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March 21, 2005
Tax
Panel Chairman:
“Constitutionality
of The Income Tax
Will Not Be Addressed.”
WTP
Supporters Confront Tax Panel In Chicago
The “Fix” Is In,
Unless We Act.
On Wednesday morning March 16, a group of WTP supporters gathered at the
University of Chicago downtown campus with signs, information packets, and
reprints of the full-page ad WTP recently ran in The Washington Times
to hand out to members of the press and other attendees of the meeting of
the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform.
After a minor confrontation with a U.S. Treasury security detail questioning
the activities of the WTP group, security officials, with the full blessing
of the Chicago police, eventually allowed WTP to continue its activities
outside the meeting hall. In addition, members of the group were allowed
into the building to attend the meeting.
The modestly sized (7-8) group was successful in engaging and distributing
information packets to members of the press, the panel's witnesses, the
public and those attending the meeting. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley was one
of the people who accepted an ad reprint. He was observed studying it as his
limousine pulled away.
During a break before the panel's last two witnesses, several WTP supporters
managed to get the attention of the panel's Chairman, former U.S. Senator
Connie Mack III. He was asked if the panel was going to answer the
substantive questions that have been repeatedly asked of it, and the
President, regarding the constitutional problems related to the enforcement
of a direct, un-apportioned taxes on wages and salaries.
Senator Mack replied, “I received very specific directives from the
President concerning the income tax -- and determining the constitutionality
of it is not one of the issues we are to cover.”
At least three WTP supporters heard and witnessed Sen. Mack’s statement and
are preparing sworn affidavits relating to the Chairman's historically
significant statement.
One
panel witness, Dr. James Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics, University of
Chicago, directly referenced the WTP activists in his speech as he stated,
“We are here to discuss ways we can simplify the tax code, not ways we can
claim to stop paying taxes like some of the people standing outside holding
signs."
When shown a copy of the Right-to-Petition tax information packet by WTP
Congress Regional Coordinator Fred Smart, and asked if there were any plans
to place its content on the Internet for public inspection, Senator Mack
asked if he had ever received a copy. Senator Mack was advised that WTP has
mailed both the panel and each individual panel member a full copy of the
information packet, and that he had been handed a copy in Florida, during
the Panel’s meeting in Tampa. Respectfully, Senator Mack was advised that he
and each of the other members of the Panel received a full copy of the legal
research that is the basis for the WTP Petitions for Redress of Grievances.
The
Chicago meeting, one of four public meetings thus far, was attended by fewer
than 60 people. As with every meeting of the Panel, no members of the
general public were allowed to speak as witnesses. One supporter noted that
the only people that showed any true interest in the work of WTP were the
Chicago police assigned to the event.
After this meeting in Chicago, and Chairman Mack's significant, official
statement stating that the Panel will not be addressing the constitutional
questions related to federal tax reform, several conclusions with disturbing
implications for the future of America are apparent:
-
The
President's tax panel, which is charged with providing specific
recommendations to overhaul the means by which this nation's government is
funded, will not consider, or publicly discuss, any constitutional
issue related to the U.S. tax system – current or future.
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Except for posting token inputs from the citizens on its website, the
panel intends to largely ignore the opinions of the sovereign People as it
redesigns the tax system. The few “public” meetings that are being held
amount to little more than window dressing, designed to establish a
handful of data points for the historical record, and to create the
illusion of representative deliberation, honest and vigorous public
debate, and constitutional due diligence.
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The “fix” is in. Fundamental tax reform is nothing more than an
opportunity for the government, intellectual and financial elite to
implement more efficient economic, administrative and enforcement
machinery capable of generating the taxes required to carry out their
elitist agendas, engineer their visions of utopian society, and of course,
insure that their fortunes and social statures remain secure and intact.
The President's selection of panel members, as well as the panel's choice
of witnesses, clearly bear these assertions out: self-interested parties,
law and tax firm partners, barons of finance and investment, experts in
the fields of econometrics, work theory and international trade and
finance, etc.
Although these viewpoints may be necessary in debating and considering
fundamental tax reform, the panel is ignoring the larger foundational
principles around which our Republic was founded and our society is meant
to be ordered, and for which the People have paid dearly. These principles
are all that stand between the elite and their ends.
That the President's panel would ignore the Constitution of this
nation, and the unalienable Rights of We the People, while reforming the
single most intrusive and dangerous function of government, should give us
all great pause.
The
panel's recommendations are to be delivered to the President on July 31st.
Before then, the voice of freedom needs to be heard by the Panel. Americans
in large numbers, who believe their servant government should be held
accountable to the Constitution’s taxing clauses, need to speak loudly
enough to cause the Panel to take a mid-course correction. Otherwise,
our Republic, with its essential principles -- designed by our Founders with
divine providence, will continue its “rush to the bottom.”
The power to tax is the power to destroy. Taxes have become a means to an
end -- the exercise and protection of political and secular power.
As we
have stated previously, the tax panel is on its way to recommending BOTH a
new national consumption tax and a continuation of the income tax, probably
in the form of a “flat tax.”
Our
Founders severely restricted the power of the federal government to tax.
Checks and balances were built into the Constitution to insure the
protection of the People against tax tyranny. That the People would stand in
silence, and fail to repel an attempt to install, or to continue a
constitutionally repugnant method of taxation, will haunt the soul of
America for generations.
Without doubt, the coming tax “reforms” now envisioned by our leaders are
patently incompatible with fundamental constitutional and moral principles.
We the People of America must act – and soon. We need to plan our work and
work the Plan.
Ideas
and leadership are required.
Send
your ideas. Step forward into positions of local leadership.
More soon.
San
Francisco
The President's tax panel is meeting again in San Francisco on March 31.
We would encourage everyone in California and the surrounding states to
contact our WTPC National Director,
Tim
Randolph (who is also the acting CA state coordinator), and
commit to joining him and other WTP supporters, once again, confront the
President's tax reform panel in San Francisco and demand answers to our
questions.
We would also like to place a full page ad in a major San Francisco
newspaper to coincide with the event.
Donations
are needed ASAP.
The San Francisco event will be held at the Fort Mason Center, Landmark
Building A, in San Francisco, CA, in the Marina District between Fisherman's
Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge. Although there is no street address, the
entrance to the center is at the intersection of Marina Blvd. and Buchanan
Street. The public meeting begins at 9 AM.
Update Related Links
President's Tax Reform Panel website.
Get the instructions on how to submit your public
comments.
Donate
– Please consider a donation of whatever you can commit
to running the San Francisco ad and deferring the costs of supporting this
event.
Remember, It is
only
your generous gifts that enable the Foundation
to sustain its engagement in this fight.
Click here to make a
one-time or
monthly
tax-deductible
donation.
You have our sincerest gratitude.
Donations may be also be made by mail:
We The People Foundation
2458 Ridge Road
Queensbury, NY 12804
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April 15th is Coming!
Pass Out the Washington
Times Ad!
Full-size,
Color
Reprints
Full-size, color
reprints of this WTP ad which was run in two editions
of The
Washington Times in February are now available.
We just received another print run of the ads.
RIGHT-Click to preview the ad.
(800 KB, .pdf)
Click Here to order bulk-quantity copies of the ad
from the WTP on-line Store.
100 for a donation of $25,
500 for a donation of $100
(SHIPPING INCLUDED)
Click here to access the special
link contained in
the
Washington Times ad. The link contains a readable &
printable version of
the ad as well as copies of the information packets WTP sent to every
member of the tax panel.
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Add
Yourself to Our e-Mail List!
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We would also remind each of our supporters to use the
"MyWTP" link located on the header of every WTP web page |
This function enables you to update your personal information,
change your e-mail address,
sign up as a WTP Congress volunteer,
become a local Coordinator, perform
Coordinator restricted functions,
and access the secure content
on the WTP site.
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