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This Freaks Me Out

I’ve been a little worried about this whole Ron Paul thing for a couple of days, and today it only got worse. It started with the realization that one of my biggest fears has started to come true lately–this is starting to look like a Ron Paul blog. I haven’t been posting much stuff recently about rasslin’, getting held up at gunpoint by the gov’ment, or local porn stars. I remember how annoyed I got earlier this year with the “Run Fred Run” hype that was going on in the Tennessee blogosphere, and I don’t want to be doing the same thing with regards to Ron Paul, even if it is relevant.

Then my world really came crashing down. I had a conversation today with a friend of mine that has made me question everything in life I know to be true. To give those of you who know him a frame of reference, it’s that guy you’d least like to face in the front row. So I’m sure you can actually hear him saying, “I been readin’ yer website. You like that Ron Paul fella don’t cha?”

For those of you who don’t know him, he’s among the most reliable, solid, stand up guys you could ever know. He’s also very set in his ways. I wouldn’t go so far as to call him close-minded, but that is mostly due to the fact that doing so may put me in danger of having him choke me with my own small intestine. Let’s just say that he defends his own views strongly and leave it at that. Imagine what Fred Thompson would be like if he ate nothing but raw meat laced with gunpowder for a few months, and you’ll be close to understanding this guy.

Anyway, I was extremely shocked when he said, “I like that guy the best out of all of ’em. It kinda scares me that you like him too, ’cause you got some fv(ked up politics.” Believe me, it is just as scary to me as it is to him that we actually agree on who we’d like to see as the Republican nominee.

This Ron Paul thing may just work out after all. Hopefully I was wrong!

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Knox County Property Tax Increase?!

WHAT?!?!!? Wasn’t it the threat of a property tax increase the used to strongarm the public into voting to approve the doubling of the wheel tax a couple of years ago?!?!!? By the way, that money was supposed to go for the new downtown library. If you haven’t been, take a trip downtown and check it out. It is truly a beautiful building. And the books–you’ve never seen books such as these.

Right.

Here’s my favorite quote from the KNS story:

“We’ve had very solid economic growth, but I don’t think anybody anticipated the impact of the pension plan on the budget,” the mayor said.

Actually, I think there were quite a few of us who anticipated this impact. That’s why we voted against it! I don’t need access to the accounting records of the county to know that spending a ton of money that wasn’t spent previously is going to impact a budget.

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What if We Payed Taxes All at Once?

I’ve been reading lots of articles today that are run every year at this time about “giving the government an interest free loan”, getting a refund, filing early if there is a refund, filing at the end if there isn’t, etc.

I wonder if there would be more of a public outcry over taxes if we had to pay a single bill at the end of the year.  It is pretty sneaky that the gov’ment takes taxes out of your check at every pay period.  Most people never miss it.  But what if we had to write a check out each April for $20,000 or so?  I bet people would notice then.

It’s funny how some people even go beyond the “convenience” of paying each pay period.  They make sure that they pay more so that they can get a refund at the end of the year…sort of like a negative interest savings account.  How sad is it that we, collectively, don’t have the discipline to save and are willing to pay the gov’ment to do it for us?

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Why the National Libertarian Party Should Pack It In

It’s very interesting to read so much on the web about the buzz Ron Paul is creating in his presidential run. Sure, it’s early still, and I’m not unrealistic about his chances, but I’ve heard more people mention his name already this year than I heard discussing Badnarik in 2004. Although many hardline libertarians would disagree, the fact that he’s a libertarian (basically) running as a Republican is all the more encouraging to me. I believe the Libertarian Party should cease pursuing offices at the national level.Like it or not, a great number of Americans think that there are only two political parties in this country, and that they are diametrically opposed to one another. Even those who are aware that other parties exist seem partial to believing that “other” parties are full of nuts/extremists. Most of those who don’t share this belief think that voting for anything other than a Democrat or a Republican is a wasted vote, since this vote cannot possibly contribute to a potential win for a candidate.

By running as a Republican, Ron Paul will do more for the libertarian movement than he could ever do by running as a libertarian candidate. First of all, he will not be shut out of nationally broadcast debates. This will give him the opportunity to not only get his own ideas across, but also give him the opportunity to call other candidates on their BS to be seen by a large audience. Remember when Alan Keyes got the opportunity to say this on Fox News in 1999:

And so what are we supposed to do again, get down on our knees and thank “Master Bush” now because he’s going to let us keep a little bit more of our own money? And we’ll thank “Master So-and-so” when they do it.

I think it’s time we realized that that kind of thinking is for slaves.

My ancestors were slaves. I abhor to think like one today.

The tax system for a free people is not a tax that gives the government a preemptive claim to a single penny of your income, and the right reform of this system is to get rid of the 16th Amendment, abolish the income tax, and return to the original Constitution of our country which funded the federal government with tariffs, duties, and excise taxes.

It would be tough to get a statement such as this out to such a broad audience without being affiliated with one of the two major parties.  Keyes didn’t get the nomination, but he did get that message across and made an attempt to push the tax debate in the right direction.

Another problem the LP has to overcome to win a national election is that this is a big nation with lots of people. Even if several libertarian strongholds like the Free State Project were established, it would be very difficult to win even one state, much less enough to compete for the presidency.  While some would argue that it is important to get the message out at the national level, wouldn’t it make more sense to concentrate efforts at the local level where the possibility of winning is reasonable?