Capitalism Institute

IRS Targeted Pro-Life Group Over “Prayer Meetings”

May 18, 2013 Shaun Connell

The tyrants at the IRS are no strangers to attacking peaceful people who haven’t violated the rights of others. If anything, that’s literally the job description. The IRS wasn’t necessary for over 100 years of American government. It was only created when the government exploded in size and scope.

That the IRS is used to prop up a tyrannical government explains why it has a history of being used to attack people who challenge the state. Libertarians, conservatives, the Tea Party, and religious organizations have all experienced harassment and persecution in the past.

For example, two pro-life groups, “Coalition for Life” and “Christian Voices for Life”, in 2009 were informed by the IRS that they weren’t to be allowed to protest or picket abortion “clinics”. Then, they were asked about their prayer meetings — they were informed that they must provide information about how much they prayed, what they prayed about, and other details about their religious choices.

Here’s a direct quotation from the letter the pro-life group received from the IRS:

“Please explain how all of your activities, including the prayer meetings held outside of Planned Parenthood, are considered educational as defined under 501(c)(3)… Organizations exempt under 501(c)(3) may present opinions with scientific or medical facts. Please explain in detail the activities at these prayer meetings. Also, please provide the percentage of time your organization spends on prayer groups as compared with the other activities of the organization.”

The above is only part of the story. They were also told that they wouldn’t be able to stage protests at Planned Parenthood abortion facilities. From the Christian Post:

“In June 2009, an agent from the IRS office in Cincinnati, Ohio, asked Coalition For Life of Iowa to ‘send in a letter with the entire board’s signatures stating that under perjury of the law we would not picket/protest or organize groups to picket/protest outside of Planned Parenthood,’ the pro-life group said in a statement Friday.”

This wasn’t an isolated political attack. A journalist was ferociously targeted after questioning Obama. Tea Party groups were halted for two full years before the election. The IRS tried to rig the election. And the White House knew what was happening.

This isn’t the first time the Obama administration has attacked people over religious liberty. Remember, Hobby Lobby is a large corporation that could very well be fully destroyed — they’re refusing to cave on Obamacare, because they believe abortion is wrong, and refuse to subsidize it.

They already pay for their eligible employees’ insurance. They just refuse to give up on abortion. It’s about their ability to serve God as they see fit. They’ve made it clear… they’re willing to go bankrupt before caving on their integrity.

Click here to read Hobby Lobby’s response to Obamacare.

This is a culture of corruption in an empire of tyranny. The solution should be obvious, and it’s something Capitalism Institute will cover more going forward: it’s time to talk about abolishing the IRS forever.

The first step is to raise awareness. People need to know how broken the system is. Please help them understand by spreading this message on Facebook and Twitter.

IRS Scandal Spreads: Officials in Washington Were Involved

May 15, 2013 Shaun Connell No comments

Many people are coming forward with scandal after scandal for the Obama administration, apparently explaining that the Obama administration has been involved in a series of cover ups. The latest cover up is an attempt to explain why the IRS targeted constitution and Tea-Party groups with the IRS.

The official story by the IRS is that it was just a local issue, and that it wasn’t politically motivated. Now we know this is simply ludicrous, as lawyers, activists, and even some IRS officials have come forward with the truth.

What is the truth? Washington knew about the targeting and was even helping review man of the applications. In other words, the notion that this was just a local issue is patently false, and DC was in on it. The leadership of the IRS should be completely replaced and, ideally, the IRS should be abolished — it’s simply too powerful over peaceful people, and engages in systematic theft of citizens.

The Washington Post reports:

In one instance, however, Ron Bell, an IRS employee, informed a lawyer representing a conservative group focused on voter fraud that the application was under review in Washington. On several other occasions, IRS officials in Washington and California sent conservative groups detailed questionnaires about their voter outreach and other activities, according to the documents.

“For the IRS to say it was some low-level group in Cincinnati is simply false,” said Cleta Mitchell, a partner in the law firm Foley & Lardner who sought to communicate with IRS headquarters about the delay in granting tax-exempt status to True the Vote.

Now, the Justice Department is investigating the IRS scandal, along with three investigations by three committees in congress. The Associated Press reports via Yahoo News reports:

The Justice Department is investigating the Internal Revenue Service for targeting tea party groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax exempt status, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday, widening a probe that includes investigations by three committees in Congress.

In the end, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll find out more, and I think we all know that this goes far higher up than whatever the IRS claimed at first. Obama is apparently used to lying about his scandals — and it’s only getting worse. In the end, this should be yet another example of justification for impeachment.

Video: Jon Stewart Destroys Obama on IRS Scandal

May 14, 2013 Shaun Connell No comments

The IRS has targeted Tea Party groups with years worth of extra paperwork, discrimination, and other harassment — because of their political views. This is a violation of the constitution on multiple levels. The IRS response? They apologized. That’s right — apologized. The leader didn’t step down, nobody was charged with a crime, no money returned, no one was compensated for the lost time — just an apology.

In other words, when you lie to the IRS, you go to jail. When the IRS lies to us, they get away with an apology. It’s disgusting. Jon Stewart had a special segment on the topic, as you can see below:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

Stewart is a liberal comedian who isn’t afraid to occasionally critique Obama — though he generally defends his policies. Still, the fact that the IRS scandal is so blatant it shows that it’s not even really controversial. It’s just criminal.

The government isn’t your friend. It’s trying to be your master. The only question is whether we keep putting up with it.

USDA Advertises Food Stamps to Illegal Immigrants

April 28, 2013 Shaun Connell No comments

Just when you thought the obvious political corruption couldn’t get any worse, well, it just did. The USDA has apparently been spending tax-payer dollars advertising in Spanish, explaining that they won’t check the “immigration status” of people applying for food stamps. In other words, they’re trying to encourage illegal immigrants to get on the welfare system.

The reasoning for this is fairly obvious — this is a long-term investment in government dependence. By law, children born in the US are US citizens, meaning if they can create as much of an incentive for families on welfare to grow, then they get more future voters.

This doesn’t mean everyone on welfare votes Democrat, nor does it mean that every illegal will take advantage of it. But the math is unavoidable — this creates voters, it creates dependence, and it makes the “lower taxes and spending” platform impossible over time. This is political corruption… with your money.

This is an emotional topic for some, because they support free-market immigration policies — if people want to work for a living, they should be allowed to do so, so long as they go through the proper legal channels. This, however, has nothing to do with corruption and theft being encouraged by the federal government.

Regardless of your stance on immigration, it should be incredibly obvious that stealing from citizens to give to non-citizens is morally indefensible. But doing it for political power over time? That’s a level of political corruption that would make the Chinese blush.

Meanwhile, people on food stamps are hitting all-time highs. At least 47,000,000 Americans are now on food stamps. The people on food stamps and welfare in America outnumber most of the countries in the history of civilization. If you want an example of an unsustainable economy, this is it.

For an example of more corruption, read how some people are getting $7,000 on EBT cards.

Of course, the goal isn’t to fix the economy. The goal is to break it. When people are hungry and desperate, they’re far more open to a “fundamental transformation” of the economy and the political system. Hold on, everyone — things are going to get a heck of a lot worse.

Obama’s Plan to Cap Retirement Accounts Won’t Apply to Him

April 25, 2013 Shaun Connell No comments

This shouldn’t surprise anyone who is used to keeping up with the “convenient” way things are done in DC. Apparently, Obama’s plan to cap retirement accounts won’t apply to his own pension, as Breitbart has pointed out..

First, a little background. Obama’s budget proposal has a collection of massive tax increases on the middle class. The goal is to raise $1.1 trillion in new taxes. Part of that plan is a cap on retirement accounts, as we’ve written about in the past:

“The plan is to cap retirement accounts at $3 million per account. If you think that’ll stay the same and they’ll never lower that amount until the middle class is hurt, well, I’ve got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.”

So how does it work? It caps how much money you can store in a tax deferred retirement account — but don’t worry, Obama’s pension won’t be touched. SF Gate reports:

The limit would not apply to Obama’s own pension, which is worth at least $5 million, because it is not in a tax-advantaged account, according to Brian Graff, executive director of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries. Obama’s pension, which guarantees him a Cabinet-level salary for life indexed to inflation, is a “non-qualified deferred compensation plan, similar to what corporate executives get,” he says.

The proposal would not cap those plans or prevent corporate executives from walking away with retirement packages worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, Graff says. But it could discourage some small- and mid-size business owners from continuing to contribute to employee retirement plans when their own balances hit $3 million, he says.

In other words, Obama is making sure that he and big donors aren’t hit — but small businesses and the middle class are fair game. Class warfare exists, but it’s not between rich and poor — it’s between the political class and everyone else. Pathetic.

Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars was right: there’s a war on small business, and Obama is leading the current wave. Click here to read more about Obama’s plan.

Don’t forget, this is only one of many of Obama’s plans to raise taxes on the middle class. Overall, he’s trying to raise $1.1 TRILLION in more taxes from an already struggling economy. That’s economic suicide. It’s important that we make this sting when it comes to political capital — please spread this on Facebook and Twitter to get the word out.

Hypocrisy: Joe Biden Only Gave 1.8% to Charity Last Year

April 14, 2013 Shaun Connell No comments

Even though the Biden’s made nearly $400,000 last year, and have many — if not most — expenses covered by taxpayers, the two only gave 1.8% to charity. If anyone else did this, it simply wouldn’t be our business. But Joe Biden has made an entire career out of robbing people while claiming they don’t care enough about the poor — the hypocrisy is disgusting.

Even then, a large portion of the 1.8% given in charity is clothing and other items, not just cash. This means that as a percentage of income, the number was even lower. Last year, it all only added up to 1.5%, which means that this is a pattern, not just an off year.

Remember, Biden and Obama have a plan to increase taxes on the poor, the middle class, and the rich. Their plan will make it more difficult to save for retirement. Their plan increases tobacco taxes. Their plan even makes it more difficult to run a charity. But they’re the ones who claim they’re “for the poor”? It’s a pathetic lie. There’s a war against the poor, but it’s being waged by people like Obama and Biden.

Obama is even worse. He only gave about 1% of the $1,000,000+ Michelle and he made from 2000 to 2004. Most of the Christian people I know gave more than they did with just a sliver of the income. Of course, when he decided to run for office, that amount went up because people were looking. Yes, they’re literally that obvious — and no, the media won’t call them on it.

It’s awkward and shameful that this is the group of people the media is painting as being “defenders” of the poor. It’s the exact opposite. These are the oppressors — creating a system where poverty is more common and success is more rare.

It’s Not About Fighting Poverty

Thousands of Americans who make just a fraction of what the Biden and Obama families make who give much more. Why? Because their goal is fundamentally different.

A strong and thriving middle class leads to people not being willing to try radical new forms of government. As the middle class was destroyed in Germany through economic ruin and hyperinflation, this paved the way for a desperate people to be open to Hitler. We know how that ended.

Politically speaking, if you want to change things and push a society toward socialism, you need to create poverty. It’s important to understand this. Nothing Obama does makes any sense until we do understand this. That’s why Obama is lying about taxes and tax rates. That’s why they ignore that charity helps more than government.

Their goal is power, and to get there, they’re going to need you broken and dependent. People need to understand this. Please share this on Facebook and Twitter so people can wake up.

How Obama Plans to Raise Taxes by $1.1 Trillion [Share This]

April 13, 2013 Shaun Connell No comments

A week ago, Obama’s administration leaked his plans to increase taxes on almost everyone. Later, when the full details were released, both parties were horrified at the plan — it was an incoherent mix of tax increases and budget changes that seemed almost crafted to infuriate everyone involved.

The end result was that almost every major opinion source has rejected the plan. Progressives downright threatened to primary any Democrat who even considered voting for it. Conservatives and libertarians alike have been outraged over the tax proposals.

Now we know how much in new taxes the plan could create… 1.1 trillion according to the Treasury Department. This massive tax hike during a broken economy is essentially economic suicide, but let’s look at each major part of the tax proposal specifically, courtesy of the Heritage Foundation.

Capping Deductions and Exemptions. The deductions and exemptions hit everyone, from corporations to individuals to even cities and towns which rely on issuing bonds for financing purposes. Part of his plan is to cap how much you can deduct from charitable donations. This is disgusting, because it means it’ll severely cut non-profits and charities. Remember, his goal is to replace everything with the state.

The “Buffett Rule”. We’ve talked about this in the past. The entire idea is based on bad economics, dishonesty by Buffett himself, and will destroy jobs — or stop them from being ever created in the first place.

Indexing Tax Brackets to Chained CPI. This means that Obama would automatically consider you making more money than you will in the future, by pushing your tax bracket up over time. This is essentially an accounting gimmick used to keep taxes as high as possible for as long as possible. This is a tax hike on everyone.

Increasing the Death Tax. There are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. Obama apparently wants this to be made extra certain, because he’s planning on increasing death taxes to 45%. That’s almost half, which means that the money children get from their parents’ estate would be taxed as income at first, and then taxed at death. The end result is that this destroys family estates, pushing people to need the state. This is always his goal.

Capping Retirement Accounts. We’ve talked about this before. This is a tax on people who will have saved their entire lives to have a comfortable retirement. Remember, when your goal is to grow the state, then independence is the enemy. Statists need you dependent on them for your next meal — that means they have to push people down from the middle class. This is simply a basic strategy that’s been used since the dawn of politics.

Cigarette Tax Hike. Obama’s budget includes an almost 100% increase in tobacco taxes. This means even the poor would be kicked in the mouth with his budget — and he was a smoker until just recently, if his claim to have given it up is true. While I’m not a cigarette smoker, I am a believer in government leaving people alone and am against all tax increases. Even non-smokers should be united against new tobacco tax hikes.

Increasing taxes is always a bad idea, but doing it during this economy? That’s not the plan of someone trying to fix the economy. That’s the plan of someone trying to “fundamentally change” the economic structure of the country in a manner that consolidates power for himself and his elitists friends. That’s the plan of someone who worships at the alter of government — and it’s a plan we should reject.

What’s horrifying is that most people just think the taxes are for “evil rich people”, because the media continually paints Obama as supporting everyone else. Help everyone see the truth and share this on your Facebook page — he’s in a war against everyone, and his only goal is growing the power of the state.

Important: Obama Planning to Attack Retirement Accounts

April 06, 2013 Shaun Connell No comments

Statists love to laugh when there’s any claim that Obama’s goal is simple: more power. It’s not “equality”. It’s not even anti-corporate. His only goal is to increase power of the state. This bloody thirst for power explains why he’ll defend corrupt wealthy people one minutes, and then attack rich people the next. He follows a religion of statism. Everything Obama does is about increasing government power.

For an example of this, just look at his proposed budget that will be announced soon. We don’t know all of the details, but we see it’s filled with regressive taxes that hurt the poor and middle class the most (cigarette taxes, for example), as well as a new cap on how much money can be put into retirement investment accounts.

The White House has announced that since some people are saving millions in their retirement account (this money stays in investment markets, allowing jobs to be created, businesses to be financed, and the economy to grow), well, obviously that’s a problem — and we should cap that. The plan is to cap retirement accounts at $3 million per account. If you think that’ll stay the same and they’ll never lower that amount until the middle class is hurt, well, I’ve got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

Why We Shouldn’t “Cap” Retirement Accounts:

We’ve written quite a bit about taxes in the past. Taxing the rich more is economic suicide — we shouldn’t raise taxes on anyone. Especially not on the people who put their money into business itself. That’s pure insanity. Here are some more reasons to go against Obama’s plan:

The economy needs investments. We should be cutting taxes for investors, not increasing them. That especially goes for people who are just investing for retirement. The billions this will increase in confiscation are billions that won’t go to building new malls, financing small businesses, or creating market jobs — it’ll only increase government revenue.

We should cut spending, not raise taxes. Our response to the deficit is to cut spending, not increase taxes. Rand Paul’s budget is a work of genius. In 5 years, we could create jobs, grow the economy, and balance the budget.

Anti-rich policies hurt the middle class. When we tax investments, everyone suffers. Jobs are the end result of a good investment. Every job has been created by a successful investment somewhere. If you fight investments, then you fight jobs. It really is that simple. Government should get completely out of the way, as Rick Harrison from “Pawn Stars” said the other day.

It’s theft and morally indefensible. Stealing from people who were going to have a great retirement in order to give to people that Obama thinks “deserves” the money is nothing more than theft. Confiscation of someone else’s property is always theft — it’s unavoidable. You are not some kind of milk-cow for whoever wants to use you. You have rights — and no, you shouldn’t be robbed just because someone else claims they need the cash. Read this anti-welfare essay for more.

In the end, if you need help figuring out how to explain to others what we should do besides raise taxes, just remind them of Rand Paul’s plan that would both fix the economy and the deficit. Liberty works. It creates prosperity now and later. We need more economic liberty, not less.

Genius: This is How Rand Paul Would Balance the Budget

March 22, 2013 Shaun Connell No comments

Quite frankly, Rand Paul’s budget plan is beautiful. The Democrats would likely rather die before passing it, and people like McCain and Boehner would probably switch parties before passing it, but it’s still a beautiful plan.

The budget ends the deficit within 5 years. It abolishes Obamacare. It abolished the Department of Commerce. It privatizes the TSA. It approves the Keystone Pipeline. It eliminates the Department of Education while keeping Pell grants in place.

In the end, it’s absolutely brilliant. This isn’t some kind of moderate proposal. This is a plan that cuts spending in a way that strengthens the economy and would create jobs — it cuts regulations, cuts destructive spending, and yet does it in a way that doesn’t shock the system into a recession.

This is not the same as Paul Ryan’s budget, which is fairly moderate and unlikely to be followed. The Washington Times points out:

The spending proposal the freshman senator outlined Friday would put the nation on a path to a balanced budge five years faster than the plan that House Republicans adopted last week. The unveiling came as the Senate was debating a Democratic budget that would leave a major deficit even after 10 years.

We were mostly quiet when it came to Paul Ryan’s budget, because his budget proposal was fairly moderate — it caved on almost every major issue to Obama. That’s not just bad economics — it’s also bad strategy.

If there’s one thing that Rand Paul has taught the GOP so far, it’s that challenging the White House head on is the only way to get anything done. The GOP needs to get over their nerves, get a backbone, and start supporting plans like this.

Conservative commentator Jack Hunter said the following:

“Republicans, this is what a conservative budget proposal looks like. Democrats, this is what a budget proposal looks like.”

Remember, the Democrats haven’t actually passed a budget in almost half of a decade. We’re dealing with people in fiscal denial. The only exception seems to be Rand Paul. Let’s support the man — we should take every bit of sanity in DC that we can get.

Capitalism Institute

In defense of free markets, property rights, and economic liberty.

Category Archives: Taxes and Revenue

IRS Targeted Pro-Life Group Over “Prayer Meetings”

IRS Scandal Spreads: Officials in Washington Were Involved

Video: Jon Stewart Destroys Obama on IRS Scandal

USDA Advertises Food Stamps to Illegal Immigrants

Obama’s Plan to Cap Retirement Accounts Won’t Apply to Him

Hypocrisy: Joe Biden Only Gave 1.8% to Charity Last Year

How Obama Plans to Raise Taxes by $1.1 Trillion [Share This]

Important: Obama Planning to Attack Retirement Accounts

Genius: This is How Rand Paul Would Balance the Budget

Share This: Obama Claims Debt is in a “Sustainable Place”

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