When government takes your money and spends it, it is destructive towards the economy. Ron Paul has introduced a bill in Congress to eliminate the IRS. The government would still be able to generate 1.2 trillion dollars a year from other sources, and that amount would equal government spending in 1990, a year in which Conservatives still considered government to be too big. What happened to those Conservatives? Is Conservatism now dead?

Dr. Paul makes another point when he tells us that for more than 100 years, the US government went about its business without the need for an income tax. The problem here has nothing to do with what government needs in order to function. The problem is the government's refusal to live within its own means, along with its desire to run America like an ant farm, which is the main reason why the dollar is going to hell in a handbasket.

Article is here.

I assure you that conservatives are not dead. The Republican party may no longer be conservative, but we do still exist.

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"It is extremely difficult for our contemporaries to conceive of the conditions of free banking because they take government interference with banking for granted and as necessary"

-- Ludwig von Mises

By your math, by not going into Iraq we could have afforded to not have any taxes for 3 years. Think about that next time someone says we should go to war.

Think about the fact that if we got rid of all the Social programs we could afford to go to War. Now which is more important, kicking the crap out of despots or giving money to freeloaders?

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Liberals believe it is okay to kill babies, but not terrorists.

democrats believe it is okay to taser a 10 year old if this stance will get their guy elected.

Neither. Shrinking government and minding our own business is a good starter.

I think taking care of our own should come before trying to police the world.

First of all, eliminating the IRS in one fell swoop basically means devastation for the country. Now I haven't read the bill because basically I think its a bunch of BS, so if there are calls for a gradual reduction in the IRS' power, then excuse me.

Secondly, I hate how libertarians (just as ignorantly as liberals who proclaim about a universal utopian government) always use the argument about how the United States existed without an income tax for more than 100 years.

That's true, the United States did do that because it relied almost solely on import and export tariffs. Try doing that in a modern globalized world... that will work well in promoting trade and free markets...

Also, a lot of what the government does by taking our money away and spending it goes directly back into boosting the economy. Wether it works well or not is up for debate, but that doesn't really matter in my opinion.

Where do those 1.2 trillion dollars come from if not from taxes? Last time I checked, the government relied almost solely upon taxes to fund itself and the rest of that money comes from things like fines and services and what not, which would be considered the "fat" of government anyway.

Why the American dollar is going to hell in a handbasket is actually a very complex issue dealing with lack of investment confidence, and over-issuing of T-Bills, a very relaxed interest rate that has gone crazy lately, Debts and deficits that are bankrupting our government and the US dollar being accepted as the main currency around the world.

Wether you like how we got here really doesn't matter anymore, because we are here, and retreating to an isolationist position cut off from world markets is probably one of the worst ideas I have heard in awhile. Its like catching on fire in front of a public crowd and then running into a closet to save yourself the embarassment, but you haven't solved the main issue of being on fire.

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I think I'm going to shut up and let you talk, masterproctor.

I think that most of us would agree that there is nothing wrong with the concept of taxes.

The problem lies with spending, not living within one's budget, and deciding to automatically raise taxes rather than entertaining the notion of trimming the budget or reducing spending.

"We, the people" need to demand a much greater level of accountability from our elected officials when it comes to how they spend OUR money.

Based on the Constitution, government has limited responsibilities toward its constituents, so the required budget (to operate this "limited" government) should be much smaller than it currently is.

Though it would not be perfect, I would very much like to see the current tax code (the whole darn thing) tossed out and replaced with a national sales tax.

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"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."
-- Author Unknown

As a footnote, those other sources they're talking about?

-social security and other taxes like that
-corp taxes
-excise tax
-and a small amount from other stuff like estate taxes