More Redistribution Of Wealth

If you can afford broadband access then you can also pay for others to have broadband access. The FCC feels this way since it is considering a new tax on people who have broadband access in order to fund the Connect America Fund, an offshoot of the universal Access Fund which was created a long time ago to ensure everyone had access to landline phones. The fund is drying up as fewer and fewer people have landlines and fewer long distance calls are being placed as people opt to send email instead (that will be the next thing they tax).

The Original fund applied a fee to a customer’s phone bill in order to pay for service in parts of the country where service might not be readily available. In other words, instead of allowing phone companies to decide based on business where to put lines the government imposed a fee to ensure it happened. That fee, of course, was passed on to customers.

That is what will happen with the Connect America Fund. The companies will be assessed a fee (this is a tax) and that will be passed on to customers. The ability to pass this on is why many companies support it. If they were not allowed to pass it on they would be lined up opposing it.

The Connect America Fund is designed to subsidize building broadband networks where none currently exist.

Since people who have broadband will be paying for this it is another example of making those who have something pay for those who do not. If they want broadband then perhaps they should buy broadband wireless cards to get access. Most folks who will eventually be able to pay for the broadband we paid for would certainly be able to pay for the monthly air cards.

Personally, I don’t care if they can afford it or not. If they want broadband they should move to a place where it exists or lobby broadband companies to build the infrastructure.

No matter what happens the rest of us should NOT be required to pay for broadband networks to be built so they can have access.

There is one other consideration here. Only Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes. Where does the FCC get off imposing a tax on people?

Right now this is open for public discussion but that is a mere formality. The FCC Chair has made expanding broadband access his priority so it is a matter of time before this is imposed.

Congress is too busy doing important stuff like running for reelection to notice this taking place. Someone from that body needs to make it clear that the FCC is not a taxing authority and that the rest of us are tired of paying everyone else’s bill.

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

Which Buffet Rule?

Barack Obama is on the warpath about the rich and taxing them. He trots out the so called Buffet Rule, named for the tax cheat who claims the rich need to pay more because he pays less in taxes than his secretary does. This sleight of hand is an issue involving the kind of income on which taxes are levied. His secretary has earned income and Buffet has investment (passive) income. These items are taxed at different rates and are not comparable.

Buffet could change his income to earned income and pay more. More importantly, he could pay the taxes he owes. Yes, Mr. the rich need to pay more owes a lot of money to the government. Ellen Sauerbrey put it nicely:

Obama is campaigning for “the Buffett rule” Which one does he mean? That the rich should pay more taxes? – or – that the rich should fight the IRS to pay less as Buffett is doing and has been doing for the last decade? His Berkshire Hathaway company owes the IRS one billion dollars IN BACK TAXES. He doesn’t seem TOO gung-ho to pay what HE OWES!. Is that spelled HYPOCRITE ? [From her Facebook Wall]

This is a very timely question and brings into the sunlight the dirty little secret. The people who are always screaming for higher taxes find many ways to avoid paying their own taxes. John Kerry and his yacht come to mind.

The neglected item in all this is the fact that the so called Buffet rule will do little to help the current fiscal mess our government is in. It will amount to a few billion dollars a year. The amount of money collected is rapidly spent by the government.

What is this all about then? It is nothing more than an effort to make things “fair”. It is about leveling the playing field and redistributing wealth. Barack Obama is on the campaign trail screaming that he is not a Socialist and that he is not out to redistribute wealth but his words do not square with his actions (or his past words).

Obama told Joe the Plumber that things were better when you spread the wealth around. He has stated that the Buffet rule was about making things fair.

As if it is fair to steal one person’s money and give it to another.

This is all about Obama’s Socialist policies of redistributing wealth. He claims that it is not but he is lying. Yes, to quote Congressman Joe Wilson, YOU LIE!

I have no problem calling Obama a liar because he is one and Wilson had it right. You can tell Obama is lying because his lips will be moving.

This is all about redistributive policies where government robs those who have been successful and give to those who have not. The wealthy already pay most of the taxes in this country (when they pay them Mr. Buffet and all you Democrat tax evaders) and they do more than their fair share.

Nearly half of wage earners pay no federal taxes. They do not pay their fair share or as Joe Biden would say, they are not being patriotic.

No, Barack Obama is not interested in getting deficits under control. He is not interested in policies that will actually get the economy moving.

Barack Obama is ONLY interested in pushing Socialist policies that will redistribute wealth.

Because yes, he is a Socialist.

Period.

And we need to make the Won, a One term wonder.

It is November or never…

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline