents are being hired to spy on our health
care.
The Progressives weren’t finished. Later, they created the Federal Reserve,
giving the general government an unlimited credit line. We can attest to that. This country is $17 trillion in debt, thanks
to the printing presses. This secretive
entity has destroyed the dollar, along with our savings. Later these revolutionaries would implement
the 17th Amendment completely destroying our federative system.
Progressives have a long history of fiscal irresponsibility. After passing the Federal Reserve Act of
1913, Woodrow Wilson is quoted as saying “I have unwittingly ruined my country.”
Unwittingly?
No sir, you knew exactly what you were doing.
Source: http://mises.org/daily/1597
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