“One of the most insidious consequences of the present burden of personal income tax is that it strips many middle-class families of financial reserves. [It] has made the individual vastly more dependent on the State.”

Apparently, the State has been accruing power like Barad Dur while I slept. The only thing for which I'm grateful to Obama is that his egotism, his end runs around Congress, his fiats, have FINALLY begun to expose the festering mass to daylight.

This is what the Libs don't get...When you tax the Hell out of the productive, goal oreinted, responsible people to help those who won't even try...those "career" welfare recipients...what you end up with is a situation where it is not even worth while to try and get ahead. You know before you start that you will be robbed blind so that so and so can sit on his ass for life. And the hard working are eventually destitute as well...and that is why Socialism fails, every time!

Bill Benson went to every state in the Union to check out how and when each state ratified the income tax. What did he find? That the income tax was never properly ratified. Ratification was a sham visited upon the American people. Benson published two volumes of his findings and gifted each congressman at the time with the two volumes of his findings. What were the results? Nothing -- because congress as usual ignored him.

Mr Benson was a former revenue agent for Illinois and the title of his book was "The Law That Never Was".

'The Law That Never Was' Bill Benson http://www.thelawthatneverwas.com/new/theman.asp 16th Amendment was never ratified.

I am pleased to see by their stars that the rest of the respondants see that we need a graduated tax rate system in which the rich pay taxes at higher rates than the middle-class, which in turn pay at higher rates than the poor... now we just need to agree to eliminate loop holes that make the rich's effective rate lower than that of the middle-class.

Mary, in the early 80s I was involved in a suit against the federal government concerning ratification. After much tribulation, it was finally accepted in to a court and then quickly adjourned, never to be re-called into session. (-; hmmm ;-) I only had a small research roll and moved on, never hearing what ultimately happened to the case. The quote is a very accurate observation.

Reston, the LAST thing we need is a "graduated" tax that targets the rich....first of all define "rich". What we need is a flat tax on saleable items and ZERO income tax. Abolish the Fed AND the IRS. Restore the Republic.

The 'A' from Reston, your comment made me smile. As usual, your liberal interpretation of the here comments, the quote's meaning, and lawful de jure government is wrong. I disagree with Carlton here in that the thieving / enslaving income tax as well as a flat tax are not needed. Here with Carlton, how do you define rich and what is a loop hole? How is it morally right to steal from anyone? What is the lawful nexus whereby the thief has right to the robbed's property? Don't feel bad, Waffler couldn't answer that either. He could only come up with some theocratic mumbo-jumbo that avoided all relation to law.

Point taken Mike. Flat tax may be the wrong term for what I'm thinking. Sales tax to directy support infrastructure is probably more what I'm trying to say. But even then only under an accountable administration....and all the details that would go with it under a system of justice.

This is why the FAIRTAX makes so much sense. Please read the house bill and visit the FAIRTAX website before coming to a decision. It makes a lot of sense for everyone.

Reston, when you tax the rich man more-he raises the prices on what we buy from him. We pay his taxes. Get it.

Isn't that the goal of the progressive movement: a strong central government and a population completely dependent upon the the State? Of course, it is the CHANGE promised by the current president. And it is completely contradictory to the rule of law in this republic. As this education system has raised and (un)educated for 30 years those who do not know history, they are rolling over like lapdogs and cheering to be petted on the belly, while those who know the falisy of such promises are sickened to see all that our Founders and forefathers fought for go to hell while the free-est, and most generous nation in the history of the world is dragged into the pit of collectivism or whatever ism is currently removing individual liberty today.--

Unlike most of your quotes, this one makes an empirical claim, one that needs to be substantiated before the quote can be taken seriously.