OPINION: Time to eliminate payroll taxes, welfare services

Why? It was designed to gain massive financial, social and political gains for the proponents of climate change at the expense of we the people who were expected to sacrifice our own financial, social and political freedoms to satisfy their ambitions.

So, how many of the other “emergencies” fall into the same category? Has our nation’s health been misjudged for the sole purpose of turning over a major part of our economy to the politicians and bureaucrats in Washington? Are all those appeals for donations to one desperate cause or another real, or are they based on false or non-existent data?

Would all these financial institutions that were “too big to allow to fail” have done as much damage as the massive spending deficits being run up by our government? Would General Motors and Chrysler have survived after a normal bankruptcy without the billions of federal dollars they collected from our pockets?

I believe that in every case above, and many others, government intervention did far more damage than good. If we could just get government out of the way and allow the marketplace work as it should, most of these so called crises would be resolved If we remove the unnecessary government regulations from the workplace the cost of American made goods will be competitive with those from outside the U.S. A dramatic cut or even elimination of payroll taxes would boost employment to the point that even those unneeded government workers would easily find truly productive jobs.

Just imagine a nation where workers get to keep all the money they earn and are allowed to spend it as they wish. Imagine a nation where workers never have to worry about filing income tax returns on April 15.

Imagine a nation where everyone who wants to work can easily find jobs, and those who don’t want to work will have to find a way to take care of themselves. Imagine a nation were anyone who wants to start a home-based business can do so without having to fill out tons of tax forms and permit requests.

How do we achieve this? First, we should insist that our governments strictly obey the limits set by the Constitution as written, not as some judge thinks it should have said. We should eliminate all payroll taxes and apply a consumer tax at the wholesale level. That would force imported goods to pay the same taxes as the things we build here at home. We should dramatically reduce or eliminate government welfare programs, returning the responsibility for the care of those who cannot care for themselves to family, church and community where it belongs.

With these changes, U.S. made products will be competitive with imports. People will be free to start their own family business without interference from government so that they can support and care for themselves and their families. Unemployment would virtually vanish from our economy. And government can devote their time to preserving the safety, defense and communication systems that cross state lines.

President Reagan was right when he said, “Government is not the solution, government is the problem.”

Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal. His e-mail address is frank@frankgillispie.com. His website can be accessed at http://www.frankgillispie.com/gillispieonline.