Should Politicians Get a New Tax Without First Abolishing an Existing Tax?

I’ve explained before that I’m skeptical of the Fair Tax, hostile to the value-added tax, and opposed to other forms of a national sales tax for the simple reason that I don’t trust politicians to get rid of the income tax.

Indeed, I fully suspect that the crowd in Washington – including many Republicans – would like nothing better than to impose a VAT on top of the current internal revenue code.

For the same reason, I’m inherently hostile to proposals that would create a new tax on the basis of how much we drive. As I explain in this interview for Fox Business News, the politicians would treat this tax as a new source of revenue and not get rid of gas taxes and/or property taxes on cars.

By the way, I hope everyone appreciates my sartorial splendor. A couple of years ago, some of my degenerate softball buddies made fun of me for the relatively subdued jacket I wore in this interview.

That motivated me to take the next step and unveil the madras.

P.S. Never trust politicians when they introduce a tax at a low rate and claim it won’t be a big burden. I mentioned in the interview how the first income tax in 1913 morphed into the nightmare we face today, but I also call your attention to the British tax on air travel, which has ballooned since its introduction in 1994.

P.P.S. Here’s another post on the topic of a miles-driven tax, but focusing more on the threat to privacy.

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Ice-T Defends the Second Amendment

I’ve confessed before that I am hopelessly uninformed about popular culture, so it’s no big surprise that I couldn’t identify a single song by Ice-T.

But since I’m a big supporters of the Second Amendment, I’ve decided he’s now my favorite singer (or would he be called a rapper?) after seeing him defend the right to bear arms on British TV.

Since most of the cops I know are good people who want to fight crimes against people and property (as opposed to harassing people engaged in victimless crimes or enforcing misguided bureaucratic edicts), I would like the video even more if he said “protect yourself from the government” rather than “protect yourself from the police,” but I’m nitpicking.

Ice-T and the latest in home defense

If you like what Ice-T has to say, you’ll definitely appreciate these other videos.

• Ted Nugent talking about gun ownership and the right of self defense.
• A look at the Switzerland’s strong gun culture and the importance of self defense as a protection against oppression.
• And some very powerful testimony to some weasels on Capitol Hill (make sure to pay attention around the 5:00 mark).

Lastly, for those of you who prefer addressing the issue with humor, this funny video shows that our left-wing friends are incapable of understanding this topic and this video is a heartwarming Christmas story.

Also, check out this joke comparing California with other parts of America, this interview with a general (presumably an urban legend, but could be true), and this t-shirt that I’m putting on my Christmas list.

And you can see two excellent Chuck Asay cartoons on gun control here and here.

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