July 14, 2009
Yes, it was indeed 100 years ago Sunday that the House passed a resolution to send the 16th Amendment to the states for ratification, thereby establishing the federal income tax.
Since then, teenage socialists everywhere quickly realized the sins of their ways the day they received their first paycheck….or, the percentage they were allowed to take home at least. (Oh, I’m sorry, did you think you were getting the full amount?)
The tax system in the United States is terribly complicated, and when all of the rules, regulations and instructions are written out, it fills more than 70,000 pages. The darn thing is so confusing that Americans spend about $300 billion per year to hire professionals to pay their taxes for them.
But it wasn’t always this way. On the wall of the Tax Foundation in downtown Washington DC is a copy of the first tax return form printed in 1913. It’s a whopping four pages…and that includes the instructions. Anyone who has paid taxes in the past 90 years know all too well that those good old days are long gone.
Not to be outdone (nor shortchanged) the federal government also enacted the corporate tax in 1909, which has grown steadily over the decades. Today, the United States has the second highest corporate tax rate in the entire industrialized world. Even Canada has a higher rating when it comes to economic freedom. (Some companies are even closing up shop and moving across the border!)
Taxes, in one form or another, are necessary. The government does have a role to play, and it takes funds to fulfill their obligations. But we have come a long way from the low-tax, simplified code of yesteryear.
From the looks of things ahead, it doesn’t look like we’ll be headed in that direction any time soon. So enjoy your 100 candles, income tax. It looks like you have a long life ahead.
July 14, 2009
My apologies for neglecting the blog over the past few weeks. No excuses, I just haven’t been doing it. With many thanks to editor Jason Pye, I have been blogging at a UnitedLiberty.com, and will be cross-posting when appropriate.
July 1, 2009

Construction worker Jason Oglesbee rescues a woman whose boat capsized near a dam in Des Moines, Iowa.
“They just harnessed me up and dipped me down in the water and I grabbed her and the crane drug her to the boat and that’s it,” Oglesbee said. “What are you going to do if she’s like that? It’s no big deal. The whole crew did it.”
The Des Moines Register reports, “Oglesbee was reluctant to give his name or be interviewed when first approached by members of the media. He later allowed a couple of questions before returning to work”
…”I just told her to hang on tight. I won’t let go,” Oglesbee recalled.
Read all about this amazing story, and watch the video here.
June 21, 2009
This, on the front page of the New York Times site: Top headline: Government-run health care botches prostate cancer operations. Bottom Headline: U.S. in support of government-run health care.
HT Instapundit
June 11, 2009
Amazing pictures of 15-year old Jyoti Amge. She weighs 12 pounds. All the photos, here.



June 10, 2009
…says the new government-appointed chairman of the General Motors board.
But it’s okay. He has vowed to learn about them soon.