Filed under: bankruptcy, DEBT, Economic Collapse, economic crisis, federal spending, Great Depression, greece, Income Tax, italy, middle class, Paul Volcker, pelosi, Senate, slavery, Taxpayers, tea party, US Economy, VAT, White House | Tags: tax strike
Spend It Now! A Huge New Tax Is Coming…
Daily Wealth
April 9, 2010
Everything you buy is about to become 20% more expensive…
I’m not kidding. The latest idea out of Washington is to pay for its insatiable appetite for spending with what’s called a “Value-Added Tax.”
It’s like a huge new national sales tax, on everything. In simple terms, the difference is that with a sales tax, the consumer pays it. With a “VAT,” the manufacturer pays it. The consumer won’t see it in the price on the shelf or on their receipt.
Politicians love this tax because it’s a stealth tax… You can’t see it when you buy something, but they still get their money. And unless you make your voice known, chances are excellent we’ll eventually have a Value-Added Tax here.
The thing is, making things 20% more expensive here and giving that money to politicians won’t save America. It’ll make us less competitive. For Exhibit A, consider the state of European governments right now…
Greece, for example, has a VAT of 21%. Its government is bankrupt. The Value-Added Tax didn’t save Greece.
Italy and Portugal have a VAT of 20%, and they’re only a little less bankrupt than Greece.
Astoundingly to me, the Value-Added Tax in France has now crept up to a full 50% of France’s government revenues. So how are things going in France with a Value-Added Tax?
France is unable to compete in the world. Unemployment is terminally high. The unemployment rate is now 10% in France. In 2005, the unemployment rate was 10%. And back in 2000, unemployment stood at 11%. Like I said, it’s terminal…
Clearly, the system is not working. So why is the U.S. government in such a hurry to adopt it?
The Wall Street Journal explained it yesterday: “Taxes on the rich can’t begin to finance the levels of new spending that the current government has unleashed… ”
And foreign governments have been less willing to buy our government bonds lately. So the government needs a new source of a lot of money.
At first, a Value-Added Tax will be offered up by politicians as a small tax – just a temporary fix to get us over the hump on our current budget woes. But we know how it will go… Like all taxes (and parasites), it will become permanent in our lives and it will steadily grow. Remember, the VAT in France is now 50% of government revenue.
All we can do right now is let our politicians know we’re against more taxes… because we know down in our toes that governments spend every dollar that comes in… and then some.
Think about it this way: When your child has overspent on the credit card, you don’t hand over a new card to spend on.
We don’t want to give our politicians a new credit card to ring up charges. Reject their request for another massive credit card, in the form of a Value-Added Tax.
Oh, the other thing you can do is make all your big purchases soon, before a Value-Added Tax comes along and adds 10%-20% to the price of everything you buy…
VAT attack: Beware: ‘Value-added tax’ is an economy-killer
New York Post
April 12, 2010
![]() Paul Volcker |
One of President Obama’s top economic advisers, former Fed chief Paul Volcker, suggested this week that it’s time for America to adopt a VAT, or value-added tax. The White House yesterday downplayed the idea — but it’s sure to resurface: It’s an inevitable consequence of a government that’s too big now and likely to grow even bigger thanks to Washington’s reckless spending spree.
Don’t get me wrong: The VAT — on top of all the other taxes Washington imposes — is a terrible idea. Imposing it would pretty well finish the transformation of our country into a European-style slow-growth nation. The right way to close Uncle Sam’s gaping deficits is to reverse the continued explosion of federal spending.
The VAT is a type of national sales tax, levied on the value-added at each stage of production. Consider a piece of furniture: The VAT would be imposed when the raw timber is sold, when the sawmill produces lumber, when the manufacturer builds a chair, a tax at the wholesaler level and then when a retailer sells the chair to a consumer.
To avoid double taxation, each seller along the way gets a credit for taxes paid at earlier stages of the production process. So the final tax to the consumer, at least in theory, is the same as a retail sales tax of the same amount.
The VAT has its virtues: As a single-rate, consumption-based system, much like the flat tax or national sales tax, it would introduce far fewer economic distortions than today’s income tax — and a heckuva lot less paperwork.
That would be a persuasive argument — if proponents wanted a VAT to replace the Internal Revenue code. But that’s not what’s intended by Volcker — or Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who’ve also been chatting up the VAT.
The politicians want a VAT, and they want to keep the income tax. (To be more accurate, they want a VAT and to raise other taxes as well.)
They want the cash, of course, so they can continue buying votes by spending other people’s money.
This decade already has seen a huge expansion of government. In the Bush years, federal spending rose from $1.8 trillion in 2001 to $3.5 trillion in the last Bush budget. Now President Obama is well on the way to doubling outlays yet again.
He has already saddled the economy with $800 billion of “stimulus” and a giant new health-care entitlement, and his proposals for next year will push the federal budget even higher.
Meanwhile, our aging population and the built-in growth in federal programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security has a dramatic expansion in the size of government set to occur automatically in coming decades.
Simply stated, there’s no way to finance all this new spending without an added broad-based tax. But this is exactly why we should vigorously resist a VAT.
Blocking a VAT may not be sufficient to control the size of government, but it’s necessary. Handing Washington a whole new source of revenue would be akin to giving keys to a liquor store to a bunch of alcoholics.
Chuck Norris: More Tyranny Plus More Taxes Equals More Protests
Filed under: 2008 Election, Ahmadinejad, AIPAC, Air Force, airstrikes, Coup, False Flag, Fox News, George Bush, greece, gulf, h.con.res.362, H.Con.Res.385, Iran, Iraq, Israel, John Bolton, John McCain, Military, military bases, military strike, mofaz, nation building, neocons, Nuke, occupation, Oil, Preemptive Strike, preemptive war, Propaganda, Revolutionary Guards, Ron Paul, Saber Rattling, Sanctions, shaul mofaz, Shock and Awe, Tehran, tel aviv, UN, war games, War On Terror, william burns, WMD, WW3, ww4, Zionism | Tags: shahab-3, Sky of Velayat, Yediot Aharonot
Shaul Mofaz: No choice but to attack Iran
Press TV
July 18, 2008
Israeli transportation minister Shaul Mofaz has reiterated his previous threats against Iran, saying Israel must be ready to act.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post published late Thursday, Mofaz said sanctions were not effective in halting Iran’s nuclear program and “there will be no choice but to attack Iran to halt the Iranian nuclear program.”
“Israel cannot let Iran get to the point of nuclearization,” Mofaz said. “All options are on the table. If there won’t be a choice other than a nuclear Iran or a military option, it’s clear what our decision has to be.”
“The strategy against Iran has not changed and it will continue to be led by the United States,” Mofaz said, adding Israel could not let Iran ’threaten the entire world.’
Mofaz had told Yediot Aharonot on June 6 that Israel would attack Iran if it did not cease nuclear development.
Following his remarks in June, Israeli officials condemned his threats, calling them ’irresponsible’ and ’cynical.’
His new remarks against Tehran come as even the United States seems to have backed down on its demand that Iran suspend uranium enrichment before entering talks on its nuclear program.
US diplomat William Burns is to be present at the negotiating table on Saturday in Geneva where Iran’s nuclear issue will be discussed.
John Bolton demands US support for Israeli strike on Iran
Telegraph
July 15, 2008
John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, has said that America should “facilitate” an Israeli attack on suspected nuclear facilities in Iran.
In a Wall Street Journal editorial, the leading voice of Washington’s hawks warned that time is running out for efforts to stop the Islamic Republic’s covert nuclear research programme.
Recent tests of ballistic missiles capable of hitting Tel Aviv had demonstrated the external threat posed to the Jewish state by a nuclear-armed Tehran.
While the Bush administration no longer appears interested in military action against Iran, there is no doubt about Israel’s intentions.
American air and naval power in the Middle East, as well as its current control of Iraqi airspace, would mean that an Israeli attack could not take place without the superpower’s tacit consent.
“We will be blamed for the strike anyway, and certainly feel whatever negative consequences result, so there is compelling logic to make it as successful as possible,” Mr Bolton writes.
“At a minimum, we should place no obstacles in Israel’s path, and facilitate its efforts where we can.”
Mr Bolton said that further rounds of United Nations sanctions were no longer a realistic deterrent.
“We have almost certainly lost the race between giving ’strong incentives’ for Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons, and its scientific and technological efforts to do just that. Swift, sweeping, effectively enforced sanctions might have made a difference five years ago. No longer.”
Iran plans major air drills to boost deterrence
Press TV
July 15, 2008
Iran’s Air Force plans to stage a large-scale combat and defensive drills to beef up deterrence against threats from the US and Israel.
Air Force commander Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani said Tuesday that the armed forces would conduct a military exercise, dubbed Defenders of the Sky of Velayat, to enhance aerial capabilities.
The Iranian Air Force will prove its dominance by immediately crushing anyone who dares to try and penetrate Iran’s airspace, said Brig. Gen. Miqani.
The extensive air maneuvers will follow the six-day drills held by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) directed at demonstrating Iran’s defensive ballistic power.
The IRGC ended an extensive military exercise on Sunday during which Iran successfully test-fired various advanced shore-to-sea, surface-to-surface and sea-to-air missiles.
Iran also tested the upgraded Shahab-3 missile equipped with a one-ton conventional warhead and capable of hitting targets within a 2,000-kilometer range.
Iran to target ‘32 US bases’ if attacked
AFP
July 13, 2008
Iran will target “32 US bases and the heart of Israel” if it is attacked, the Fars news agency quoted an aide to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying on Saturday.
“If America and Israel shoot any bullets and missiles against our country, Iranian armed forces will target the heart of Israel and 32 US bases in the region before the dust from this attack has settled,” Mojtaba Zolnoor said.
Zolnoor is Khamenei’s deputy representative for the elite Revolutionary Guards, the force which controls Iran’s more potent weaponry, particularly its longer-range missiles capable of striking Israel and US bases in the Gulf.
The United States and its top regional ally Israel have never ruled out attacking Iran over its nuclear drive, which the West fears could be aimed at making nuclear weapons.
There has been concern an attack against Iran could be imminent after it emerged Israel had carried out manoeuvres in Greece that were effectively practice runs for a potential strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=13130
Fox: Terrorist nukes could ‘fry every electronic gizmo civilization needs’
http://www.prisonplanet.com/fox-ter..electronic-gizmo-civilization-needs.html
Ron Paul’s Hard-Hitting Statement on AIPAC’s Anti-Iran H Con Res 385
http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2008/cr071508h.htm
An Analysis Of HCR 362
dhttp://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=10688
Iran condemns McCain for cigarette joke
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Ira.._for_cigarette_joke_0713.html
Iran discovers billion-barrel oil field
http://www.news.com.au/b..,24015554-31037,00.html
Iran Warns To “Cut Hands” Off Any Attackers
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011593304
Filed under: Arctic, armenia, belgium, Britain, Canada, Cold War, Condoleezza Rice, Czech Republic, denmark, Dmitry Medvedev, Europe, european union, France, George Bush, georgia, Germany, greece, Iran, Medvedev, Military, moscow, NATO, navy, neocons, Nuke, poland, putin, Russia, Soviet Union, Tehran, Troops, Turkey, ukraine, United Kingdom, war games, Washington D.C., WW3, ww4 | Tags: Communism, kaliningrad, latvia, lithuania, macedonia, military strike, missile defense, Sea Breeze-2008, Sergei Kislyak, Sergei Mironov, tbilisi
Russia May Aim Nukes at Europe
Press TV
July 13, 2008
Russia is considering aiming nuclear weapons at Western Europe for the first time since the end of the cold war.
Defense sources in Moscow say among the schemes being discussed to counter US plans to station a missile defense shield in Europe is the possible deployment of ballistic missiles in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between the EU countries of Lithuania and Poland, The Times Online reported.
A Russian parliamentary committee visited the enclave 10 days ago to look into how a new generation of nuclear missiles could be based there, the report added.
If a deployment does take place, then it would greatly increase tensions in Europe between Moscow and Washington.
Only last week, the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice signed an agreement in Prague to build a radar station in the Czech Republic.
A deal with Poland is in the works to host a base for 10 interceptor rockets on its border with Russia. The agreement is expected to be signed later this year.
Moscow is strongly opposed to the shield, saying that it is part of an aggressive US military expansion into its own backyard.
A source with close connections to the Russian defense ministry said, “One of the main steps under consideration is a redeployment of nuclear missiles to Kaliningrad and Belarus. These missiles would be pointed at Europe. It would be a perfectly legitimate step. If America wants to expand its military capabilities in Europe, then we have the right to act accordingly”.
The source also went on to question the US claim that the shield was intended to intercept missiles only from the so-called rogue states. He said, “How would Washington feel if we placed interceptor missiles on Cuba or Venezuela?”
Experts said the threat of deploying missiles in Kaliningrad was largely aimed at strengthening the opposition to the shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. Experts went on to add that Russia would have to build new long-range ground-based ballistic missiles since it has destroyed most of its Soviet-era arsenal.
U.S. troops to hold exercises in Georgia, Ukraine
AFP
July 14, 2008
Georgian soldiers take part in war games with their US, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Ukrainean counterparts at the Vaziani training area on the outskirts of Tbilisi.
US troops on Monday began military exercises near the Russian border in ex-Soviet Ukraine and were poised to launch them in Georgia, amid tense relations between Moscow and Washington, officials said.
A ceremony inaugurating the Sea Breeze-2008 NATO exercise was held off Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, a Ukrainian defence ministry spokeswoman said, against anti-NATO protests and a hostile reaction from officials in Russia.
The NATO exercises “will increase political and military tensions in Europe as a whole,” Sergei Mironov, speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency in Moscow.
Sea Breeze-2008, which lasts until July 26, will also include forces from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Macedonia and Turkey, officials said.
Separate military exercises dubbed Immediate Response-2008 are due to start in Georgia on Tuesday with Armenian, Azerbaijani, Ukrainian and US troops taking part, a Georgian defence ministry spokeswoman said.
“The US-Georgia joint exercises will be held at the Vaziani military base” less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Russian border with a total of 1,650 servicemen taking part, said the spokeswoman, Nana Intskirveli.
Russia to ‘neutralise’ US missile defence threat: report
AFP
July 14, 2008
Russia’s military is ready to “neutralise” any threat to its nuclear deterrent from US missile defence sites in Europe, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said Monday, according to Interfax news agency.
“If we see the development of systems that could reduce our deterrent potential, our military will have to take steps to neutralise the threat,” Kislyak was quoted as saying at a briefing in Moscow.
He did not specify the steps that would be taken, saying “this will be decided by military specialists.”
“We would prefer not to have to do this,” he added.
Kislyak said US proposals to ease Russian concerns about the missile shield, which Washington claims is aimed at countering possible threats from states such as Iran, remained in doubt.
http://russiatoday.ru/news/news/27508
Russia cuts oil shipments to Czech Republic against the background of its radar agreement with USA
http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/105772-czech_usa_radar-0
Kicking Sand In Russia’s Face
http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis116.html
Russian navy boosts combat presence in Arctic
http://www.canada.com/topics/new..8-4dd8-944f-58af497c3fa6
Filed under: Alan Greenspan, bernanke, central bank, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, energy, Euro, Federal Reserve, GDP, Germany, gold, Great Depression, greece, Greenback, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cuts, job market, rate cut, silver, Stock Market, US Economy, WW2 | Tags: hennecke
Hennecke Says U.S. Faces ’Hyperinflationary Depression’
Filed under: Afghanistan, Ahmadinejad, Air Force, airstrikes, CBS, Cold War, Congress, Coup, Dick Cheney, ehud olmert, False Flag, George Bush, greece, gulf, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Mike Mullen, Military, military base, military bases, military strike, Mohammed Hosseini, nation building, neocons, Neolibs, Nuke, occupation, Oil, Olmert, palestine, Pentagon, Preemptive Strike, preemptive war, Propaganda, Revolutionary Guards, Robert Gates, Saber Rattling, Shock and Awe, Syria, Tehran, UN, War On Terror, WW3, ww4, Zionism | Tags: david martin, michael, ONGC, oren
’US builds 4 bases on Iraq-Iran border’
Press TV
June 26, 2008
The US military has constructed four advanced bases 20 miles from Iraq’s border with Iran, a senior Iraqi police officer has announced.
The bases, equipped with missile launch pads, have been set up over the past four months on the Iraq-Iran border; Iraqi al-Noor newspaper quoted the official as saying.
He added that one of the bases has been located 30 km (20 miles) from the first border town with Iran and houses remote-controlled launching pads as well as radar systems similar to ones used in Kuwait during the first Persian Gulf war.
“The bases do not serve military intentions and its staff would not be military personnel.”
According to the official, the bases are only precautionary measures in case of a military strike against Israel by Iran.
Israel Prodding U.S. To Attack Iran
CBS News
June 24, 2008
Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen leaves Tuesday night on an overseas trip that will take him to Israel, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin. The trip has been scheduled for some time but U.S. officials say it comes just as the Israelis are mounting a full court press to get the Bush administration to strike Iran’s nuclear complex.
CBS consultant Michael Oren says Israel doesn’t want to wait for a new administration.
“The Israelis have been assured by the Bush administration that the Bush administration will not allow Iran to nuclearize,” Oren said. “Israelis are uncertain about what would be the policies of the next administration vis-à-vis Iran.”
Israel’s message is simple: If you don’t, we will. Israel held a dress rehearsal for a strike earlier this month, but military analysts say Israel can not do it alone.
“Keep in mind that Israel does not have strategic bombers,” Oren said. “The Israeli Air Force is not the American Air Force. Israel can not eliminate Iran’s nuclear program.”
The U.S. with its stealth bombers and cruise missiles has a much greater capability. Vice President Cheney is said to favor a strike, but both Mullen and Defense Secretary Gates are opposed to an attack which could touch off a third war in the region.
IRAN: American public won’t allow another war, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman says
LA Times
June 27, 2008
Despite constant talk of war, U.S. officials have tried to reach out to the Iranian people in an attempt to get past the animosity between Washington and Tehran.
But Iranian officials have also been on a diplomatic offensive, reaching out to ordinary people in the Middle East as well as, more modestly, to Americans.
Known for his good looks, polite manners and kindly attitude toward the media, Iran’s silver-haired foreign ministry spokesman, Mohammed Ali Hosseini has emerged as a frequent public face on his government’s policies.
In a lengthy interview in his office Wednesday, he described Americans as a peace-loving people who “hate violence” and are suffering because of the mistakes of their leaders. He said he believed economic pressures, the military entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan, and American public opinion would prevent war from breaking out between Iran and the United States. “The U.S. and the Zionist regime, thanks to the increasing economic, political, security and military crises in which they are stuck, are not logically in a position to tolerate the expenses of another massive and far-reaching crisis,” Hosseini said.
He continued:
Public opinion in the world will not permit [President] Bush to exacerbate the pains and tragedies already inflicted on the nations of the region and the American people. Nowadays, the polling surveys carried out among U.S. elites, thinkers and, by and large, the American people, show they hate violence, further battles and anarchy. The surveys indicate that the Americans are seeking genuine peace, stability and security.
But he warned:
If there is a war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, it will be out of control and with unpredictable consequences. Thus, anyone with minimum rationality and political logic does not dare to step on this path.
Hosseini, 47, is a physicist by training and a career diplomat. A native of Tehran, he studied in India before joining Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs 20 years ago. He’s a family man, with a wife and three children. He sat down for an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with the Los Angeles Times about Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. relations and turmoil in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, which have became contested terrain in the Cold War between Washington and Tehran.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM..t6NsANUMU-KNN7S6vw
Greece: We did not prepare for Iran war
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=61624§ionid=351020104
Are Congressional Democrats Leading Us to War with Iran?
http://www.yesmagazine.org/svgbl..ional-democrats-leading.html
Pentagon making case against Iran
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.as..sectionid=351020101
ONGC discovers new Iranian oilfield
http://in.reuters.com/article/email/idINIndia-34272220080628
Israeli top brass split over plan to hit Iran
http://www.thejc.com/home.asp..d=19&AId=60896&ATypeId=1
Olmert acknowledges secret meeting
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/26/ol..dges-meeting/
Iran Revolutionary Guards chief in new warning to Israel: report
http://www.spacewar.com/2006/080628075012.z5qpu0qc.html
Israel gives UN watchdog secret briefing on Iran
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/996713.html
Iran Says Gulf Oil Route At Risk if Attacked
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/i..-oil.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Syria planned to supply Iran with nuclear fuel, Israel says
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/25/syria.iran