Loading ...VOTE WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS
I know a lot of you are getting burned out on the election. We spent a half hour this morning talking about Dunkin’ Donuts coming to town. Democracy isn’t easy, but I think I have an idea to keep voters more engaged. Allow only people who pay taxes to vote. No! I take that back. Let everyone who pays taxes vote, but they get one vote for every $100 they pay in taxes.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s sales, income or property. You pay taxes you vote. If you paid $10,000 in taxes last year on the local level, you get 100 votes. If you paid no taxes because you are either poor or rich and hired an accountant you get nothing. I will concede everyone getting one constitutionally entitled vote, but after that the more taxes you pay, the more votes you get. The logic is simple. The government is a business and the people are shareholders. And the more shares you have, the more votes you are entitled to.
This is not a bad thing people. Think about. The rich will use their votes to elect people who will lower their taxes and ironically, will reduce their say in matters. So the next group can go through. What’s wrong with this? Absolutely nothing. In fact, I am willing to say this plan is so far ahead of its time that it appears almost magical. It’s really more art than science.
Who has a problem with this? Bring it on!
October 25th, 2007 at 11:32 am
From the IndyCorrupt website: “Did you (or anyone else) know that Julia Carson has a police radio and unit number assigned to her? Can anyone say “tip off the pea shakes”? If you make the public records request you will see that the deputy constable (was it Carl himself) used Julia’s radio. Julia Carson has police car #9740 assigned. The proof is in the public record!!!”
October 25th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Chris left out a few prime examples.
Kevin Federline outvotes you. Sean Penn outvotes you. Barbra Streisand outvotes you.
Do you really want to advocate a voting philosophy that allows that?
Not even accounting for that, what about the SCOTUS view that poll taxes are unconstitutional? Face it, this is just another hare-brained attempt at disenfranchisement, and using “tax paying” as a threshold for voting is just “poll tax” using other words. Are you saying that the whole constitutional framework is bankrupt?
I think you been sleeping -too- much lately. Stay up later, smoke more (cigars, that is), have a few more martinis, believe that you’re charming the socks off of a few more ladies. Eventually, you’ll come back to Earth.
October 25th, 2007 at 11:40 am
>>The rich will use their votes to elect people who will lower their taxes and ironically, will reduce their say in matters. <
Come on. Contrary to examples like Paris Hilton, not everybody who is rich is stupid. If it were me, I’d set up a system where I paid a lot in taxes to keep my votes, but have the U.S. Government borrow a ton of money and turn around and give it to me. I’d get even richer, pay even more taxes, have even more votes, have the Government borrow even more money, and on and on. Then, when the house of cards collapsed, I’d move to the Caymans or Dubai or something.
Come to think of it, this would not be much of a change from the current system.
October 25th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Eliminate payroll withholdings, and make ALL taxes due on April 15th, income, sales, property, etc. Then hold every election on April 16th. This way the American people will see what they are really getting soaked for, and then might be willing to throw all the people out that brought about these ridiculous tax burdens Americans have to pay.
When you pay in installments, the pain does not seem as bad. Pay it all at once, and you really know how much you are getting screwed!
October 25th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Looking at my calendar. Is it April Fool’s? Why don’t we just say if you don’t meet a certain income level you don’t get to vote. This is exactly why I distrust Republicans. If you can think this and really actually believe it and even say it out loud, god knows what else you think and don’t actually say it out loud.
October 25th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Abdul,
The only problem with this is that the top 10% on income tax payers pay 60% of the entire income taxe collected. Theoretically the top 10% will always hold majority vote and hense win all elections.
Crow
October 25th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Abdul - now that’s thinking “outside the box!”
Have to agree with you to this extent - I think the biggest foible of the framers was their failure to include in the Constitution a provision prohibiting a person from voting to impose a higher tax rate on others than they are willing to impose on themselves.
October 25th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
This was one of the reasons that the original requirements to vote was that you were a landowner.
It is a different world today.
I personally don’t think we need to change the requirements to vote, but rather stop the government sponsored “get out the vote” advertisement campaigns. I heard today that 43% of people cannot name one of the candidates running for President (it may have been Republican candidates). These people should not be voting because they don’t know what is going on. We should not be encouraging them to vote.
October 25th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Quite possibly one of the worst ideas I’ve heard in revamping an election system that already has problems with corruption and scandals. In a world where campaign contributions lead to kick backs, a system where votes are based on your tax spending (I find it hard to believe this system will favor anyone else but the upper class and corporations) will only further throw us into a downward spiral. Last time I checked the belief in democracy meant a system where everyone, who wants to, can participate in the decision of who governs their city, state and/or country. I for one am not willing to give up my vote to corporations and big money.
October 25th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Does anyone know what Afghan poppy futures are trading at on the Kabul Mercantile?
October 25th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
How about all pepplw wo DO VOTE pay no taxes. Tha’ll get em to the polls.
October 25th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
How about all pepplw wo DO VOTE pay no taxes. Tha’ll get em to the polls.
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Hooked on phonics worked for me!! Yea
October 26th, 2007 at 2:01 am
Not a poll tax, but a tax to be polled?
October 26th, 2007 at 4:33 am
One must worry about the people setting the rules for this who picks those people Actually there would be a revolution within 5 years