 Welfare and Work
Ending "Big Massa Government"
The
government spends $11,120 on every poor family in
America, and such families see very little of that money.
Income redistribution is a lie, with most social programs
dollars going to bureaucrats and government workers.
That's no solution. In reforming welfare we need to
enable the recipients to get themselves out of the
system.
It's important that we
establish this discussion on a vision of the future and
an acceptance of the reality of the past and present.
What I am presenting is not only a radical restructuring
of the entire safety net process, but an emotional
restructuring for both provider and recipient as to how
we see welfare and the safety net.
I am not going to lie
to you like a lot of politicians would and say we can
ever end all welfare. For as Jesus said once, "The
poor shall be with you always." It would be terribly
unrealistic to maintain that family, friends and private
charity can adequately provide for every need of every
disabled person.
But it is also true
that the number of individuals who are so completely
disabled and indigent that they can never be enabled to
support themselves are extremely few. And if we make a
radical, balanced change in our overall approach we will
not only enable many more people to stop being dependents
of the state, but we will save billions and billions of
tax dollars in the process.
I am of the belief that
the biggest detriment to African-Americans and several
other minority groups today is the welfare/education
state created under Lyndon Johnson and white liberals.
White liberals have done more to kill the black race than
any klansman or nazi. Since the start of the "War On
Poverty" in 1965, the United States has spent more
than $5 trillion trying to ease the plight of the poor.
What we have received for this massive investment is --
primarily -- more poverty.
Federal
Welfare should be ended
Our
welfare system is unfair to everyone: to taxpayers who
must pick up the bill for failed programs; to society,
whose mediating institutions of community, church and
family are increasingly pushed aside; and most of all to
the poor themselves, who are trapped in a system that
destroys opportunity for themselves and hope for their
children.
We should
eliminate the entire federal social welfare system. This
includes eliminating AFDC, food stamps, subsidized
housing, and all the rest. That sounds cruel at first
look. But it accomplishes one very important needed
objective.Welfare is something that the states are in a
better position to make judgments on than the federal
government.
End
the federal income tax and replace it with nothing
If I were the
President, in the first hour of my administration, in
fact, during my inauguration, I would immediately
eliminate the Internal Revenue Service by executive
order. I would declare a moratorium on all income taxes,
and forgiveness of all income taxes formerly owed, and a
presidential pardon of all income tax evasion
convictions.
Establish
a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for contributions to
private charity
If the federal
government's attempt at charity has been a dismal
failure, private efforts have been much more successful.
America is the most generous nation on earth. We already
contribute more than $125 billion annually to charity.
However, as we phase out inefficient government welfare,
private charities must be able to step up and fill the
void.
To help facilitate this
transfer of responsibility from government welfare to
private charity, the federal government should offer a
dollar-for-dollar tax credit for contributions to private
charities that provide social-welfare services. That is
to say, if an individual or a company gives a dollar to
charity, he should be able to reduce his tax liability by
a dollar.
Social
security taxes would be ended
The ending of the
federal income tax and social security taxes would also
mean the end of mandatory withholding by employers.
Social Security is racing toward
insolvency. Americans who are counting on Social
Security for their retirement are in for a rude
awakening. Unless policy-makers act, the system
will be bankrupt and the young and old will be locked in
an acrimonious generational war. Only a drastic
step, done very soon, can rescue the system. And only a
drastic step can prevent Social Security from being
raided by Republicans and Democrats eager to promote
their own pork barrel projects and eager to engage their
war expenses.
And that step is to
translate the system immediately and in toto into
personal accounts. How? Simple. Take every deposit that
has been made into Social Security accounts by workers,
and turn them over to the workers to invest in secure
instruments. For those at, near or past retirement age,
allow them to choose to collect their benefits as they
would have under the old system, from the general fund.
Selling off federal assets, as well as the still
remaining non-income taxes would pay for the benefits.
Tax
Relief for the Poor
Even with no income
taxes and no social security taxes, the poor will still
have their share of regressive taxes that negatively
impact them.
A tax cap: No
individual, corporation or any other entity shall be
required to forfeit more than 10% of their income in
taxes. I would introduce a federal bill which would
mandate the refund on any taxes collected in excess of
10%, beginning with federal tax refunds, and
subsequently, to states and localities.
Tax refunds: No
individual making less than $10,000 annually should be
required to pay taxes of any kind, including state
income, real estate, gas, sales, utility and unemployment
taxes. And I would introduce federal leglisation
compelling the states to institute a fair taxation system
whereby the poor could apply for exemptions for taxes
under these circumstances.
End
Mandatory Employer Paperwork
Additionally, if I were
the President I would issue an executive order ending
mandatory employer federal paperwork requirements such as
Immigration Status Identification, and Social Security
Number identification. Less paperwork by employers would
mean more jobs for more people. Furthermore, since the
privacy of individuals are most subject to the abuse of
the Social Security Number, I would forbid any entity
other than the Social Security Administration from using
the Social Security Number, and would provide for people
to immediately opt out of their number.Additionally, I
would order the Social Security Administration to issue
new numbers, and forbid the revelation of those numbers
to anyone except parties with a direct interest in the
accounts.
The
Myth of "Taxing the Rich"
The myth of "tax
fairness" is so pervasive that most people don't
even know how to think in sound economic terms anymore.
They have forgotten to think in business terms as to how
to maximize revenue, and they neglect the fact that money
confiscated by government is money no longer available to
invest, hire another employee, or buy another good.
So we have a tax policy
that allegedly attacks the rich. Allegedly, I say,
because the reality of the matter is that it is the
middle class and small business really being targeted by
this system. But why should we devise a tax strategy that
taxes the rich? The rich do not have enough money between
them to run the government for three weeks. Moreover,
taxing the rich usually eliminates private sector jobs
and transfers them to the government. Not a good deal in
my book.
The original federal
income tax was a very small tax leveled on only the
richest 1% of individuals. It was a very benign tax
slated to minimally fund a small government. Yet
government, having been given the ability to collect such
a small tax, readily abused the privilige, to the point
where we would now envy the Colonists for the tax rates
they had under the British. Social engineering through
the tax code is not only a total failure, but is a gross
violation of individual freedoms. Individuals believing
in taxing the rich are acting out of jealousy and envy,
not economic wisdom.
No
Federal Income Tax Eliminates Most Corporate Downsizing
Corporate downsizing is
largely a reflection of how the government makes it
uneconomical to use labor through mandatory regulatory
red tape, some of which I have already detailed.
Eliminate the red tape and we eliminate most of the
effect. Downsizing is also a symptom of bureaucratic
bloat. All economic entities need to act efficiently in
the market.
As much as I would love
there to be permanent job stability, that is simply not
economic reality. Things change, technologies change,
some industries become extinct and others blossom. That
is an economic fact of life. Instead of lulling people
into a false sense of security, we should encourage them
to improve their own skills and abilities whenever
possible.
The
Myth of the Minimum Wage
We now have with the
new minimum wage and welfare an economic system which in
effect dictates that if you are not productive enough in
your work to merit the minimum wage per hour, that you
MUST lay on your ass and collect welfare. That is
insanity. In some communities, we have 50% unemployment
among our youth, almost wholly attributable to the
mandatory minimum wage eliminating any possible work,
even apprentice, park management, recreation management,
or neighborhood cleanup.
This would only worsen
under raised minimums. The fairest minimum wage is
whatever the market will bear, and I do not believe that
setting an amount will ever achieve the goals of
increased real income. Also, artificial inflation of
wages through the minimum wage has the effect of
inflating the cost of goods, and a subsequent decrease in
the cost of living. Wages should be increased because of
increased productivity, not because of government
manipulation. Completely eliminating the minimum wage in
areas like youth employment and worker apprentice
programs will create more jobs. In actuality, very few
workers today receive the minimum wage, so reducing it
for these jobs situations would not diminish wages for
the vast majority of workers in our economy.
Unemployment
Insurance
Legitimate insurance is
when individuals or companies volunteer to pool their
resources to lessen the impact of a catastorphic loss
upon one of them. Current so-called "unemployment
insurance" makes a mockery of that concept: it is in
reality an income redistribution tax. I submit
eliminating UI as a mandate, and instituting a voluntary
savings plan where money deducted from a person goes into
a savings mechanism controlled by the employee and not by
the state. Unemployment insurance should be privatized,
where those who feel they need it can shop for it, or
voluntarily pool their resources to establish it.
Tear
down barriers to entrepreneurism and economic growth
Almost everyone agrees
that a job or a small business is better than any welfare
program. Yet for years this country has pursued tax and
regulatory policies that seem perversely designed to
discourage economic growth and reduce entrepreneurial
opportunities. Someone starting a business today needs a
battery of lawyers just to comply with the myriad of
government regulations from a virtual alphabet soup of
government agencies: OSHA, EPA, FTC, CPSC, IRS, etc.
Zoning and occupational licensing laws are particularly
damaging to the type of small businesses that may help
people work their way out of poverty.
We should encourage
inner city credit unions, and teach business to the inner
city. We must encourage the maintenance of the two-parent
family instead of breaking it up through welfare
policies.
Reform
education
There can be no serious
attempt to solve the problem of poverty in America
without addressing our failed government-run school
system. Nearly forty years after Brown vs. Board of
Education, America's schools are becoming increasingly
segregated, not on the basis of race, but on income.
Wealthy and middle class parents are able to send their
children to private schools, or at least move to a
district with better public schools. Poor families are
trapped -- forced to send their children to a public
school system that fails to educate.
It is time to break up
the public education monopoly and give all parents the
right to decide what school their children will attend.
It is essential to restore choice and the discipline of
the marketplace to education. Only a free market in
education will provide the improvement in education
necessary to enable millions of Americans to escape
poverty. As one of these choices, home schooling and
small private schooling wihtout accreditation, must be
defended and preserved.
Tax
Credits
One of the problems
with the current taxation scheme is that it is slanted
against employees, as well as discouraging of the
bettering of oneself. For what taxes continue to exist,
there need to be credits, available for both individuals
and their employers, which aid people in furthering their
careers and help them to become free people.
1. EMPLOYMENT
RELATED JOB TRAINING AND COLLEGE TAX CREDITS, whether
needed to continue in the current job, required to enter
a new field, or taken to enter into a new business.
2. CREDITS FOR
FINANCING THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.
Additionally, any
expenses such as educational expenses, commuting expenses
and clothing expenses, which directly impact on income,
ought to be fully tax deductible
Mandate
Establishment of Bank Accounts for Recipients
I would seeking
legislation that any government subsidies to the poor,
instead of being issued in checks to be cashed at check
cashing facilities, be issued electronically into bank
accounts. One of the reasons the poor have so many
problems is that they are excluded from the everyday
financial system that most of us take for granted, and
have not been taught sound money management. Enacting
such a change is not only a positive step for the
self-reliance of recipients, but would likely reduce
welfare fraud, since private banking institutions with
their regulations would be overseeing parts of the
program.
Position
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