Ron Paul Food Drive

http://ronpaulfooddrive.com/

      "We’ve seen what the power of grassroots action has done for Ron Paul’s campaign, despite mainstream opposition. Let’s combine that same grassroots action with voluntary charity to fight hunger and help those in need during these times of economic distress,"  says a passage on the Ron Paul Food Drive web site;  http://ronpaulfooddrive.com/

     The innovative people which support Ron Paul for President have again come up with a unique way to promote their candidate.    The latest plan is to donate 10,000 pounds of food to charity in the name of Ron Paul.  This promotion has the advantage of being just in time for the holidays, showing that the spirit of voluntary contribution is a viable alternative to government programs and multiplying the dollars spent by both supporting Dr. Paul and helping those in need.
     I plan on supporting my local Ron Paul Food Drive.  I hope you will visit the site listed above and donate some food also.

     

Conservative Rating System Part II

     In an earlier post, I outlined ten conservative principles that I turned into a 100 point scale.  By using this scale, I believe that Politicians, Pundits and Public Figures can be scored to determine their level of conservatism.

     I eventually plan to rate various people and use statistical analysis to determine a rating system that accurately identifies Conservatives, Moderates and Liberals.  Until that time, I suggest the following scale:

0-30 points         Liberal

35-65 points       Moderate

70-100 points     Conservative

    Rate yourself.  Look at the ten principles in the earlier post.  For each principle you agree with completely, give yourself 10 points.  For each one you agree with partially or are undecided about, give yourself 5 points. For each principle you disagree with, add zero points.  Compare your score to the scale above.  Go ahead, ask yourself, how conservative am I?

Conservative Book List --- What's Howard Reading?

What Howard's Reading This Week

     Rich Dad's Real Estate Advantages 

is a decent book that gives me some ideas of how to save taxes.  I just have to remember to check with my local CPA first.

Matt Jensen - Savage Territory 

is a good book from William Johnstone's "Last Mountain Man" Series. The link above is for the Kindle version.  

Conservative Rating System

           One of the things that attracted me to conservative thought was its staunch opposition to collectivism.  The Cold War was at its pinnacle as I was coming of age, so many Conservatives were leading the forces against communism.  I drew from this that to be conservative was to be anti-totalitarian and anti-communist.

           With this idea in mind, I have devised a quick rating system to score public figures, pundits and politicians.  I began by looking at the Communist Manifesto.  I first took the opposite of the ten "principles" of the Communist Manifesto to create a set of Conservative Principles. 

           By examining a public figure's, pundit's or politician's statements and actions on each of these principles, a person can be scored as either agreeing with the principle completely (10 points), agreeing with the principle partially (5 points), or not agreeing with the principle at all (0 points).  This creates an easy 100 point scale which can be used to give a "Conservative Rating" to each individual.

Conservative Principles: 

1.    Private property rights must be universal and strongly protected.  Government should control the minimal amount of property necessary to carry out good governance and protect citizens from forces that would do them harm, both foreign and domestic.

2.    There should be no income tax or other forms of direct taxation.

3.    The legal transfer of wealth from generation to generation must not be encumbered.

4.    The State should not be able to confiscate privately held property without due process of law; nor should private property be taken for public use.

5.    The function of banking and credit should be carried out by competing private interests.  No State sponsored bank or credit institution should be allowed to exist.

6.    All people should be allowed to freely speak, assemble, worship, communicate and travel without interference from the State.

7.    All lands, factories and instruments of production shall be owned by private entities and market forces should be trusted to assure the best possible allocation of all resources.

8.    Free people should be allowed to trade their labor for whatever ends they wish.  The State owns no person and should not direct any person as to how they use their skills, talents or intellect.

9.    Government should have no interest in where people choose to live.  Each person should be free to choose where they live with respect to other people.

10. Education of children is the responsibility of parents.  People should be free to raise their children according to their own background and culture, as long as to do so causes no tangible harm.

I plan to use this system in the near future to give a "Conservative Rating" to some candidates and other public figures.

Conservative Book List --- What's Howard Reading?

  I'm usually reading two books at once.  Or, more accurately, I usually read one book at home and have a recorded book in my vehicle.  I thought some Conscious Conservatives might be interested in books that will either broaden their education, be entertaining or both.  Here's what I'm reading.

Righteous Warrior:  Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism

by William A. Link 

The Real Book of Real Estate:  Real Experts.  Real Stories.  Real Life.

by Robert Kiyosaki

 Feel free to add your own reading suggestions in the comments section.

A Simple Tax and Social Services Plan

   

  I must start this post by writing that I believe that all direct taxes (income tax, etc.) are evil and actually a form of armed robbery or a "protection" scheme.  I also disagree with the concept of "redistribution of wealth," which means in reality stealing from one person, taking a healthy cut, and giving what is left over to another "more deserving" person.  Direct tax schemes are used in the United States as much to control the populace and enhance government power as they are to raise revenue and should be eliminated.  That being written, I believe that direct taxation, redistribution and economic extortion via tax code have become entrenched in the American system.   The people cannot rid themselves of these evils quickly.  Until we do get rid of them in favor of a more humane system, we should at least perform the functions of direct taxation and redistribution in a way that is efficient and that does the least to enhance government power via tax code extortion.
     I cannot take full credit for what I propose here, Milton Friedman and others have proposed similar programs.  I propose that we create a simple tax system that guarantees each person in the United States a minimum income and taxes people more evenly, based on their income.  After consulting the Federal Poverty guidelines, I believe that that we should set a minimum income of $10,000 per year for each adult and $7,500 a year for each child.  Each person who makes below this level would get a check from the government for the difference.  Each person who makes over that amount would pay 10% of the excess in taxes.  No long forms, no adjustments, no deductions, no loopholes are allowed.
   
     How would this look with three families of four, two adults and two children?

Family "A" has $20,000 a year in income.  Their minimum income is $35,000
( 2 adults X $10,000 = $20,000 plus 2 children X $ 7,500 = $15,000 = $35,000 total)
Since their income is only $20,000, they would receive a check for $15,000 after they file their tax return.

Family "B" has $35,000 a year in income.  Since they are at their minimum, they would not receive a check, but would not pay any taxes either.

Family "C" has $50,000 a year in income.  Since they make $15,000 annually over the minimum, they would pay $1500 in taxes.
($50,000 income-$35,000 minimum = $15,000,  $15,000 X 10% = $1500)

Another example:

An elderly couple who lives off of their savings (no income).  They would receive $20,000 per year to supplement that savings.  (2 adults X $10,000 = $20,000 total.  $20,000 - $0 income = $20,000)

   This simple tax system makes sure that every American would have a minimum standard of living and also that taxes are collected purely to raise revenue, not increase government power.  This simple method of taxation eliminates divisive programs such as TANF (welfare), SNAP (food stamps) and public housing.  It would also replace Social Security and corporate welfare in the form of "tax credits."  It would shrink the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to a level where they would no longer need to be cabinet level agencies.  It gets rid of the need for a minimum wage law.  The greatest benefit of this simple tax system is that it takes away the government's power to use economic coercion to make us eat more corn, buy solar panels, buy a bigger house than we can afford, build fast food restaurants in China or whatever other actions we can take to benefit politicians' friends and supporters at our expense.

Conscious Conservative Book Review--American Theocracy

     In the book American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century, Kevin Phillips puts forward the proposition that the United States is headed for a perfect storm that may end the country as it currently exists.  He believes that the current peril is created by energy (especially oil) interests, undue influence of end times theologians and runaway personal and public debt.  He compares the United States to other empires (including the British, Dutch and Hapsburg empires) which he states failed for similar reasons.   
     American Theocracy gives a detailed description of the history of oil production.  It does a decent job of showing how energy supremacy relates to world supremacy by comparing Dutch wind technology to British coal technology to American oil technology.  The book also discusses how oil interests affect both military and economic policy in the United States and Britain.
     As the title American Theocracy suggests, a major part of the book concerns a turn towards dogmatic religious beliefs at the end of many empires.  Although the book provides plenty of data, it does not make a strong enough argument to show a causative effect.  It may be that people reach for their religion of choice when they sense a decline in lifestyle.  It may also be that when a country can no longer show superiority by economic or military might, politicians still try to assert that their government is superior because, "God said so."  One important point the book makes is how the peculiar breed of "end times theology" popular in the United States and Britain affects both  environmental policy and foreign policy decisions about the middle east.
     Mr. Phillips appears especially concerned about the Bush dynasty.  I like his references to "Bush the Elder" and "Bush the Younger."  I have the advantage of reading this book several years after it was published and of seeing how some of the books predictions have played out and how the world looks since Bush the Younger has left office.  America's credit problems actually turned out worse than predicted by Phillips.  As I write this, the credit crunch that American Theocracy warns about has happened and we are in the middle (hopefully) of a "lost decade" of economic stagnation.  However, there is still ever increasing public debt and the "lost decade" threatens to continue to 15 years or longer.  Bush the Younger has been replaced by Barack Obama.  President Obama has continued the economic and military policies of Bush despite Candidate Obama's campaign pledges.  Mr. Phillips may be correct that there are interests more powerful than the Presidency at work.
    American Theocracy is not light reading.  It is full of complex arguments and loaded with statistics to back those arguments.  It compares current conditions in the United States to those at the end of other empires.  I believe it is required reading for those who wish to go beyond the simple "Democrats vs. Republicans," or "Big Oil Bad," sound bite arguments and truly want to learn some of the subtle yet powerful forces and belief systems that guide policy decisions in the United States.