There is a wave coming towards all of us. Be prepared.
The political pressure on enforcement bureaucracies is growing. People are mad. They want their government officials to crack down on corruption. The problem is that it will not be politically acceptable to go after people who have political clout. So what traditionally happens is that enforcement actions against people who do not have political clout increase in number. Too often, those targeted are innocent or their infractions are relatively harmless and unimportant.
The message unfortunately is simple: “You want us to crack down on ourselves? Well, we will crack down on you.”
To make matters worse, the pressure on government budgets is rising. So that means enforcement bureaucracies are under pressure to generate fees from fines, civil and criminal money penalties, forfeitures and seizures and various forms of audits and investigations. One agency Inspector General office with which I was familiar used to audit people and tell them they would “go away” for a settlement payment that was less than the cost of their continued time and money. It was simply a form of racketeering.
Not to mention, we keep passing more and more laws and regulations. No one can afford to keep up with them all let alone comply. We are criminalizing everything except what large corporations can afford to manage.
Can you imagine a world where investors can lose $60 billion on the Madoff scheme and no one can figure out where the money went, and the largest bankers can get $12-14 trillion with no explanation of where the money went but St Cecilia’s church outside of Pittsburgh is not allowed to include Mary Pratte’s coconut-creme pie in their fish fry dinner?
I can. It is all on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
I do not know about socialism/communism/nazism but I know that all of us are increasingly becoming tax slaves!
I am in tax compliance…sales/use tax to be more precise. Now..can some learned sage one this blog tell me why the public seemm to always be willing to vote for tax increases concocted by local officials!!! Recently our local area populace voted 1.5% increase in sales taxes!!! 10+% sales tax to buy a car in some areas.
#1 source of sales tax revenue= car sales! Detroit is a page, perhaps chapter, in history.
Tomorrow I will:
check for proper payment/collection of sales/use tax
make sure you have a license to operate (you too the along the roadside knick knack (or pie) peddler .In fact, a liitle extra for you because you can’t be trusted to fork ovet all your sales tax receipts!! Ignorance of the law no excuse.. let me add some interest and penalty laginappe..
alcohol/beverage permits badges etc…fingerprints please, no fuss, it’s required….of course no one else will know..
In the afternoon, for amusement I will make sure all amusement fees paid..juke box, pool tables, weight machine…no fun without a license…
Now, Mr investment sales person…you realize you owe a license based on your commissioned sales?? Your losing money. It’s a license to try not a license to succeed. Good luck. If you don’t make it give me the address of your replacement as he/she will need a license. They are non-transferable..
Now, Mr Builder do you have an occupational license to construct that thing…
and so forth..I can never catch up..too many non compliants..so little time
Now I am just a lowly local sales tax person. Wow, good luck with the rest of the State,Fed, and other revenue farmers!!! In all honesty, you probably don’t have much of a chance. but be positive. Obama change is here…your tax dollars will provide for you..enjoy the mush, it was a good year for the farmer..a bumper mush crop for the indentured taxpayer to stay nourish on..
With the Democrats in office I have job security. If the people decide to vote others into office perhaps we as Americans will have more freedom&liberty (less debt for sure). My future is in uncertain hands..I would choose freedom..(mush is not my favorite food source) but if things do not change.. I can stay busy and perhaps get to the front of the line…
Note: not intended for the 95% who received the president’s recent tax cut. For you, congratulations and keep up the good work.
Exactly Teresa Renberg
Thomas J. DiLorenzo is professor at Loyola College supposed to be well educated. I am visiting on daily basis LewRockwell.com and some contributors mentioning socialism in context of current crisis. So, I am assuming those are serious folks with serious thought. I must say it is breathtaking foolishness and idiocy. I cannot even imagine anything what even resemble to socialism in country of: Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Goldman Sachs and other banksters.
I wonder do they know what socialism is? Do they differentiate: Socialism and Nazism?
This is rather Nazi political structure, or “estato corporativo” how it’s know by its inventor Mussolini. Everything is fairly corrupt in US, so is language and now we have legacy assets insted of toxic assets. Or, moral hazard, what moral has to do with hazard it is unknown to me, bonuses are retention payments or retention bonuses.
All this is really surreal.