goodetogo:

jackdogstar:

goodetogo:

oh no the government is so oppressive ;-; how do conservatives handle it

“The power to tax is the power to destroy.” 

-John Marshall, cj

McCullough v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 327

yeah man taxing is totally worse than police state fascism and brutality against peaceful protestors exercising their constitutional first amendment rights.

how do you guys survive?! having to PROVE your non profit, tax free status by answering questions? it’s an outrageeee.

Sigh. Where to begin?

First, the issue of use of IRS authority by the executive branch as an instrument of political power has a somewhat seamy history. You are talking about an agency that administers and enforces what the Supreme Court says is a plenary power of Congress; i.e.: 16th Amendment powers. I seem to recall Nixon had some problems in that area. Ordering audits of political enemies. Of course, Hoover (FBI) was the master of using federal law enforcement power to harass political opponents, but that’s a tale for another day. 

Second, the issue is not “answering a few questions.” The issue is whether IRS officials used investigative algorithms to target one type of tax exempt organization over others based on “conservative” leanings, and then whether IRS officials lied to Congress about it. This is problematic and requires further investigation. 

Third, read McCullough v. Maryland, as I was required to do in law school.  The issue is not whether taxation is inherently wrong; the issue is using the power of taxation as a weapon of destruction against persons or institutions that you don’t like. In McCullough you had classic state v. federal power struggles going on.

Fourth, actually, I voted for Obama. Ooooohhhhhh. NOOOOOO. That doesn’t matter. He has not performed well at all in general (healthcare reform was a joke), and for an issue surrounding IRS methods and practices as political weapons to suddenly pop up, well, just stop.

Also, as an aside, Obama’s understanding of the nature of the middle class in a capitalist society is sketchy at best. This is a problem that plagues the Democratic party in general. But it is not the problem at hand. The problem at hand is whether the IRS improperly used its enforcement powers for political ends.

You might take a moment to browse that bastion of right wing thought, the New York Times, for a discussion of the issues surrounding the IRS problem. 

As for Occupy Wall Street, please, these are not gatherings of children. When you know how an institutionalized system is going to respond to your “occupation,” and that system responds thusly, well, you got what you wanted, didn’t you, which is media coverage of your protest. Did it make a difference in terms of legislation or policy? I don’t know. 

(BTW, read Arrest Proofing Yourself, by Dale Carson, for a glimpse at populations of people in the U.S. who are harassed, pepper sprayed, and beaten by cops every day.)

Finally, I would favor eliminating ALL tax exempt provisions from the federal tax code, and embracing a simple, progressive tax system. But that is a discussion for another day.