Mr. J. Peter Grace, of W. R. Grace and Co., at a meeting of the Washington Press Club several years ago, made a statement that allowed me to see what has happened in this country over the past thirty or so years. He said: The average American working person pays 72% of his or her income in taxes of some sort or another. (The number is correct, the words may be a little different.)

     This means that those of our citizens who work, and earn only enough income to survive, pay these taxes on every dollar they earn. The upper 40% or so, who earn enough to have income left over to save or invest, do not pay all of these hidden taxes on their income above the subsistence (consumption) level. (Note that most of these hidden taxes are also paid on every dollar spent by those on welfare, social security and other Federal Assistance and Entitlement programs, and that these dollars have been collected from those who actually work and produce, and are thereby taxed again!)

     Compounding this phenomenon, the burden of corporate and payroll taxes imposed upon domestic industries has, for many years now, been forcing companies to relocate production to foreign countries. They must do this to avoid these costs of production (taxes), or be forced out of business by foreign competitors located in countries that do not have such counter-productive taxes. As industries continue to flee the tax burdens placed on them in this country, and avail themselves of incentives to go abroad, (See N.A.F.T.A., G.A.T., the Television and VCR industries, tennis shoes, cameras, autos, etc.) no net increases in earnings for working people have been, are being, or are actually will be created.

     Further damaging the middle-class American is the cost shifting and absence of any effective regulation of medical insurers and providers. These practices essentially increase cost for these services, without delivering any additional value to those who have to pay for them. These industries are essentially monopolies, and in exchange for this advantage, are supposed to have always been regulated by the Federal Government, to prevent excess profits, fraud and abuse of the citizens. It is obvious that those Americans who actually work and contribute to our economy, have been defrauded in this respect, also.

     Now, we are beginning to understand that the government has borrowed and spent all of the Social Security trust funds, some six to seven trillion dollars, as best I can discern. They replaced these funds with a note from them (us) to us. Thus, the (our?) government has hidden this debt by replacing its assets with non-negotiable securities (worthless journal entries). Although I do not know the dollar amounts, I understand that the government has done this same thing with many other trusts such as all of the government employee retirement and pension funds.

     The Great Society programs have cost us five trillion dollars, and in exchange we now have more poverty, ignorance, and illegitimate children than ever. We also owe almost five trillion dollars more, on the Federal Debt (in negotiable securities that cannot be hidden) that government does admit we owe.

     Now, it appears that we, our children and grandchildren, sooner or later will face over twenty trillion dollars ($20,000,000,000,000.00, plus interest) in government debt and unfunded liabilities!

     In exchange for this huge dis-investment of our past, present and future labor, sweat and blood, we now have a failing economy, and a declining standard of living for 80% of our citizens. At or near the year 2000, the Social Security and Medicare Systems will actually cost more than it is physically and politically possible to extort from our working people.

     This wanton destruction of the economy and standard of living of the people of the United States of America, if not the most incompetent, fraudulent, and foolish misapplication of the powers of government ever, will certainly rank among the most infamous.

     I must point out that the News Media of this country has dismally failed to effectively inform the citizens of our country, and has not honored its responsibility to the people. By choosing not to expose the fraud and irresponsibility of those in the government, those in the media have assumed much, if not most, of the responsibility for the actions of the politicians. Thus, they will rightfully deserve the blame for the social and economic catastrophe that now looms just around the corner. Such is the power, and the responsibility of the Fourth Estate.

     A well informed electorate, as envisioned by our founding fathers, would never have tolerated the rampant incompetence, deceit and fraud, that we are only now beginning to discover permeates every facet of our government.
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 Revised 11/20/95

Copyright © December 8, 1994 by D'Amor

All Rights Are Reserved

This page was created October 26, 1997 Copyright © 1997 D'Amor.

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