The Real Facts About Taxes
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I have my own distribution and enjoy doing research and bringing real facts to citizens. I was recently asked by the Palm Beach Tea Party to start a blog on their website. I am giving this consideration. here is a piece that I did a while back on taxes! Please enjoy. Here is how it is done! Once again – you will never get these facts from the progressives or the media or even the progressives in Congress.
Obama’s deficit commission will inevitably recommend a package of “benefit cut” and “tax” increases. The problem with this recommendation is that IT NEVER WORKS! WHY? History shows us that the tax increases get permanently adopted into law but the spending cuts are almost never fully adopted, and even if they are they are swept away when Congress passes their new budget in subsequent years!
In 1982, Congressional democrats promised Ronald Reagan $3 in spending cuts for every dollar of tax increases. They lied! Reagan never saw the reductions in spending let alone a 3 to 1 reduction!
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush agreed to violate his campaign pledge—no new taxes. However, with a Democratic controlled congress the budget increased substantially by $290 billion in 1992 from $221B in 1990 (sounds pretty small compared to what we have now, eh?)
Clinton was then greeted with a Republican controlled Congress with a budget projected at $200B deficit indefinitely. Now it gets interesting and this is the point of this article that I write. Newt Gingrich and the Republican controlled Congress in 1994 really did some innovative stuff. They cut tax rates to improve incentives for economic growth (yes, it has worked many, many times in past history—Obama—and the democratic controlled Senate—listen up).. YOU DON’T INCREASE TAXES TO A) GET OUT OF A RECESSION OR B) TO PRODUCE HIGHER GROSS TAX REVENUES! IT SIMPLY DOES NOT AND HAS NEVER WORKED—IN FACT JUST THE OPPOSITE OCCURS—TAX RECEIPTS ARE REDUCED!
After the taxes were cut—a strong economy followed in the second half of the 90’s decade. The second step—cut spending growth so that revenues eventually exceed spending (wow—what a novel thought—like we do this every day, every week, every year in our personal budgets).
During the Gingrich years, the Republican-controlled Congress cut the capital gains tax rate by 40% (Obama and the progressives fought the continuation of the Bush tax cuts which were scheduled for expiration in January of 2011—if you recall, Obama and the progressives first proposed an increase from 15% to 20%–a 33% increase of the capital gains tax—they finally succumbed to public pressure and the Republicans digging in. Gingrich and the Republican congress further reduced other tax burdens on capital investment—i.e. created an environment for the private sector to invest! What a novel idea again!
Congress also CUT federal discretionary spending by 5.4%. By the year 2000, discretionary spending was about where it had been in 1995! As a percent of GDP, discretionary spending dropped 17.5% between 1995 and 1999 (due to Gingrich and the Republican controlled congress). As a result, although annual federal deficits of $200B had lasted for over 15 years, by 1998 the government was running surpluses. In 2000, the surplus peaked at $236B (Another lie—Clinton of course took credit for all of this but in fact it was Gingrich and the Republican controlled congress that cut spending AND cut taxes and created incentives for businesses to invest—and guess what—they did and more tax revenues were produced to in fact turn the federal deficit around to a surplus. So boys and girls in congress—it isn’t hard to do this again—but folks—you are doing exactly the opposite—you are spending like drunken sailors and now you are proposing to increase taxes—it simply is the exact opposite to what you should be doing and what has worked in the past countless times!
There are other things congress should also be doing now that have worked in the past. Cut the federal corporate tax rate to 15% from 35%. Did you know US corporations are nearly the highest taxed entities in the world? Now how is that going to create aggressive investments and create jobs?—duh—it won’t!
In addition, they should adopt a 15% flat tax for individuals and corporations. Keep capital gains and dividend taxes at 15% while abolishing the death tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax.
Then terminate all unspent stimulus funding which still totals $400B and end TARP. For everything besides Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, return spending to 2007 levels, which would save $670B a year! Another $100B could be saved by slashing corporate welfare—including Obama’s handouts to green energy businesses. Lastly, of course, repeal ObamaCare, which alone would save a minimum of $2-3 trillion (most likely much more) over 20 years as CBO scoring ALWAYS comes in at 1/5 to 1/10 of what federal programs actually come in at. Congress should similarly reform its remaining 184 means-tested welfare programs including Medicaid. Next, it should phase in personal savings, investment and insurance accounts to finance all benefits currently financed by the payroll tax eventually replacing that tax entirely. Shifting all those benefits to the private sector would reduce federal spending by over 20%!
Ladies and gentlemen, this can be done—the formula will work—but we need to find the people to put in Congress to make it happen—and the ones there now—will only exacerbate the problems because they are doing exactly the opposite to what they should be doing to fix our debt/spending problem. We need leaders—so get involved—find out who they are—and get out and support and vote them in—we have a self correcting system, but it won’t self correct unless we all get off our duffs and get involved. We have a rejuvenated Tea Party organization in South Florida—spread the word—tell your friends—attend meetings—send face book and webpage links to everyone—and don’t let rejection get you down—we have met the enemy—and it is us! Obama is in office today because folks were fooled—and did not sufficiently vet out his background and experiences. If you think the first term was bad—just imagine what damage he could do in a second term when term limits will preclude his ability to run again—now that is scary!
Mark Wohlschlegel
Meet-up at Gardens Mall
The new Palm Beach County Tea Party will hold its first Meet-up from 10 to 11 am on Monday, July 4th, Independence Day! The location is the food court, second floor, at The Gardens Mall at 3101 PGA Blvd, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The purpose of the Meet-up is to meet local Tea Party members and other like-minded people.
We want to recognize you so please wear red, white, and/or blue and bring a flag no bigger than an 8 1/2 x 11″.
Also, please bring your friends!
United States Links
UNITED STATES LINKS
Prepared for the Palm Beach County Tea Party
Compiled by Ed. Wolff – Updated January 10, 2013
U.S. Government’s Official Web Portal
Benefits
Senior Citizens’ Resources
AGRICULTURE
Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service
U.S. Forest Service
COMMERCE
Department of Commerce
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Official U.S. Time
Patent and Trademark Office
Physical Constants
Weather
GOES East
Jupiter Weather Forecast
Miami Weather Radar
National Hurricane Center
National Weather Hazards
National Weather Service
Storm Prediction Center
DATA
Data
Bureau of Economic Analysis Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS)
BLS Population Tables
Initial Unemployment Claims
Unemployment
Consumer Action
Consumer Confidence Survey®
Energy Information Administration
Federal Citizen Information Center
Federal Employment Statistics
Federal Statistics
Inflation – Consumer Price Index
Dollar Value
National Center for Education Statistics
President’s Budget
Recalls
Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR Database
Unemployment
U.S. Census Bureau
2010 Census
U.S. Economic Accounts: Bureau of Economic Analysis
U.S. Misery Index
World Factbook (CIA)
DEFENSE
Department of Defense
Air Force
Army
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Navy
Marine Corps
EDUCATION
Department of Education
Institute of Education Sciences
ENERGY
Department of Energy
National Laboratories and Technology Centers
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration on Aging
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Food and Drug Administration
Medicare
National Institute on Aging
National Institutes of Health
National Library of Medicine
HOMELAND SECURITY
Department of Homeland Security
Coast Guard
Computer Emergency Readiness Team
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Secret Service
Transportation Security Administration
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Department of Housing and Urban Development
INDEPENDENT AGENCIES (partial list)
AMTRAK
Central Intelligence Agency
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Environmental Protection Agency
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Election Commission
Federal Reserve
Federal Trade Commission
General Services Administration
National Academies
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA History
National Archives and Records Administration
National Credit Union Administration
National Labor Relations Board
National Science Foundation
National Transportation Safety Board
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Securities and Exchange Commission
Small Business Administration
Smithsonian Institution
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INTERIOR
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LABOR
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LEGISLATURE
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VETERANS AFFAIRS
Department of Veterans Affairs
Palm Beach County Links
Ed. Wolff
COUNTY GOVERNMENT:
Organization Chart:
Board of County Commissioners:
District 1 (Hal Valeche):
District 2 (Paulette Burdick):
District 3 (Shelley Vana):
District 4 (Steven L. Abrams):
District 5 (Mary Lou Berger):
District 6 (Melissa McKinley):
District 7 (Priscilla A. Taylor):
District Locator:
Agenda For Board of County Commissioners:
County Administrator:
Airports Department:
Community Services:
Engineering & Public Works:
Environmental Resources Management:
Fire Rescue:
Library:
Parks & Recreation:
Planning, Zoning & Building:
Tourist Development Council:
ELECTED OFFICIALS
Clerk & Comptroller:
Port of Palm Beach:
Property Appraiser:
Public Defender:
Sheriff:
State Attorney:
Supervisor of Elections:
Find Your Precinct and Election Districts
Tax Collector:
Pam Wohlschlegel Speaks at Local Republican Club
Palm Beach Tea Party founder Pam Wohlschlegel got an early start on our outreach campaign to other groups of activists in the county by speaking at the June meeting of the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches at Bear Lakes Country Club. Many members of that club have been political activists for long before there was a tea party movement, and have supported tea party and 912 groups from the beginning.
Pam at RCPB, shown here with Starla Brown.
In her remarks, Pam explained that the new group was formed to build a coalition of activists from related organizations dedicated to fiscal responsibility, constitutionaly limited government and free markets. She pointed out that she has been a Republican since her school days, but decided to work through a non-partisan group because of their success in attracting disaffected Democrats and Independents to the conservative cause. Hopefully, in the future we will all be working together to elect conservative candidates in 2012.
Keynote speaker at the meeting was former Ambassador Al Cardenas of the American Conservative Union. For more about the event, see “Al Cardenas Highlights June Lunch Meeting”.
Pam and other PBCTP leaders will be doing more of these outreach meetings in the weeks and months ahead. Let us know if you would like a speaker for your group.
Janet’s Story
After the Obama election my daughter came to my house crying, feeling that evil had gained. I told her to keep her faith. Month’s later friends of my husband came for a visit. Two lawyers and a mathematician who proudly proclaimed their contributions to the Obama election. I said nothing. A year later the same people said they would never vote again. At that moment in time I said that is it. I have had enough of depending on other people, parties, organizations, churches and whoever else proclaimed to be best for my country. I had no political experience but my personnel mission was to find out what I, Janet, could do to support my sense of fairness.
When Obama said not to listen to Fox news I figured it was a good start. I listened for a long time. I took Glenn Beck’s University classes. When Nancy Pelosi said the Tea Party was astro turf I went on the web and found one, called and went to a meeting. They were talking about some big event at the Borland center. I had no idea what they were talking about but I had a date, time and address so I went. They asked me to hand out index cards for questions, and I did. I saw Allen West going to the bathroom and stopped him. I told him if I do not shake his hand my daughter would be mad at me. That is about all I remember of that night.
When Pam asked for a volunteer for oversight I accepted. That night I walked out of the meeting with one word: Thomas.gov. From there on there have been many, many sites I have learned to search though. I sat at my computer for hours searching and learning.
When I heard about something important going on in Tallahassee I went. Thank God my husband went with me. His sense of direction and calming influence was invaluable. I knew a little about one thing and stood up and talked about it. Scared to death, by the way.
When the November elections came around my husband, who would have not voted, saw my commitment and voted with me. It was very satisfying knowing that Allen West got one more vote because of me.
When my husband heard Allen West was not off to a good start because of his chief of staff, I made it a quest to find out whom this Joyce Kaufman was. I found out and sent a letter to her thanking her for all her work. I remembered her from the Borland event.
When Pam asked everyone to get on Twitter and Facebook I did. I had no clue how they operated or why. I have no idea how my input affects anything. I just knew this was something I can do.
When they asked me to stand on a street corner I did. Not my long suit. Having had polio when I was a kid and now having the late effects of makes it very difficult.
I had absolutely no need for a smart phone or a new computer. I now have them both. Again, it is something I could do.
I share my early days of being an activist to underline what my objective was then, now and always: what can I, Janet, do to support my sense of fairness. My faith has always been my compass and Jesus has always been my guide. I do not know, and maybe will never know, if anything I did or will do will have the slightest impact. But I do know for certain I can always look into the eyes of my grandchildren and know I, Janet did all I could do. I can stand before my God and be grateful any for opportunity He has given me to help.
Telling my story is something else I can do.
(Comment from editor: Janet is now a Founder and the Board Secretary for the Palm Beach County Tea Party.)
Florida Legislative Links
FLORIDA LEGISLATURE LINKS
Prepared for the Palm Beach County Tea Party
Compiled by Ed. Wolff – Updated January 18, 2013
FLORIDA LEGISLATURE
Guide: Online Sunshine
Information Center
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA)
FLORIDA SENATE
Florida Senate District Maps
Senators
Senate Bills
Senate Tracker (Track Senate & House Bills)
Senate Archive
SENATE LEADERS
Senate President, Don Gaetz
FLORIDA HOUSE
Florida House District Maps
Representatives
HOUSE LEADERS
Speaker, Will Weatherford
Florida Legislature Committees
FLORIDA LEGISLATURE COMMITTEES
Prepared for the Palm Beach County Tea Party
Compiled by Ed. Wolff – Updated January 28, 2013
JOINT COMMITTEES
Joint Administrative Procedures Committee
Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight
Joint Legislative Auditing Committee
Joint Legislative Budget Commission (JLBC)
Joint Select Committee on Collective Bargaining (JSCB)
SENATE COMMITTEES
Agriculture (AG)
Appropriations AP
Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice ACJ
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education AED
Appropriations Subcommittee on Finance and Tax AFT
Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government AGG
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services AHS
Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development ATD
Intensive Budget Review
Banking and Insurance (BI)
Children, Families, and Elder Affairs (CF)
Commerce and Tourism (CM)
Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities (CU)
Community Affairs (CA)
Criminal Justice (CJ)
Education – 12 (ED)
Environmental Preservation and Conservation (EP)
Ethics and Elections (EE)
Gaming (GM)
Governmental Oversight and Accountability (GO)
Health Policy (HP)
Judiciary (JU)
Military Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security (MS)
Reapportionment (RE)
Regulated Industries (RI)
Rules (RC)
Transportation (TR)
HOUSE COMMITTEES
List All Proposed Committee Bills (PCBs)
Appropriations Committee
Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee
Education Appropriations Subcommittee
Finance & Tax Subcommittee
Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee
Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
Justice Appropriations Subcommittee
Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee
Economic Affairs Committee
Economic Development & Tourism Subcommittee
Transportation & Highway Safety Subcommittee
Veteran & Military Affairs Subcommittee
Education Committee
Choice & Innovation Subcommittee
Higher Education & Workforce Subcommittee
K-12 Subcommittee
Health & Human Services Committee
Health Innovation Subcommittee
Health Quality Subcommittee
Healthy Families Subcommittee
Judiciary Committee
Civil Justice Subcommittee
Criminal Justice Subcommittee
Local & Federal Affairs Committee
Regulatory Affairs Committee
Business & Professional Regulation Subcommittee
Energy & Utilities Subcommittee
Insurance & Banking Subcommittee
Rules & Calendar Committee
Rulemaking Oversight & Repeal Subcommittee
Select Committee on Claim Bills
Select Committee on PPACA
State Affairs Committee
Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee
Ethics & Elections Subcommittee
Government Operations Subcommittee
New Grassroots Organization Forms in Palm Beach County to Give Citizens a Voice
June 21, 2011 – Jupiter, Florida – A number of local activists have recently come together, establishing the Palm Beach County Tea Party, Inc. This newly formed organization will be an affiliate of the nationally-recognized Tea Party Patriots.
The mission of the Palm Beach County Tea Party is to attract, educate, organize and mobilize fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with the organization’s three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets.
Utilizing a team approach to activism, the Palm Beach County Tea Party plans to provide new avenues of communication, oversight, education and training that will enable members to both be more effective as citizen advocates and better equipped to influence public policy at the county, state and federal levels. The Palm Beach County Tea Party will focus its efforts locally but will also coordinate and cooperate with other like-minded groups throughout Florida and the nation.
The Palm Beach County Tea Party will not be endorsing candidates. Instead, the organization will provide forums for candidates from all major parties to speak directly to attendees and explain their positions on key issues. The Palm Beach County Tea Party will not take positions on social issues, and does not seek to become a third political party. They believe it best to work within the framework of the two existing majority parties, helping to make improvements to both the parties themselves and the quality of candidates they offer to voters on Election Day.
The Co-founder and Coordinator of the Palm Beach County Tea Party, Pamela Wohlschlegel of Jupiter, explained that the organization plans to have monthly meetings in different parts of the county at which a variety of speakers will address issues of interest to the group’s members. “I invite people to attend these meetings, regardless of political party affiliation or independent status if they support the core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets,” Wohlschlegel states. “We want to give people the tools they need to be informed and to be more effective in getting their voices heard by all levels of government.”
Jenny Beth Martin, Co-Founder & National Coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, a national organization that consists of more than 800 groups around the country, praised the formation of this new group and its leadership team. Martin noted “We are pleased to see this new group come together and welcome their experience and enthusiasm for working with other grassroots groups based in Florida and nationally. They are committed to improving the level of political discourse by providing education and training to people who live in Palm Beach County regarding their core principles of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets.”
Another national organization, FreedomWorks, based in Washington, D.C., joined in offering congratulations to the founders of the new group. Tom Gaitens, Florida State Director for Freedom Works commented, “We are thrilled to have another grassroots group join our fight for a new era of freedom, opportunity, limited government and prosperity. The Palm Beach County Tea Party will be a strong addition to the array of existing grassroots groups in Florida.”
Interested citizens are encouraged to visit https://www.palmbeachcountyteaparty.org, which provides information about meeting dates, other activities and events, links, information about other grassroots organizations, current news, blogs and educational information on current issues. In addition, the Palm Beach County Tea Party can be contacted via Facebook at Palm Beach County Facebook , on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pbctp or by calling (561) 444-8086. There is no cost for membership in the Palm Beach County Tea Party.
Florida Grassroots Leaders Welcome New Tea Party Group
The newly formed “Palm Beach County Tea Party”, led by a group of veteran grassroots activists from older south Florida organizations, has been well received by its peers. The new group plans to work on collaborative project with like-minded groups to increase the effectiveness of their projects leading into the 2012 election season.
Here are some of the comments from local and national leaders:
“We are pleased to see this new group come together and welcome their experience and enthusiasm for working with other grassroots groups based in Florida and nationally. They are committed to improving the level of political discourse by providing education and training to people who live in Palm Beach County regarding their core principles of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets.” Jenny Beth Martin, Co-Founder & National Coordinator for Tea Party Patriots
“We are thrilled to have another grassroots group join our fight for a new era of freedom, opportunity, limited government and prosperity. The Palm Beach County Tea Party will be a strong addition to the array of existing grassroots groups in Florida.” Tom Gaitens, Florida State Director for Freedom Works
“Dear Pam: I’d like to congratulate you, on behalf of the South Florida 912, for taking the step to form the Palm Beach County Tea Party. South Florida 912 looks forward to working together on common goals. Our twelve values and nine principles mesh well with your three values of Fiscal Responsibility, Limited Government and Free Markets and I’m sure that we’ll be able to work together on informing and motivating like-minded citizens of Palm Beach County. There are huge issues that stand before us and it will take all of us working together to elect principled representatives at all levels of government in 2012! Using Rick Scott’s phrase – “Let’s Get to Work!” Shannon Armstrong, founder of the South Florida 912
“Fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets are three perspectives that any conservative can get behind. I welcome her to the movement, and look forward to the task at hand.” Ed Fulop, a South Florida 912 organizer
“We are delighted to see the formation of another local grassroots group dedicated to achieving better government at all levels, and we welcome Pam and her team as TAB Coalition Partners for the 2012 county budget cycle.” Fred and Iris Scheibl, PBC Taxpayer Action Board
“GOOD LUCK, Everyone.” Sid Dinerstein, PBC GOP Chairman
“Best of luck in your new organization in Palm Beach County. If we can help with anything, please let us know.” Martin 9/12 TeaParty Committee: Jim McGovern, Cindy Lucas, Shona Darress
What a pleasure it is to welcome the Palm Beach County Tea Party into the the grassroots tea party movement in Florida. We look forward to partnering with your organization on issues that will restore fiscal responsibility, freedom in the marketplace, and a smaller government footprint. Together we will make a difference.Karen Jaroch, Leader of Tampa 912
Welcome Palm Beach County Tea Party! Tampa Tea Party looks forward to working with you and our grassroots partners in our fight for fiscal responsibility, free markets and individual liberties. If we can be of help, please let us know. Sharon Calvert, Tampa Tea Party President
