Tax Time Again – Do More Than Complain

So it’s now only a month away from April 15th again and Tea Parties are in full swing.

What’s a Tea Party?  Well, the name, of course, comes from the Boston Tea Party of Revolutionary War fame and, I guess, the theory is to let our elected Representatives know about our displeasure with the current Tax System.  It’s a nice idea, probably makes people feel better about things, but it isn’t going to work … here’s why:

Yes, there will be a lot of these events all over the country, but Congress isn’t going to care because Congress isn’t going to hear about most of them.  The average Congressman or Senator might hear about one of these events, but not about the aggregate – the total of all of them.  And even if they do acknowledge the scope, they probably won’t care because it’s just one day and the election’s a long way off.

The campaign to send tea bags to Congress is even more useless. 

This is an idea to go buy tea bags and send them to your Congressman or Senators through the US Mail.  Now, think about that for a moment.  After 9/11 and Anthrax, who really thinks these things are going to get anywhere near Congress? 

This is a waste of good tea.

Even if the bags made it through to the Representative’s office, or the mail room that throws them away gave the office a count of tea bags received, what good would that do?  Some Congressional staffer will just tell the Congressman, “Apparently X number of your constituents don’t like taxes … or think you should drink more tea … we’re really not sure which.”

My point is that the current tax system is the status quo and a protest against the status quo is useless unless it presents an alternative.

The current tax system is a source of power and money for those in Washington.  In order to get them to change it, we have to make them believe that we have the power to threaten that power and money ourselves … and the source of that threat is our vote.

We have to make our elected representatives truly, viscerally believe that not changing the tax system will result in the total loss of all that power they love so much.  And we have to tell them how we want it changed.

We do that not with a once-a-year tea party protest, not by sending them a tea bag they’ll never see, but by contacting them, frequently, with what we want and assuring them that we’ll vote this issue. 

For myself, I’m in favor of the Fair Tax.  I think it’s the best answer out there.  It may not be perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than what we have now and that’s a start.

If you don’t know what the Fair Tax is, then spend a few minutes visiting the site and learning about it.  If you’ve heard negative things about it, visit the site and read the rebuttals … in many cases, opponents of the Fair Tax are either ignorant of the facts or being disingenuous.  You can learn the basics of the plan in a lot less time than it’s going to take you to do your taxes this year.

Use the Fair Tax Calculator to see the difference the Fair Tax, as written, would make in your family’s life.

So once you’ve gotten the facts and decided that the Fair Tax is a good idea, what can you do about it that’ll be more effective than a once a year rally or wasting a tea bag?

First, if you’re not entirely convinced, you might want to pick up the two Fair Tax books and read them:

Second, if you’re not registered to vote, then get off your ass! 

You can fill the form out and print it, then drop it in the mail for the cost of a stamp.  There’s no excuse.

Third, sign the Fair Tax petition.

Fourth, go forth and tell five friends to get off their ass and sign the petition!

If you don’t have five friends, then go tell ten strangers.  (The extra five are punishment for being asocial and not having five friends.)

Fifth, contact Congress regularly on this issue – not every week, but maybe quarterly.  Set up a reminder in Google Calendar or something, but

You can find and contact your Senators, Congressman and President Obama through these links:

http://www.house.gov/
http://www.senate.gov/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

You can also make use of The Bloviater’s free RallyCongress petition to automatically look up your representatives and send the following letter:

I am writing to you in support of the Fair Tax Act (HR 25, S 296).

Especially in these hard economic times, Americans need the relief offered by this legislation. By allowing hard-working citizens to keep all of their paycheck and pay taxes only on their spending, the Fair Tax Act would give families the decision-making power they desperately require.

In addition, by eliminating the double-taxation penalties currently faced by American companies doing business abroad, the Fair Tax Act would spur economic growth here at home, making the United States a destination of choice for corporations and creating enumerable jobs.

I urge you to support the Fair Tax Act not only with your vote, but by becoming a cosponsor of the legislation.

As a registered voter, taxation and its effect on the economy are issues I feel strongly about.

All you need to do is enter your name and address to support the Fair Tax.

All of this (except the books) costs less than a tea bag and it’ll have more impact.