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Treasure State Treasury
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Sweet Sounds Way Out Yonder
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The Nation's Pulse
My Name is Cash
America’s growing underground economy — a necessity in the age of Obama.
Barter is as old as human history. According to a story in the Wall Steet Journal, it is yet practiced as a facet of the 21st century global economy. Germany, for example, “sends coal to Brazil for coffee, and imports cattle from Denmark in return for agricultural implements. Finland sends timber to the U.K. for coal. Argentina trades grain to Spain for railway equipment.” And so on.
Farmers markets and yard sales are certainly popular in small town America. Every summer weekend in Texas features some 200 towns with farmers markets. Here in Salmon, Idaho, three summertime produce markets are a welcome respite from the tyranny of our single grocery store. The local radio station has a morning weekdays show called “Swap Shop,” where goods and services are noted, and listeners call-in with their own for-sale items, queries, and promotion of services. The common theme is the lack of a middleman, and transactions in cash or barter. This time of year firewood is a big commodity. And following a recent heavy snowstorm here, I shoveled an elderly lady’s driveway, walks, and wooden back deck. Roughly one hour’s labor: $12; and since she was pleased with my work, a bonus cup of coffee.
The Internal Revenue Service definitely has guidelines for conducting such commerce, and these are mostly ignored: “The fair market value of goods and services exchanged must be included in the income of both parties.” According to Stephen J. Dubner, writing on Freakonomics.com, the current underground economy (both licit and illicit activity) in America makes for a “tax gap” of $345 billion annually, and the IRS mostly can’t touch it. Though estimates vary, beyond our shores it seems that up to a staggering 25% of the global economy is underground, the Third World being especially adept at evading the tax man. For instance, most of Africa clocks in at around 40%.
Growing up in the New York area, I remember the newspapers and TV media occasionally ran stories about the trials of mafiosi being prosecuted and convicted of tax evasion. Wiretapping was certainly necessary to compensate for the fact that the wise guys usually lacked Social Security numbers and left no paper trail of their daily dealings. Throughout their lives everything they purchased from a cup of coffee to a car or a home, to a hit on one of their evil comrades, was paid for in cash. And they had top-flight legal talent like Roy Cohn representing them. I guess Mr. Cohn collected his fees in cash. Hollywood has always romanticized the good fellas as America’s idealized violent swashbuckling entrepreneurs, although I doubt the likes of Carlo Gambino, Vito Genovese, and Frank Costello ever bothered to read Ayn Rand.
I once knew a river dredge gold miner in Northern California named Harold Jones. At some point in his life he acquired the nickname “Cash.” He made gold jewelry (rings, earrings, etc.) in a basement workshop, and sold it as a vendor at county fairs and flea markets. Cash never took checks because he didn’t trust most people who wrote them. Credit cards were so alien to him that he just laughed when a customer happened to broach the subject. During such transactions he’d joke: “Sir, my name is Cash.” Cash passed on some years ago, but I think I know how he would have functioned financially had he lived to see the Age of Obama. “Sir, my name is Cash.” Did Cash even have a Social Security number? It’s likely that he did because he worked at regular payroll jobs during his lifetime.
But is it possible as Barack Obama’s second term proceeds apace, that many upstanding citizens (not just crooks) will start to conduct their financial lives in much the same way? Is all the doom-and-gloom we’re hearing concerning the Fiscal Cliff and the specter of Obamacare on the horizon enough to make people do that? Isn’t this how capitalism was conducted (underground) in the old Soviet Union?
Many of us remember the last decades of the Cold War, when Russians and other poor denizens of the East Bloc had to line-up at government stores for rare foodstuffs and even toilet paper, always in short supply thanks to a sclerotic state-run economy. The black market found behind the Iron Curtain at the time provided life’s necessities or luxuries for the right inflated price along with the common greased-palm political corruption. Toilet paper or champagne, bread or caviar, were available to those with the means to bypass the bureaucracy. Milton Friedman famously said : “If the federal government took over the Sahara Desert, in five years there would be a shortage of sand.”
We’re already reading in media reports that the coming of Obamacare promises a spike in “concierge” medical services, that is, patients (consumers) paying for services with cash, with an initial annual fee or retainer of $500 to $5,000, and extra fees depending on services rendered. This leaves much of the government medical bureaucracy out of the equation. The leviathan nature of Obamacare makes for fertile ground not only for bureaucratic waste and malfeasance (read: 16,000 new IRS agents), but for subterfuge both legal and illegal from the private sector as well. “Sir, my name is Cash.”
It’s going to become commonplace for people (especially small businesses) to try to beat the tax man, more so than just around April 15th every year. They will use cash, barter, and exchange of services to better oppose the official corruption of a federal government that is increasingly seen as a criminal enterprise that Messrs. Gambino, Genovese and Costello would be in awe of.
As for me shoveling driveways in Salmon, Idaho, this winter? “Ma’am, my name is Cash.”
About the Author
Bill Croke, formerly of Cody, Wyoming, is a writer in Salmon, Idaho.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (107) | Leave a comment
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Doctor_X| 1.2.13 @ 7:13AM
My C.P.A. has a saying 'There is always a discount for cash'. I've found out this is very true. When I have work done around my house I can usually get at least a 10% discount if I pay in saw-bucks.
Jack in Wi| 1.2.13 @ 8:20AM
High taxes lead to more tax avoidence and evasion. When rates hit a certain point why bother to earn any more more money? That is why the government is trying to track people who have too much cash. They are using the banks to help them. If you make a lot of cash keep it buried not in the bank.
c. j. acworth| 1.2.13 @ 8:56AM
May as well, since the interest on a 1-year CD is about 1%.
For the first time in my life I'm thinking about buying some pre-'65 US coins. 90% silver and quite liquid. A stash of quarters could come in handy when the country starts looking like Wiemar Germany. Current price of a pre-'65 quarter is around $23. Think about that.
By the way, start hoarding your nickles. They are currently made of 75% copper/25% nickle alloy. This year Uncle will start making them from a cheaper stuff. What will the current ones be worth in 50 years I wonder?
Suzyqpie| 1.3.13 @ 6:10AM
If we arrive to the point that our currency reverts to precious metal coinage, I speculate that fish hooks and bullet proof vests will be of greater value that the coins.
Stan Redmond| 1.2.13 @ 3:24PM
BUT BUT BUT. What about the fair share? What about paying for Obama's important legacy programs? How dare the peasants deprive the overlords their fair share to deny them their good deeds of redistributing money as they see fit. Who's going to pay for the obamaphones if they aren't forced to?
The nerve of little people to not act like the little robots government bean counters expect us to be.
C. Vernon Crisler | 1.2.13 @ 12:00PM
The problem is that IRS and State authorities can still levy bank accounts. The only alternative would be to hide the money somewhere. This didn't help Stringbean, who was murdered for his money because he kept it in his house rather than in banks. The murderers couldn't find the money but it deteriorated anyway, and when it was finally found had to be replaced by the bank.
Gotcha, says the IRS (assuming you're still alive). You'd have to go completely autarchic in order to escape the taxing authority.
davec | 1.4.13 @ 11:22PM
Its coming, time to get out of the system. it WILL implode.
MENE MENE TEHKEL PERES
Appleby| 1.2.13 @ 7:25AM
Signs posted on every telephone and power pole in Toronto attest to the flourishing underground economy in a socialist mileau whee a 13% sales tax applies even to postage stamps. Since Canada has a "catch and release" attitude toward illegals who "claim asylum" and are issued an appearance ticket for some time 10 years from their entry date, I wouldn't be surprised if most of them are doing quite well on the Q.T.
chuck| 1.2.13 @ 7:32AM
I'm going to put some crown molding up in a house today, $1000.......cash.
Yes, there is always a discount for cash.
chuck| 1.2.13 @ 7:36AM
FREE TLP!
Quartermaster| 1.2.13 @ 12:35PM
Wouldn't be necessary if TLP had behaved himself. Next up is the insane, uncivilized troll we love to hate, Purp. Wield the ban hammer!
Occam's Tool| 1.2.13 @ 1:07PM
Free TLP!
QM: TLP's lovely anarchic spirit was enjoyed by many. Quartermasters tend to be the type of guys who keep ammo locked up on December 7, 1941.
Chuck: Happy New Year, and may G-d Bless and Keep you and yours all the year long.
Purp| 1.2.13 @ 7:35AM
Yeah, that's a GREAT idea - break the law, skirt the laws... wonderfully responsible of you all.
Grow up, pay your bills, pay your taxes, and if you don't have enough money, get another job.
My God, where is morality in this country!
chuck| 1.2.13 @ 7:38AM
This comment brought to you from the party of "save the trees and kill the children".
You worry about your own morality, I'll worry about mine. My needs, and those of my family, come before feeding the monstrous federal government.
chuck| 1.2.13 @ 7:41AM
And why don't you tell the welfare brood mare, the lazy-f*ckers on unemployment, and 90% of the dumbasses who voted for King O to get a job!
spike59| 1.2.13 @ 8:12AM
the motto of the Shambling Leftard is:
"responsibility for thee, handouts for me!"
mike 3/505| 1.2.13 @ 7:45AM
We, as free citizens have no obligation, moral or otherwise, to obey an unjust, unconstitutional law. For reference to this concept, I recommend you start with the Declaration of Independence.
Quartermaster| 1.2.13 @ 12:33PM
Or from that secular Saint, Martin Luther King, and his letter from a Birmingham jail.
spike59| 1.2.13 @ 8:11AM
Grow up, pay your bills, pay your taxes, and if you don't have enough money, get another job.
My God, where is morality in this country
==============================
why is it, when Conservatives say the above, we're cold-hearted racists??????
Sean| 1.2.13 @ 8:13AM
These libs always want us to pay taxes. There are never enough taxes to pay for their corruption and nanny state.
Von Mises Jr| 1.2.13 @ 10:22AM
Eric "Winston" Schmidt did the Double Dutch or some such thing as he moved $10B to the Netherlands and then to an island account to avoid $2B in US taxes. He was offered Treasury or Commerce Secretary.
Warren Buffet put the kibosh on the Keystone Pipeline since he had a crony deal moving all the oil from the Dakotas and Canada on his choo choo trains. He still owes $1B in back taxes.
Did anyone hear if Charlie Rangel ever paid those back taxes???
These are Perp's crony capitalist heroes. All while they pay Caliban $10 per hour to pretend to be Goebbels.
Sjccoach| 1.2.13 @ 8:18AM
Sorry Purp it is immoral to obey bad laws. The government takes by force too much of a person's hard earned money. If you don't pay the outrageously high taxes and get to keep your money you don't need to get another job.
Al Adab| 1.2.13 @ 10:32AM
Did we not recently spend about eight years listenting to The Left tell us that, "dissent is the highest form of patriotism"?
During the debate in MA at the ratifying convention a fellow named Theophilus Parsons remarked, " An act of usurpation is not obligatory, it is not law. Resistence to such law is justified." Ask Hobby Lobby before they are forced to close.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.2.13 @ 8:59AM
I think it’s been too long a while
We had a contest for “Most Vile”
And we would hear the crickets chirp
For any entry not named “Purp”
Like Ed Schultz smoking crystal meth
He blamed Chris Stevens for his death
In order to absolve Obama
And Al Qaeda in Benghazi drama
To further show the world his scorn
He’d like to kill all the unborn
By claiming that they’re not real lives
Abortion doctors end with knives
"Obey the law" he gives the push
unless the law was signed by Bush
Now all line up to pay your tax
unless somehow it funds Iraqs
or other things I don't approve
then to tax shelters I will move
But those who read him give this slap
We all know Purp is full of crap
markenoff| 1.2.13 @ 9:21AM
TLP will be disappointed you didn't save that for his contest.
CJW| 1.2.13 @ 9:26AM
This will be a permanent reply to every Purpie comment.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.2.13 @ 9:33AM
If you check in the middle, I'm altering them somewhat to fit his most recent inane remarks.
BBT!
CJW| 1.2.13 @ 1:15PM
Thanks, It needs posted after every purpie comment.
Excellent.
Free TLP
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.2.13 @ 9:36AM
While the contest is in hiatus, and we await TLP's return, I will use the poetry arrow from the quiver to fire at Purp.
JP| 1.2.13 @ 9:08AM
SInce when is payin your taxes moral? There is a difference between morality and legality. Perhaps you should learn it.
markenoff| 1.2.13 @ 9:19AM
Hey Purp,
You need to tell that to Warren Buffett. NYP via HuffPo:
"Berkshire Hathaway, the eighth-largest public company in the world according to Forbes, openly admits to still owing taxes for years 2002 through 2004 and 2005 through 2009, according to the New York Post. "
And here's a short list of Obama supporters who you need to tell "Grow up, pay your bills, pay your taxes".
http://www.nationalreview.com/.....lle-malkin
JP| 1.2.13 @ 9:27AM
And GE payed no federal taxes on its income or dividends for the year 2010. GM gets an annual $18 billion tax subsidy (ie it pays no corporate taxes)
Al Adab| 1.2.13 @ 10:28AM
...and how much did GE contribute to the Obama campaign?
davec | 1.4.13 @ 11:20PM
Youre a bald faced liar. I read GEs corporate statements, they paid BILLIONS in taxes.
Cite a source that proves they paid nothing.
Go to GEs website , to the Investors link and download the financial statements, they are Public.
markenoff| 1.8.13 @ 2:05PM
GE's corporate tax bill: Zero
The company didn't pay any US taxes in 2010. In fact, it got a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.
http://money.msn.com/top-stock.....49588e90f6
– From 2006 to 2011, GE’s net federal income taxes have been negative $2.7 billion, despite $39.2 billion in pretax U.S. profits over the six years.
– Over the past decade, GE’s effective federal income tax rate on its $81.2 billion in pretax U.S. profits has been at most 2.3 percent.
http://thinkprogress.org/econo.....te-decade/
GE Filed 57,000-Page Tax Return, Paid No Taxes on $14 Billion in Profits
General Electric, one of the largest corporations in America, filed a whopping 57,000-page federal tax return earlier this year but didn't pay taxes on $14 billion in profits. The return, which was filed electronically, would have been 19 feet high if printed out and stacked.
The Weekly Standard Nov 17 2011
CJW| 1.2.13 @ 9:25AM
Purp the Village Idiot asks where is the morality in this country?
Purpie anwers:
"Purp| 11.7.12 @ 1:16PM
The unborn have no rights - they are biological entities until God allows them to be born."
SUBVET| 1.2.13 @ 10:16AM
CJW.........you give to much credence to purp by replying to his remarks......I say IGNORE the smuck maybe he will find some other site to hover over.
Tim..........my prayers are with you.
Al Adab| 1.2.13 @ 10:38AM
Subvet:
Agreed, ignore the bandwidth waster.
CJW| 1.2.13 @ 12:07PM
I know you guys are correct, but it is difficult to ignore such left wing idiocy, and besides, he/she says such moronic comment that it is like low hanging fruit. We could not make up stuff like he says.
He/she does serve one useful purpose, to post the lefty drivel of the day so it can by easily and humorously rebutted.
Without Purpie, we would not have the excellent poetry of Albert, Bob, and others.
Free TLP
Al Adab| 1.2.13 @ 1:30PM
W:
It is useful to know what the enemy is thinking.
Tom Kyba| 1.2.13 @ 11:02AM
Da comrade!
Stephie| 1.2.13 @ 12:42PM
"Where is the morality in this country"?
Really Purp? You might ask that of your regressive leftist commie brethren. Especially that immoral one who occupies our White House.
God, the gal of you!
Occam's Tool| 1.2.13 @ 1:09PM
The Supreme Court said long ago, Purp, that no one is obligated to pay more than the minimum tax they are required to.
In short, you need a lecture from Joe Dolce: http://www.bing.com/videos/sea.....FORM=VIRE2
CJW| 1.2.13 @ 1:21PM
Not only the Supreme Court, but a higher authority: MRS BUBBA. You will recall she deducted on her tax returns as charitable contributions Bubba's clothing that she "donated" to reduce her taxes.
And don't forget Jean Kerry who registered his yacht in a different state to avoid the personal property tax on yachts. After he got caught, he registered properly. Or, Turbotax Geitner .
Stan Redmond| 1.2.13 @ 3:27PM
Does your Fortune 10 company and wildly succesful high tech firm take any actions to minimize the tax bill?
Hardcard| 1.2.13 @ 8:13AM
It's all free now, I heard my dentist negotiating with a patient, the patient said, it's too much for the work, the dentist responded if you pay cash it's a lot cheaper ( $900 cash, $1650 otherwise) he took the cash deal. A new cash deal is the "Early Bird Special" in many South Florida eateries the menu states "cash only" on the special naturally the early birders do the cash deal, and by the way they all love obamao.
Stan Redmond| 1.2.13 @ 3:43PM
It is quite amazing how the current insurance system has destroyed the business relationship between doctor and patient. Who in their right mind would go to, let's say a roofer for a roof repair, and not even attempt to negotiate a price or get multiple bids? No one. BUT because insurance is so ubiquitous people go in and think nothing of just accepting whatever the doctor charges. In fact, I would say, 95% of all people who use medical services don't even know what it costs. I had a medical emergency where I was forced to use an emergency room. I got a bill that was absolutely outrageous. The most affordable part of the bill were the actual doctors and the surgeons that performed the operation. In fact I'd say it was downright cheap that 2 hour surgery with his assistance AND the anaesthesiologist were a little under $3,000 The hospital send a bill for $37,000 as I believe they thought I would just send it to the insurance company and that's the end of it. You would be amazed at how many "Oh that shouldn't be there" moments there were and by the time I was finished negotiating I got out writing a check for 1/3 what they wanted.
I have a feeling there will be a huge market for cash only medical market in the coming years. The smartest doctors will simply drop out of 'public' practice and work out of their homes. Obama must stop this which is why Obamacare outlawed new physician owned hospitals.
Hardcard| 1.2.13 @ 8:18AM
The new national motto: Hooray for me and f*ck you.Taxes!!! we don't pay no stinking taxes !!!!! Aloha, hang ten MF !!!! It's free, free I tell you!!!
Stan Redmond| 1.2.13 @ 3:44PM
OBAMASURFBOARDS FOR ALL! If you a minority, low income, disability, social security. YES!
Frank Drackman| 1.2.13 @ 8:21AM
Yeah, Yeah,
this essay was tired the first time I read it in 1979, you know, when there was only 10 years of oil left, and the 1984 Corvette was going to be the last GM car with a V-8, and collectors were snapping up every 79' Transam they could, cause no way you'd ever be able to get a car with more than 225 Horsepower...
What did they get Al Capone on? thats right, Tax Evasion, not beating in that dudes skull with a Louisville Slugger.
Sure, I've gotten a few Monica Lewinskys in turn for Epidural Steroid Injections, but she was my wife...
Speaking of my Wife, she said for 2013 she wanted to go somewhere new and different, I said "Try the Kitchen"...
Frank "What can I get for 2 balls" Drackman
Occam's Tool| 1.2.13 @ 1:11PM
I thought you were hornier than a 3 balled Tomcat, Frank.
Doctor "I read MASH, Too" Ock.
CJW| 1.2.13 @ 1:22PM
Frank
You should give credit to Henny Youngman.
Kitty | 1.2.13 @ 8:25AM
There are now whole generations of young people who have no concept of life behind the Iron Curtain -- or even what the Iron Curtain was. I tell them to watch the 1984 movie "Moscow on the Hudson."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SrqMc2Tdi4
Seek| 1.2.13 @ 11:24PM
Better still, tell them to watch "The Lives of Others." A German-language film made in 2006, but set in 1984, it vividly portrays the surveillance police state that was East Germany.
Alert1201| 1.2.13 @ 8:56AM
I remember reading 20 years or so ago about a doctor who changed his practice to a cash base system.
He no longer accepted insurance or Medicare which meant he could fire all his secretaries who did the paper work, he only needed a small PC and none of the expensive complicated software he used before and he no longer had to pay for malpractice insurance which Medicare and insurance companies forced him to carry.
This in turn reduced his costs to almost nothing. He also started doing house calls so his need for an office was reduced to few days a week.
I cannot remember but I think he only needed to charge about $40/visit and people loved him and they were equally glad to rid themselves of the bureaucracy of the insurance racket.
My guess is we will be seeing a lot more of this type of doctoring. A number of people I know are already dropping the employee offered insurance. One man at our church who works as an engineer is opting for a catastrophic plan that he paying for himself. His employer's insurance was $1700 a month for a crappy plan at that.
markenoff| 1.2.13 @ 9:06AM
Except now you will not be able to make that decision for yourself. You will be forced to buy the government approved health insurance which will cover contraceptives, abortions, mental health care and many other things you would never choose for your own policy if you actually were allowed to make a choice like an adult.
Occam's Tool| 1.2.13 @ 1:13PM
A lot of Docs, Alert, are switching to Concierge Medicine so they can focus on Medicine which, stripped of billing concerns, is actually still kinda fun.
Ryan| 1.2.13 @ 8:57AM
I regularly attend a flea market in Georgia, where cash abounds. It's practically a gray market.
Attendance is typically high in low economic times, and has been for about 4 years. You have to show up early to get a table.
markenoff| 1.2.13 @ 9:03AM
The "underground" economies which ALWAYS exist along side the "above ground" economy no matter how totalitarian, planned or controlled it is simply reflect human nature; "a certain propensity in human nature which has in view no such extensive utility; the propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another. " as Adam Smith said.
markenoff| 1.2.13 @ 9:03AM
Austrian analyst and ex-communist Willi Schlamm famously said "The trouble with socialism is socialism. The trouble with capitalism is capitalists."
I agree with Jonah Goldberg's take on it:
"One might just as easily say that the problem with socialism is capitalists, too.
If by “capitalist” you mean someone who cares more about his own profit than yours; if you mean someone who cares more about providing for his family than providing for yours; if you mean someone who trusts that he is a better caretaker of his own interests and desires than a bureaucrat he’s never met, often in a city he’s never been to: then we are all capitalists. Because, by that standard, capitalism isn’t some far-off theory about the allocation of capital; it is a commonsense description of what motivates pretty much all human beings everywhere."
This explains why whenever bureacrats control access to a scarce good whether that good is building permits, business licenses or health care bureacrats will use the opportunity to feed their own interests over the public good. Government worker unions, who control the labor to execute many of the services we expect the government to perform such as policing, rubbish collection and teaching are simply an above board expression of this same nature.
JP| 1.2.13 @ 9:17AM
Great observations.
Alert1201| 1.2.13 @ 9:41AM
Yes. I is amazing that socialists think that the "greed" which drives capitalists to "exploit" their workers will suddenly disappear when that same power is given to a bureaucrat who has far more power to exploit their subjects then the capitalist does theirs..
Hardcard| 1.2.13 @ 9:04AM
fleas for cash what a great concept. drekman that joke is circa Henny Youngman 1953. You need new stuff. Hey Spartans; I'm TLP.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.2.13 @ 9:11AM
Somewhere, Spartacus is saying "I am Hardcard".
BBT!
Stephie| 1.2.13 @ 12:48PM
Albert, sorry but what is BBT? I guess I'm out of the loop. And if that's really you Tim, good to see you here!
Occam's Tool| 1.2.13 @ 1:17PM
Stephie: Bring Back TLP. (BBT) Somehow, the Masters "banned" him.
And, I agree with Anthony: David Gregory broke the law. He must be arrested, and if he complains, repeatedly tazed.
spike59| 1.3.13 @ 5:43AM
TLP gets 'banned', yet turds like purpie just show up day after day...
markenoff| 1.2.13 @ 9:08AM
"And that was one of the reasons why the hard socialism of the Soviet Union failed, and it is why the soft socialism of Western Europe is so anemic. At the end of the day, it is entirely natural for humans to work the system — any system — for their own betterment, whatever kind of system that may be. That’s why the black-market economy of the Soviet Union might have in fact been bigger than the official socialist economy. That is why devoted socialists worked the bureaucracy to get the best homes, get their kids into the best schools, and provide their families with the best food, clothes, and amenities they could. Just like people in capitalist countries.
It’s why labor unions demanded exemptions and “carve-outs” from Obamacare for their own health-care plans. And why very rich liberals still try their best to minimize their taxes.
The problem with socialism is socialism, because there are no socialists. Socialism is a system based upon an assumption about human nature that simply isn’t true."
http://www.nationalreview.com/.....h-goldberg
JD| 1.2.13 @ 12:35PM
Well put.
Peppermint Tea | 1.2.13 @ 9:10AM
Schwarzarbeiten. I love it. It is what the illegals have been doing in America for decades to avoid the government taxes, while reaping the government goodies. They go to bed every night saying, "God bless America."
We should join them. That will give Mr. POS (excuse me, POTUS) what he wants--higher taxes for the mythical rich, with less taxes brought in, more deficits, more medicaid, more costs, more government to help us, more money printing.
Less work, less production, less marriage, less family, less honesty, less responcibility. That is where we are headed, right?
Murl| 1.2.13 @ 9:13AM
If you want to pay less income tax, make less income. My (taxable) income is down by about 50% since early 2011. I've seen what the future holds with regards to the direction the government is headed, and I'll have none of it, thank you very much.
I was recently working a 2nd job delivering pizza, where most of my income was cash tips under the table. But I was never home, and was constantly exhausted from being overworked. When Obama got reelected I asked myself, "What's the point of killing myself when the people of this country reelect this insanity?"
So I quit my 2nd job; my wife just quit her job, and we'll learn to live on about $2,200 net a month. I figure this is the only legal way to tell Obama and the greedy selfish liberals to go F themselves.
Al Adab| 1.2.13 @ 1:35PM
Exactly the system that will come into being. If the tax rate begins at 40K then I'll figure how to get by on 39.5. Tale wags the dog in our new modern leftist utopia.
Al Adab| 1.2.13 @ 1:36PM
oops, Tail and BTW, my Dr. quit last year after seeing the handwriting on the wall.
JP| 1.2.13 @ 9:16AM
Many years ago when I was working in a factory there was an individual who worked in shipping who did very good business in pay-day advances. It all started innocently enough. This guy was single, he lived in a tiny appartment, and drove a beater. He always had enough cash to get by, and then some. He also didn't smoke or drink. Invariably someone would hit him up for a $10 or $20 loan. They would pay him back with simple interest. He usually made $5-10 off of each transaction. Over time word spread that if you needed a few bucks to tide you over you could see this guy and he would set you up. Even a few of our production supervisors did business with him. Eventually, the guy was making more than his weekly wages.
The HR Manager found out about him and he was fired. But, he was allowed to visit our factory at lunch hours. Smart guy. Cash only transactions. He saw a need and met it, and made a good living to boot.
JP| 1.2.13 @ 9:25AM
This nation somehow thrived without an income tax. The 16th Amendment was ratified during the reign of Woodrow Wilson. Just think, from 1789 to 1916 the USA was able to grow, prosper, fight 4 wars, and undergo an industrial revolution without Progressive Income Taxation. And during this period, prices over-all were remarkably stable.
Yet, Progressives mined a vein of class resentment and envy in order to get their coveted income tax (as well as the Federal Reserve system). A few years later, they pushed through another amendment - the 17th, which lead to the direct election of Senators. It's been downhill ever since.
cicero| 1.2.13 @ 9:42AM
Recession? What recession? This will be the "new normal" I recall reading somewhere, something by either Hayek or Freidman, that once the government takes 42% out of the economy, it will be impossible for the economy to expand. We are now at 50%, and counting.
There is always money in the streets. The underground economy will expand to about 30% to 50%. The government will try to seize whatever it can see, which is business revenues from the bigs. This will get interesting, then it will get dangerous.
Ironically, those that will bear the brunt of this will be those who voted for it. Be carefull what you wish for . . .
Al Adab| 1.2.13 @ 10:36AM
This will indeed be the new normal. It is the very economy the Left desires.
As to the cash economy, it will be difficult as the bank transaction fees (of some nature as yet unknown even to my accountant) and bank reporting requirements concerning withdrawls will keep a govt. finger on the peoples' pulse... and in their pockets.
Pecos Pete| 1.2.13 @ 9:48AM
The underground economy has always been alive and well. And with King O's bureaucracy and class warfare the underground economy is the new growth industry niche.
BBT!
JMM | 1.2.13 @ 9:49AM
It is the patriotic duty of every citizen to keep as much money as possible out of the hands of the Central Government.
I long ago learned that most tradesmen will give a 10 to 20 percent discount for Brown Bag Cash. This reminds me that I must get my garage door opener replaced ...
Anthony| 1.2.13 @ 9:51AM
Starve the beast by any means necessary.
Arrest David Gregory now!!!
SELECT JUSTICE IS NO JUSTICE.
Time for Americans to take back America.
Petronius| 1.2.13 @ 11:54AM
A word to those who conduct business for cash or whatever consideration. Find out about the customer's values and beliefs first. Treat not with our enemies in any way. Then follow the three principle rules. Don't tell anybody. Don't Tell anybody. And Don't Tell Anybody, especially your wife! I've seen many a private contractor handed to the IRS by a spiteful spouse.
As to the tax collectors, they should remember the most appropriate words of princes Leia. "The tighter you squeeze, the more slips through your fingers."
Last and most important: don't ever behave like you have money in public. Drive an older vehicle. Don't sport any bling. Wear a Timex not a Rolex. Sit in the cheap seats most of the time. Make dining at a place like Mortons only once every other month and McDonalds a couple times a week. Drink plonk with your pasta and save the great Classico Chianti for your birthday. And be careful with your banking and spending on credit. Your open life style must reflect your visible assets or else paint a bulls eye on your back.
It's not how much you make. It's how much You Keep.
THKrupp| 1.2.13 @ 1:11PM
Thats the problem with untaxed income. Its almost useless. You cant put it in a bank. You cant really spend too much at any given time. You cant use it as collateral. Part of the problem with this country is that the government encourages people to do things with their money that may not be in their best interest just so they can avoid paying taxes.
I feel the same about tax breaks for businesses and the low interest rates. The government doesnt want you to build your own safety net or your wealth. They want you to spend your money....on any thing just spend it.
markenoff| 1.2.13 @ 2:10PM
The tax code is not designed to maximize revenue. It is, and has been for a long time, a tool for social engineering. It rewards behavior that some Congressman, at some time, convinced his (her) colleagues by hook or crook the federal government should encourage. Unfortunatly they never think of the second and third order effects or the unintended consequences. Tax code as social engineering leads to malinvestment in the economy attracting capital to areas (home mortgages) it would never have gone to in a truly free market and routing it away from more productive uses.
THKrupp| 1.2.13 @ 2:25PM
Exactly,
You said it much better than I did.
Petronius| 1.3.13 @ 12:36AM
So right.
There was a government bureaucrat on PBS a fortnight ago who said, "The tax code is chocked full of incentives to get the People to do what WE want." That's because SHE believes that WE the People have no Right to do with OUR Money the things WE Want. And above all; Every penny We Earn belongs to US. Taxation is Confiscation. And most of OUR Money that government takes from US It Wastes on those who are willfully nonproductive. The President views anybody who is competent, and or, who wants to be independent as enemies to be subjugated and bled dry of personal wealth. And so do the Trash who voted for him.
OP4| 1.2.13 @ 12:00PM
Read some of VDH articles about his time in Greece. They (like much of Europe) have a huge tax avoidance thing going on. He witnessed government utility workers napping all day, then working for cash all night. Cash is king in a failing socialist state.
jaytrain| 1.2.13 @ 6:15PM
Yes and 25% of the greek economy is estimated to be off the books /under the table . The US tax system only works because the vast majority believe it to be 'fair '. When that perception changes , we will join Greece , Italy and France where that national sport is tax avoidance
Kingofthenet| 1.2.13 @ 12:30PM
$12 for an hours work shoveling snow? What is Idaho a 'Right to Work' for free state?
Ronsch| 1.2.13 @ 1:23PM
kingofthenet:
If you'll notice, that is not the poster's regular job...D'uh...Therefore the commodity (shoveling of the snow) is worth whatever can be negotiated. In this case, both parties settled on a price that was mutually acceptable. they did not require .gov to make the decision for them. It is called capitalism.
mike 3/505| 1.2.13 @ 2:30PM
Ronsch,
If I may...it's called.....Liberty.
Regards,
Mike
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.2.13 @ 4:46PM
I think it would be a significant overestimation to think that his majesty has any frame of reference with which to value any labor, much less understand the concepts such as Liberty or Capitalism.
Happy New Year, Mike.
BBT!
CJW| 1.2.13 @ 7:27PM
Colonel mike,
Happy New Year
spike59| 1.3.13 @ 5:47AM
Ronsch, trying to explain 'capitalism' to Queenofthenuts is like trying to explain string theory to a hamster
Occam's Tool| 1.2.13 @ 1:19PM
King: The world does not live like NYC, thank G-d. I find it HIGHLY amusing that you can't seem to get emergency funding out of a red-state run House. I laugh and laugh. (Except for Dr. Right. Let Ken know if you need, and let me know through him what I can do for you.)
Occam's Tool| 1.2.13 @ 1:20PM
Apparently Governor "Screw my fellow Republicans in their hour of need" Christie is having problems getting disaster aid out of the House. Sorry, Fat Boy!
Kingofthenet| 1.2.13 @ 5:37PM
You don't mess with New York and New Jersey, we don't Forgive and we never Forget...We are Legion
Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.2.13 @ 7:08PM
How many congressional districts has the state of New York lost over the last 30 years due to population shifting?
Stan Redmond| 1.2.13 @ 7:12PM
They both went for Obama correct? That sure seems like a very short memory span to me.
chuck| 1.2.13 @ 11:17PM
I gave the money I would have donated to the Red Cross for Sandy relief to the old veteran who hangs out by the interstate, and the the Wounded Warrior Project.
Screw you Obama-voting asses!
davec | 1.4.13 @ 11:17PM
THANK YOU.
give at home, thats what I do.
markenoff| 1.8.13 @ 2:09PM
Sent my Sandy donation directly to a Long Island Church
topcat52| 1.2.13 @ 2:40PM
"Argentina trades grain to Spain for railway equipment." The train in Spain sells mainly for the grain.
Job| 1.2.13 @ 3:33PM
armed forces, teachers, police firefighters, indian health service, postal, fed/state/local government employees, prisoners, medicaid, medicare, municipal hospitals, how many people work for the government anyway. has anyone tallied the census data?
i gather the government is the biggest player in the health care game. not sure how much l0nger insurance companies can operate the way we practice medicine; everyone has a catastrophic bill in their future even if its just end of life care. we all can't pick each others pockets folks.
which mean that the lab and xrays will be in the mall soon for a flat rate then you'll take the results to the doc in the box for a flat rate. this is the only really good solution that makes a docs visit less than your deductible by far (Alert1201 stated succinctly the rationale above in his comment).
insurance premiums are nosebleed high primarily now because, hey everybody watch me cut my nuts off, isn't in the repetoire of the average insurance company.
at 6000 dollars a year for individual insurance a lot of options are on the table.
i also think the cash economy has to thrive because the paperwork is impossible..
you'd think this gem of a bill would negate the obamacare 2000 page law. and btw anytime a law weighs more than a ham its full of pork and bull too. the plain writing act of 2010 should sort this out--check it out.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/.....116m9KBm::
Stan Redmond| 1.2.13 @ 7:15PM
Our medical insurance system is an example of a government controlled monopoly. It's bad enough with the states controlling insurance companies but now the feds are in charge. Joy.
Petronius| 1.3.13 @ 12:43AM
The U.S. Postal Service works for the mailers who pay the postage. The government is just the middle man.
markenoff| 1.8.13 @ 2:11PM
Triple the amount they charge those mailers for sending catalogs. I order one thing off a website for my wife almost three years ago and the company continues to send massive catalogs at least quarterly. Not to mention all the catalogs I get from people they sold my information to.
davec | 1.4.13 @ 11:16PM
Cash has a twin brother- "Dont pay taxes"
The two brothers help me shop in another State, tax free. Its saved me nearly $1000 lately in State sales taxes.
Thats money a greedy Wasteful Gummit wont get, that I can use to do business with other people, to buy their goods and services.
Cool how that works out, huh?