Taxes

Last night my dear dear friend Ivy called me. We haven't talked for about a month or so, so it was great to hear from her. We caught up on life: marriage, politics, and careers. It was nice! I really miss her, it's hard to maintain contact because I realize how much I miss her when we do talk. Life is so hard sometimes.

Anyway, in our conversation, she told me about this documentary she watched awhile back with her husband. The documentary: America: Freedom to Fascism, is about a group of Americans who believe the 16th Amendment to the Constitution DOES NOT make legal federal income taxes, and that in essence, the 16th Amendment was never honestly ratified by all the states.

So, my dear dear friend Ivy tells me to look into this documentary, and the claims in the documentary. She has become one of those Americans who believes Federal Income Taxes is illegal, and that there is no law anywhere that allows the government to collect income taxes.

I tried to look all this stuff up. I watched a clip of the documentary, I read articles about the organized groups of people who believe this...and I have to admit. I'm freaking confused. The 16th Amendment was passed in 1913, the language is not a language I understand (like most legal documents, the words are written in a very confusing way). Taxes are broken up into this and that, and government can do one, but not the other. Than some people say income taxes are legal because they are categorized as one thing...and yadda yadda yadda

I ended my research with this theory. IF the 16th Amendment does not allow government to collect federal income taxes...why has it not been overturned in the past 95 years since its ratification? IF federal income taxes are illegal...as these groups say...should we stop paying them? Wouldn't that just make matters in America worse?

I'm not sold on the theory. And even if I were sold on it, I think it's been going on for so long...ending federal income taxes would be detrimental to this country. We rely on it too much. Yea, it sucks paying taxes...but it pays for my police, my roads, my job!!! I think taxes have a reason behind them...and I agree with those reasons about 90% of the time. I do not think the 16th Amendment should be considered illegal. I do not think the federal government should stop collecting income taxes. I do not think it's illegal to pay for government services.

I understand the theories. Yes, our democracy was never meant to include such a large government. And honestly, I'm not a supporter of how large our government has become over the years. But, in order for us to downsize the government...we need to have better policies in place. At the moment, those policies DO NOT exist. Conspiracy theories about how the government is corrupt, and yadda yadda does not help our democracy. It only hurts us.

Sometimes I just get so sick of all the fighting on both sides (and yes, I do it too...so I'm not perfect). I just wish people would realize that fighting about something that happened in 1913, and start fighting for things that you can change now!!!! In order to stop federal taxes, you need to find a way out of what our government has become first. So stop fighting, and start looking for alternatives.

And that's my peace!