TheOneLaw Politics - Article 3: Better Taxation

In Article 2: Better Government Spending Structure I discussed how government spending is dominated by the Federal government even though most important services are provided by the Local government and I proposed a solution for better government spending control. Due to an editing error a large part of Article 2 was not included in the printed LPWI Newsletter; please visit the LPWI.org website or my Blog at theonelaw.blogspot.com for the full version of my articles. In this article I will expand on Article 2 by discussing the problems with the current means and methods of taxation and propose an alternative.

No one feels that they are fairly treated by the current tax system. There are taxes and government fees of so many types on everything that you earn, purchase, or use. The purpose of taxation is to fund government but taxes are also used by politicians to reward supporters and to punish enemies. Politicians also attempt to use taxation to control behavior by placing extra taxation on products and services that the politician does not like and by providing subsidies (negative taxation) to companies that the politician does like. Oil companies are a favorite of politicians to target for extra taxation (i.e. windfall profits tax) and for subsidies (i.e. alternative energy research); does it make sense to tax and subsidize the same company even though the net effect will just be passed on to the consumer hidden in the price of gasoline. In the end all taxes, no matter where they are collected in the process, are paid by the retail consumer but because of the complexity and tax layering these taxes are not evenly distributed and are hidden from the consumer.

Libertarians believe that all citizens receive the benefits (and consequences) of government and therefore all citizens should pay taxes for those benefits and that NO citizen should be exempt from taxation. Government revenue can only be derived from the taxation of Income/Production (compensation for work), Spending/Sales (consumption of products and personal services), and/or Property. The Local, State, and Federal governments currently use all of these methods of taxation in creative and complicated ways to raise revenue for government operations and attempt to make the citizen feel that everyone else is actually paying more taxes.

Income taxes currently provide about two thirds of revenue for the Federal and most State governments. The Federal Income tax code is over 60,000 pages and is specifically written to exclude taxes on “low income” citizens and to provide tax returns to some citizens that do not pay income taxes. Almost no revenue is collected from the lower half of income earners. The complex Federal tax code also allows exclusions and deductions that tax lawyers and attorneys can use to reduce tax liability for those who can afford their services. This leaves the middle class to pay an unfair share of Income taxes. Taxes, by their nature, are a form of punishment and Income taxes punish and deter hard work. Punishing work is stupid and counterproductive to any society and should be eliminated.

Every State also taxes Property; most states tax the total Real Estate value of a property (square footage) and improvements (houses/buildings) and some States also tax some types of personal property such as cars and boats. States and Local communities also tax retail sales for revenue but these taxes are not usually not equally applied with exceptions for certain products like food and medicine and extra taxation (sin taxes) on products like alcohol and tobacco.

No citizen knows how much they actually pay in taxes and it would be impossible to determine because of the complex nature of the tax system. This leaves all citizens feeling unfairly treated by the government; it does not need to be this hard. The current system could be replaced by a simple taxation system that treats all citizens --- rich, poor, and middle class --- fairly and equally.

All State and Federal government revenue should be derived from an equal rate Personal Consumption Tax (PCT). The Personal Consumption Tax would be included in the final sale price all new products and personal services and paid by the individual making the purchase. The tax on products and personal services purchased by an employee in the course of business (expenses) may be paid either by the company or by the employee at the discretion of the company. This method of taxation would ensure that the tax would only be paid once and only at the point of consumption (cannot be resold at the same or higher price) by the individual making the purchase and consuming the product or service.

All Local government revenue should be derived from on an equal rate taxation of the un-improved property value. This would tax property based on the value of the acreage being used by that property owner and that could not be used by the community for other purposes. Adjacent properties within a community would have relatively equal value per acre and would be appropriate for the location. The current method of property taxation also taxes the improved value of the property which punishes improvement of the property and double taxes because taxes would have already been paid on the materials and services used in the improvement.
In future articles I will continue to develop how better government is possible. In the next newsletter the topic will be Article 4: Better Election and Personal Law. I am very interested in your feedback but I ask that your criticism be constructive and non-personal. Please recommend any issues or topics about politics and government that you would like to be discussed in future articles.

Article 2: Better Government Spending Structure

In Article 1: Introduction to Better Government I discussed how the government interacts with each citizen and defined some of terms that I will use in discussing government and politics. In this article I will expand on Article 1 by discussing the problems with the current government structure and what needs to be done to improve the structure of government.

It is said that “All politics is Local” but is that true? Local government provides most of the government services that matter to you in everyday life but your Local government is only a small portion of your total government.

Government__________U.S. Federal_ Wisconsin___My Local
_____________________________________ (Glendale, Milwaukee County)
Annual Budget ________$3 Trillion___$27 Billion___ $34.3 Million
Population___________ 300 Million__5.5 Million___ 13,400
Spending Per Person____$10,000____ $4900______$2560
% of Total Government___57%_______28%_______15%

* - All of these numbers are approximate and are available on the Web from many sources.

The reality of our current government structure is that you and I are One in 300 million.

The combined government spending per person is about $17,500 per man, woman, and child, do you think your family is getting its money’s worth? The centralization of power and spending to the Federal and State governments reduces the responsibility and accountability of your elected representatives over spending. The Local representative is the easiest to contact but he or she only controls a small portion of your government. Local solutions to Local problems always work better than one-size-fits-all solutions from Washington, D.C. or your state capitol.

If you visit Washington, D.C. or your State capitol you will quickly realize that a large portion of your tax money never makes it back to your community. Government representatives and their staffs have control over large sums of money that go to lavish offices, large homes, and large expense accounts. The ridiculous opulence of these capital cities shows that many are getting rich off of your tax money but that does not translate into help for you and the needs of your community.

Your representative in the Federal government is your U.S. Congressman but if he or she is junior and/or in the minority party, they control very little and in turn are responsible and accountable for very little. The power in the United States Congress is concentrated in the most senior incumbent members that are in leadership positions or that sit on appropriation committees. If your Congressman is not in a leadership position or if the leadership does not like your Congressman, Federal money will not be appropriated for your district. Please refer to the official Congressional websites of Congressman Sensenbrenner - 5th District of Wisconsin who has been in office for 29 years and Congressman Gwen Moore - 4th District of Wisconsin who has been in office for 3 years to compare legislative initiatives and current committee positions for an perfect example of incumbent benefits.

This structure also gives great preference and privilege to the incumbent representative over the challenger, especially a third party challenger. The day before the election and the day after the election, the district has the same number of citizens with the same needs, but if you elect someone new, he or she will have no power because they have no seniority. Control over spending should be based on the number of citizens represented and spending authority and responsibility should be given to the Congressman of that District whether he or she has been in office for one day or twenty years.

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that each United States citizen has the right to Equal Treatment Under Law and the 10th Amendment of the U. S. Constitution provides that each United States citizen has the right to a Localized form of government. This means that each United States citizen should receive an equal share of the Federal budget for Local needs and an equal say in how money is spent for Federal government needs. The citizens in one part of the nation are worth no more or less than citizens in another part of the nation. The needs of citizens in one part of the nation are completely different than the needs of citizens in another part of the nation but the needs of each are of equal importance.

Centralized government has been tried in many nations throughout history and has always failed; only distributed government can work to solve Local problems. The solution to this upside down government is to return control of per capita spending to your representatives in the Federal and State governments. It is time to make the expression “All politics is Local” meaningful once again. In future articles I will continue to develop how better government is possible. In the next newsletter the topic will be Article 3: Better Taxation.

I am very interested in your feedback but I ask that your criticism be constructive and non-personal. Please recommend any issues or topics about politics and government that you would like to be discussed in future articles. Email: TheOneLaw@wi.rr.com

Article 1: Introduction to Better Government

Each citizen has their own individual experiences, feelings, and expectations of government and its role in their life and in the lives of others. Politics is the negotiation of the rules and laws that apply to each citizen and defines how that citizen interacts with all other citizens. The government is the means by which these rules and laws are applied and enforced. Government should be used to provide for the common defense of each citizen from harm by another and to provide for the common good of all citizens.

As citizens of the community in which we live, each of us has a very simple and well defined relationship and interaction with the government:

- Each citizen is subject to, and the beneficiary of Law and Order.
- Each citizen receives Government Services for both individual and common benefit.
- Each citizen pays both direct and indirect Taxes to the government.
- Each citizen has the right to Vote for their representatives in government.

This description of politics and government applies to every type of government, at every level of government, in every country in the world. Unfortunately, the government can also be used by one group of citizens, with either good or bad intentions, to control the lives of other citizens.

Political discussions normally use terms such as liberal and conservative that have been so misused and misapplied as to have lost all meaning. Conservatives, liberals, and libertarians have different expectations of government and the government will reflect the values, wants, and needs of the citizens of that community. When government is used to affect the behavior of citizens it is considered a Social issue. Social conservatives use government to write laws that tell citizens how they must conduct their life and social liberals use government to compensate citizens for the negative consequences of their actions.

Social libertarians believe that each citizen has the right to live their life as they want as long as they do not harm someone else and that each citizen must be responsible for the consequences of their actions. When a citizen asks for help to defend themselves, the government has the right and obligation to intervene to stop the citizen(s) that is committing the harm and to seek compensation for the victim. The definition of harm must be limited to assault, theft, and fraud so that all citizens can understand their obligation to other citizens and to the society. Laws that are written to prevent a citizen from harming themselves will always fail because it will shift the responsibility from the person who is doing harm to themselves, to the government for not stopping them. Laws must always be defined and enforced locally to be effective. The laws that are agreeable to one community cannot be enforced on another community that does not believe in those laws.

The methods and distribution of government taxation and spending are fiscal (money) issues. Fiscal conservatives believe that the government should not provide any direct services to citizens and fiscal liberals use the government to provide the free lunch to preferred citizens at the expense of the non-preferred citizens.

Fiscal libertarians believe that Government Services should be used primarily for the general benefit of all citizens and not used for the benefit of one citizen or group of citizens at the expense of all others. Government Services may be used to provide emergency relief and recovery in the case of a disaster but must not used to carry a capable citizen through life. Government Services spending should be equalized per person to the local level with local determination of how that money is spent to meet the community’s needs. Unequal per capita distribution of government resources creates dissent in the communities that are not receiving an equal share.

Both Law and Order and Government Services cost money that must be collected from all citizens in the form of taxes. Social and Fiscal libertarians believe that all citizens receive the benefits of good government and therefore all citizens should pay their share of taxes for those benefits and no citizen should be exempt from taxation.

I hope this first article gives you a general overview of what government could be if the proper principles were implemented. My intent is to write a series of articles to define what good government should be and what characteristics good government should have, and why, in very simple and easy to understand terms. My hope is that this will provide the citizen with a guide to what they should and should not expect from the government and what ideas and qualities they should look for when they vote for government representatives.

I am very interested in your feedback but I ask that your criticism be constructive and non-personal. Please recommend any issues or topics about politics and government that you would like to be discussed.

Top Heavy Government

The problem is not the two party system because voters don't neatly align their political beliefs in such a way that they can say I am this type or the other. Each of us determines our individual opinion on the wide variety of political issues and then attempts to determine which candidate come closest to what we believe.

The problem is that the Federal Government has become too powerful at the expense of the State and Local goverments. The Federal government spends about $9000 per man, woman, and child; the States only spend about $4000 per capita; my Local government is at about $2000 per person. The government services that affect each of us the most in our daily life come from the Local government so why is the spending concentrated at the top?

The reason our government has become inverted is that it spreads the blame. Local representatives are more accessible by the average citizen so if they had authority over spending you would have a better chance at getting what your community needed and they would be held accountable for their spending decisions. The U.S. Congressman can always say, "That's a great idea and I would love to do that if I could just get those other 534 representatives to agree with me." No reponsibility or accountability.

If the power (control of spending and taxation) were moved back to the Local Community by giving the Congressman full authority and responsibility for the congressional district's per capita share Fedral Domestic spending each community could concentrate on solving their own problems and stop worrying about what the rest of the congressional districts are doing.
Use the power of the 10th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution for the benefit of every citizen of the United States.

Thanx,
Kevin

Trickle Down Taxation

Income taxes, whether on individuals or companies, are stupid economic policy. Taxes are a form of punishment used to fund the operation of the government, does punishing hard work (income) sound like a good idea? The founders of the United States understood that income taxes were a very bad idea and specifically forbid them in the US Constitution. The progressive politics of the early 1900's fixed that with the 16th Amendment and also passes the other bad amendments of the period.

Taxes on corporations are just passed on to the customer that purchases the products of that company. If that customer is another business it adds on its taxes and passes it along until it gets to the final consumer of the product. It is time to replace all taxation at the Federal and State level with a single rate Personal Consumption Tax on all products and personal services consumed by every individual in private and business transactions, paid for by the individual. This is the only form of taxation that would actually treat every citizen equally to all other citizens.

Federal domestic spending, which makes up 60% of current federal spending, should be equalized per capita to the congressional district level. Each congressman should also be given equal per capita vote in how Federal spending is allocated.

It is time to enforce the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and return spending control to congressional district in accordance with the 10th Amendment.

Congressional District Level Secession, Start the Peaceful Revolution.

Thanx,
Kevin

The Libertarian Party

The libertarians are great on ideology but weak on practical proposals that could actually be implemented into law. Libertarians by nature do not like to tell others what to do, that's what the Republicans and Democrats are known for.

I would propose that the Libertarian party develop and present a simple platform of proposed changes to the overall structure of our government to return it to a Federal Republic.

I think it would look something like:

- Replace all Federal and State taxes with a Personal Consumption Tax on all products and personal services consumed by each individual in both private and business life. This form of taxation would treat each American equally instead of the current patchwork of overlapping and highly complicated taxation that we have now. Complicated taxation puts the average American at a great disadvantage because they are incapable of understanding our tax system without paying for assistance.

- Equalize revenue distributed by the Federal and State governments that is spent within local communities so that every American receives an equal per capita share.

I don't believe that someone in Washington, D.C. or a representative of another state has better ideas on how to solve the problems of my community so why should they have a say in how my communities share of the revenue is spent. About 60% of the current Federal budget is spent domestically but the local congressman (especially those recently elected) has little say on how the money is allocated. To correct this the U.S. Congressman should be given direct spending control over one half of the per capita budget for his district and equal per capita voice in how the other half is spent at the Federal level.

- Move all laws that apply to individual citizens to the Local level because that is where they will have to be enforced. Federal laws that are forced on Local communities that do not agree always create more problems than they solve. Re-focus and simplify laws that apply to individuals and eliminate laws that tell others how they must live.

Thank you for your time,

Kevin

Document Federal Domestic Spending by District

It makes sense to analyze the budget and spending for different federal government programs to ensure that they are effective and free of corruption but each program affects each congressional district differently. Some districts utilize programs like food stamps and some don't, some utilize farm subsidies and some don't. My concern is that some congressional districts receive much more money in federal domestic spending per capita than others.

This spending imbalance is sometimes due to having representatives with seniority that are on the powerful appropriation subcommitees or it may due to some representatives and constituencies that whine louder than others. A significant portion of domestic spending never makes it outside of the beltway. I do not believe that the people in Washington, D.C. are smarter than local people on the best solutions for a given congressional district and I do not think that there is a one-size-fits-all-solution for all 300 million U.S. citizens for any issue.

It is time to equalize per capita domestic spending to the congressional district and return spending authority and accountibility to each congressman. The Federal government spends $9000 per man, woman, and child ($2.7 Trillion Federal Budget / 300 million), the states are all at about $4000 per person, my local community spends about $2000 per person. The structure of government is upside down, most of the government services that are important to each of us are delivered at the local level so why tax and spend so much at the Federal level.

The answer is that many people think they are getting something for nothing from the Federal government and accountability for that spending is diffused (the blame is spread). To solve this situation the first step is to document how and where Federal Domestic spending is being spent. Maybe then people will realize that most citizens are not getting their share and maybe then they will work to do something about that.

Thanx,
Kevin

Simple Taxation

Simple taxation is hard to avoid and complicated taxation, like we have now, is easy to avoid by hiring the right tax accountants and lawyers or by just not paying. Complicated taxation makes everyone feel that they are being unfairly treated.

Replace all Federal and State taxes with a single rate Individual Consumption tax on personal and business expense spending and then equalize Federal Domestic and State Local per capita spending.

The Fair Tax is decent idea but I do not believe anyone should be exempted from paying an equal share of their consumption and the pre-bate is just an expensive complication and opportunity to cheat. Revenue distribution by the State and Federal government must be equalized as well and if your congressional district wants to build a "Bridge to Nowhere" it would be your money.

Everyone deserves equal treatment by the government, no one deserves special treatment.

Thanks,

Kevin

OneLawThoughts 2005-08-05

One Law – Expect society to give to you equal to what you give to society. If you harm others then expect the society to stop you.
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One Law – If you could take harm out of your future you will have a great life, only associate with those who would never harm you.
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Your motivation in any situation is either to help or to harm and only you know your true motivations.
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Income – Payment to you for what you do for others
Spending – Payment to others for what they do for you.
Balance your income and spending, never harm another, and you will have a perfect life.
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One Law – Don’t harm others and expect others to help you as much as you help them.
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Only help those who would help you.
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One Law – Please imagine a government with only One Law.
Do not intentionally harm others.
Simple Laws
Simple Taxation
Local government that can give you what you want and that you want to participate in.
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An antagonistic attitude usually hides a lack of knowledge or a lack of ability.
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I respect everyone who contributes to society and I reserve the right to not respect anyone who does not. Only your community can decide whether you are contributing.
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Any job that you do not fear losing for poor performance, you will do poorly.
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Freedom of Speech – Being offended by someone else’s comments is your problem and ignoring those comments is the perfect solution. Fomenting violence or property crime is never protected by the Freedom of Speech.
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Good communities should be rewarded for being good communities by giving that community local control of the government and half of the State and Federal budget for spending in that community.
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Please help me to implement the One Law by just following the One Law in your life and by expecting others in your community to do the same.
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One Law – Do not intentionally harm others and do not interfere with those who don’t.
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One Law - Helping others is always right and should be rewarded; harm is always wrong and should be punished.
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Your first right is always the right of refusal to participate if you feel that you or someone else may be harmed.
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Conservatives want to control your actions and liberals want to control your money.
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I do not recognize the authority of anyone to tell me what I must do as long as I have not harmed anyone and have paid for my consumption of products and services that I have received from others.
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Citizen Responsibilities –
1 – Do not intentionally or negligently harm others.
2 – Pay taxation to support government services as a proportion of your consumption.
3 – Expect government services spending to be equal for all citizens.
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Any alcohol or drug that reduces inhibitions makes the mean people meaner and the nice people nicer but no matter what type of drug you take you must still be responsible for your actions and any harm that you do to others.
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Republicans tell you how you must live your life and Democrats tell you how you must spend your money. The One Law just tells you not to harm others.
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The One Law IS this simple, you just have to agree that the One Law is right for you and for your community.
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Complicated is not the same as intelligent.
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Voluntary trusted (documented) citizen program to eliminate the need for searches at airports and other locations to make it easier for people that do not mind joining the program.
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“I know that its wrong, but everybody else does it” is the excuse that leads a community to become impoverished or remain impoverished.
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One Law – There is always someone who believes what you are doing is wrong because it is not what they would do. As long as you are not harming anyone stand up for your freedom to do it your way. If you are harming someone expect to be stopped.

OneLawThoughts 2005-06-17

One Law – Do not harm others unless you are defending yourself or another from an imminent harm or threat.
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Any form of Socialism decouples the consequences and costs of actions taken, this always leads to excessive use and risky behavior.
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Socialism decouples the cost from the consumption of resources.
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The goal of the One Law is to develop the best political system for the greatest society possible within the limits of human behavior.
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The One Law is a simple idea that everyone can understand and we need a simpler form of government in which everyone can participate. If you have questions on any topic please ask them and I will be happy to reply.
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The definition of Right and Wrong is not: If someone agrees with you they are right and if they disagree with you they are wrong.
Right – Solution or position agrees with the One Law.
Wrong – Solution or position disagrees with the One Law.
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Your opinion is equally important as anyone else’s opinion unless it violates the One Law. Any opinion that violates the One Law principle is worthless.
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One Law Goal – I am looking for anyone who is interested in helping me define the perfect government structure that is based on the One Law which is: Don’t harm others, defend yourself and your community, and always try to do what is best for everyone.
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You cannot learn without being open to new ideas and perspectives.
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People who tell you what you must do to have a better life can recommend solutions or they can legislate the solution. Legislated solutions are hard to change to keep up with changes in the society. Recommend solutions and people will usually recognize a good solution when the see it.
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Government was not created to do what is best for you, it was created to do what is best for everyone.
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You don’t have to scream your idea at someone if it is correct.
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Prisons – No should be no term limits on incarceration in a maximum security prison. Good behavior and socialization should be rewarded with a transfer to a lower security facility and additional responsibilities and opportunities for those who deserve it. The prison system must prepare inmates for life in the outside community and all of the responsibilities they will have to take on.
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If you will say anything then everything you say means nothing.
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Everyone has bad thoughts about others because it is normal human behavior. The challenge is to put a leash on those thoughts and to never allow them to become actions.
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Good people are naturally quiet but they must intervene if some is being harmed. Do not assume someone is being harmed unless they ask for help.
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Use the 1st, 5th, and 10th Amendments to the US Constitution to your advantage and return spending authority for 50% of the State and Federal per capita spending to your Local community by 75% approval of the One Law referendum. You can get what you and your community wants from government.
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You are One of Three – Independent, Controller, or Controllee.
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Economy – The standard of living in every community is the overall sum of the contributions and deductions of all of the citizens in a community. Everyone must contribute for a community to prosper.
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I don’t want to tell you what to do, I want to tell what you cannot do and what you cannot do is to intentionally harm others.
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The government in the United States currently caters to many overlapping special interest groups that each think they are getting something at the expense of other citizens, when no one is being well served by a bloated and inefficient centralized government. The government should always strive to do what is best for everyone by implementing:

Localized Government – Local communities understand the problems of their citizens better than anyone and only local solutions will solve those problems. Washington, D.C. one size fits all solutions only make problems worse.

Fair Taxation – Fixed Rate Consumption Tax on all products and services at the Local, State, and Federal level, and a Local Property tax on only the Un-Improved value of land.

Equalized Distribution of Revenue Sharing – State and Federal governments would be required to equalize shared revenue per capita at the Local level.

One Law based Rule of Law – Freedom to do what you want to do as long as you do not harm anyone and no excuses for those that harm others.
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Simple Laws are easy to enforce on every individual with no exceptions and no excuses. If you do not like simple laws it is because you want to leave an exception for yourself.
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One Law – Don’t burden others with your problems and then expect them to help you. Ask for help if you need it and appreciate any help that you receive.
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Flat Tax on Individual Consumption – Every citizen should be taxed simply on a percentage the value of the products and services that they consume. This form of taxation would promote economy and conservation of resources and reduce opulence and centralization of power and resources.
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One Law – Any person that habitually harms others should be excluded from society. Please tell me where I am wrong.
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There are bad rich people and there are bad poor people and both should be stopped or isolated. I define bad as anyone who physically or financially harms another.
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One Law Questionnaire –
Do you think that the government should treat all communities equal or should some communities be given special treatment? Equal / Special
Do you expect anything from others without just compensation? Yes / No
Do you expect others not to harm you? Yes / No
What is your Zip Code?

Plot correct answer rate by Zip Code, Local Net Tax Flow based on taxes paid vs. the State and Federal Averages.
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I do not agree with any government program that rewards people who harm others.
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If the One Law is not being enforced in your neighborhood but you believe in the One Law then you should move to a community that does believe in the One Law.
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One Law – Simple Taxation by percent of individual consumption of all products and services and equal per capita distribution of government resources to the Local level.

OneLawThoughts 2005-05-20

Congressional Run – Open (posted online) advice candidacy with public weblog. Track topics and positions by zipcode.
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If you feel that you have been harmed you must be able to document actual harm. Hurt feelings or not getting your way does not count.
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Fair just means getting what you deserve.
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If your goal is to get your way and you are spitting with rage because you are not, you must ask yourself if the problem actually effects you and if you would be better off just ignoring the issue all together. Rage never helps to find a solution and you cannot have a healthy and happy life when you engulfed in rage. Limit your scope of concern to the people and issues that you deal with in your everyday life and quit worrying about outside issues.
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One Law – Group the good, exclude the bad.
Do not hurt others.
Do what is best for everyone involved.
Expect the same of others in your community.
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AEI does many tax and government spending studies and I was wondering if a study was ever conducted to determine the net tax flows into or out of congressional districts for all levels of government. Each congressional district has many sources of tax revenue from individuals and businesses and also many government provided services including services that are shared by all (ie. military, constitutionally mandated depatments, etc) so this is probably difficult to directly determined, but it could be statistically estimated.

Would it be possible to determine Net Tax Flow = Total Taxes Paid - Total Government Services Provided. This information would show the voters in that congressional district whether they are getting their money's worth or if they are subsidizing other communities.
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Society works the best in the West.
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One harm will never compensate for another harm, it just means that twice as many people were harmed. Seek just compensation for the victims damages never seek revenge.
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One Law – I won’t hurt you as long as you don’t hurt me.
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Government vs. Business Provided Products and Services
The government cannot provide any product or service better or cheaper than private business; the government can only make someone else pay for it. If you want more government products and services then you are saying that you want something for nothing. This will only work in the short term because the people who are paying the taxes to support this subsidy will eventually realize they are not getting their money’s worth and will ask for tax cuts or they will ask for government provided products or services of their own which leads ever expanding government. Every taxpayer must realize that private business can meet their needs for products and services better and cheaper and work for smaller and more efficient government.
There is only one government service that must be provided to all citizens free of charge; the government must assist every citizen with self defense from any physical harm, threat of physical harm, or property crime. The government must also assist the citizen to seek compensation for any damages incurred to be paid directly to the victim.
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Congressional Campaign – If you are a citizen who is looking for something for nothing from the government then please do not vote for me. I will only represent citizens who want their fair share of products and services from the government for the taxes that we pay.
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Scale does not matter when applying the One Law to analyze problems and develop solutions.
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Faux Liberals are Selfish
The limousine liberals are willing to pay high taxes so that they do not have to worry about the poor but they are not willing to take the time to ensure that the government solution is working. The inefficiency and low productivity of the government cannot compete with the private sector for price or quality of product or service. The middle class taxpayers who cannot afford the excessive taxation that it takes to support big government bear the brunt of the burden. Allow the private sector to compete for government provided products and services which will free up resources that could be used for other government programs or tax cuts.
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For some issues 51% approval by one group of citizens can mean 49% disapproval for the rest of the citizens. 49% of the citizens are harmed to make 51% happy. Solve your problems locally and localize your laws. If a local referendum is approved by a 75% super majority that law should supersede any conflicting law at the State and Federal level as long as no one outside of the community is harmed by the law.
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The state must prove that a citizen has actually harmed another and provide documentation of the physical and/or property damage incurred by the victim before the government may intervene.
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Life – Anything that overcomes the law of entropy.
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If you do not believe in the required goals of your occupation then you must find a different job or you will never be happy no matter how much you are paid. Decide what you like to do, that others would be willing to pay you to do, and do it.
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All spending at the Federal level that is not specifically authorized by the US Constitution must be equalized per capita at the congressional level.
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One Law – The merger of Religion and Politics that is good for everyone.
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Hypocrites - Liberals preach tolerance and non-intervention but also promote bigger and more intrusive government and less individual personal responsibility.
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The MSM needs to get past the first step in the twelve step program and admit they have a problem with bias and prejudice.
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You can trust anyone who believes in the One Law because they will never hurt you.
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Individuals only gain or enjoy a benefit from money when it is spent on a product or service. If you overspend on any product or service then that money is unavailable for other things and you are wasting resources. Taxation should be simplified to a combined consumption tax for revenue to the Local, State, and Federal government that would be applied to all products and services at the point of consumption.
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If you do not trust anyone that you do not know, then you presuming them to be guilty of the intent to harm you without any evidence. A community without the mutual trust of citizens will always be dysfunctional and impoverished. Let your neighbors know that you believe in the One Law and learn if they do as well and you will build a mutual trust in your community that will allow it to flourish.
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You cannot become wealthy in the United States until you take responsibility for your actions.
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One Law – Zero Tolerance for one person intentionally harming another.
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Leftist – Someone who thinks that everyone else owes them something.
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There are only two types of government spending:
Mandatory Spending – Spending to assist citizens to defend themselves from harm by another.
Discretionary Spending – Spending to provide a reduced cost or free product or service from the government.
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Individual solutions to individual problems work the best but if you do not want to help yourself no amount of assistance will ever solve your problems.
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One Law – Change your expectations. Expect others not to harm you and only expect them to help you as much as you are willing to help them.

OneLawThoughts 2005-05-10

Nominate any proposed local law as being incompatible with the One Law and why it is incompatible.
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I believe in capital self-defense when it is warranted.
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The One Law is the definition of common sense.
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The decision of whether or not to harm someone else is yours to make and only yours. The decision to ask for help is also yours.
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Some people like getting lied to, to make them feel better about themselves but only the truth will actually make your life better.
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Paradox – Trust everyone and you will get screwed, trust no one and you will have a hard and lonely life. How different would your life be if you knew that no one in your community would hurt you?
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Criminals need willing victims or accomplices to benefit from crime. You must always defend yourself and ensure that criminals never profit from their crime.
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I concentrate on trying to control energy, controlling people is impossible. If you want people to do something you must show them that they will benefit from taking that action and they will do it on their own.
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Zero Tolerance – The only legitimate zero tolerance is the zero tolerance of one person harming another.
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No solutions offered means no choices offered.
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Email Subject: Do you believe that anyone that is hurting another should be stopped?
Body: Yes – You already believe in the One Law
No – I would not want to live in your community.
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Email Subject: Proposal for Individual Opt Out Of Social Security
Body: I am exercising my right to option out of the Social Security system. I understand the needs of the society so I agree to give up the rights to any contributions to the Social Security system up to this point and I also agree to continue paying one-half of the 12.4% of my income that I am paying now, with no expectation of any compensation upon my retirement. I will also agree to re-direct the 6.2% of my salary that I am no longer paying into the Social Security system to my 401K account.
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As a nation, the United States citizens should work to make life and cheap and simple as possible for all citizens.
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The Liberal Democrats in the United States are not being very liberal or very democratic. The voters have given the Republicans the majority in the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. The people who vote for Republicans and the Representatives that they have put in office are offering proposals for solutions and all we hear from the Democrats is No. The Democrats should either propose a better solution to problems that our country faces or get out of the way.
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Email Subject: Want a Simple Life?
Don’t hurt others, always do what is best for everyone, and expect the same of others. You will have a great life with all of your friends.
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You cannot have true freedom without individual responsibility. You cannot have a great community without expecting the same of your neighbors.
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Abortion – When the baby has developed to the point where it could survive outside of the womb with the same care that is given to a full term baby, the child becomes a United States citizen and has all of the rights given to every other citizen. If that child’s life is purposely terminated from that point forward it should be considered murder.
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TheOneLaw + Personal Responsibility = True Freedom
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Community – The people you live and work with every day.
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If you intentionally hurt others you should expect to be excluded from civil society.
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The government cannot take responsibility for your actions but the government can hold you responsible for your actions when you hurt others.
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The One Law does not say you cannot think about hurting others because no law and no person can tell you what you can or cannot think. The One Law just says that you cannot take any actions that will hurt another.
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TheOneLaw Solution is:
- Fair Taxation
- Fair Distribution of Government Revenues to Local Communities
- One Law based Rule of Law and Property Rights
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Adopt the One Law Solution and cut out the middle man in Washington, D.C. Bring your government back to your community.
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Please never tell me that the One Law solution cannot work, instead please imagine what your life would be like if the One Law Solution did work and it will not work without your support.
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Would you rather get compensated fairly for your contributions to society or instead have to fight against everyone else for your share. Adopt the One Law and you will always get exactly what you deserve.
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Email Subject: Do you think that businesses are trying to screw you?
Body: Do you also think that the government is trying to screw you?

Then you expect be to be screwed and you will usually get what you expect. Instead why not expect business, government, and all others to help you and if they don’t take your money or vote elsewhere.
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The Democratic party in the United States is just a giant protection racket. They have many preferred groups like unions, minorities, limousine liberals, etc. that they show favoritism to and get special treatment for through the government and the tax is placed on those outside of those groups. The preferred groups get preference at the expense of anyone that is not a member of one of the preferred groups.
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Email Subject: Expectations are everything
Body:
Expect fair taxation.
Expect fair distribution of government resources.
Expect good products and services from business.
Expect others to do the same.
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If you hurt others then expect to be forced to compensate the victim.
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No one can make you be a good person; you must decide that it will be in your best interests if you do not hurt others and you must decide that your life will be better because of it.
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Realtors should offer a “dating service” to match customers to neighborhoods that have the same general interests and compatibilities.
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Teach everyone in your community that they will not be rewarded for hostile behavior in any circumstance.
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Bad behavior is not defined as “Doing what others do not want you to do”. Bad behavior is intentionally hurting others for your benefit or pleasure.
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I want people to profit when they help others and I want people to fail when they hurt others.
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No person can be allowed to be free until they learn to govern their own actions and accept responsibility for the consequences of those actions.
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There are millions of ways to do something right and only one way to do it wrong. If your solution to the problem helps one at the expense of another then you are wrong.
%%Freedom from responsibility is not freedom.

Consumption Tax over VAT

The first problem is psychological because every individual must feel that they are being treated fairly. I do agree that people who have less money, and in turn spend less money, should pay less in taxes. This is, by definition, already built in to an individual consumption tax. But everyone, rich or poor, must pay the same rate on every new product and every service that they purchase. If you start to provide exceptions or you provide any form of rebate then one group feels that they are getting something from the government(other citizens) for nothing and the rest feel like they are getting shafted. No matter what controls are written into the code the tax percentage will grow and more exceptions will be added by legislators trying to show preference to their group for every possible excuse known to man (like it is now). For everyone to feel that the taxation system is fair we should choose an consumption tax that taxes each individual's consumption of new products and services equally. Then at the same time we must attempt to equalize the per capita spending for government provided social services to the local level. Equal taxation of consumption and equal per capita spending would provide the fairest and most non-political re-distribution of wealth.

The second problem with a VAT is that it only taxes legal businesses. A very large portion of our economy is in the black market which yields very high profits to the people providing these products and services but these people do not pay any income taxes. Whether you want to try to police these black market products and services that these people are providing does not matter in this discussion, they will not recieve benefit from that income until they spend it and most of this spending will be legal and they will have to pay the consumption tax. A proper Individual Consumption tax has many benefits:

- Eliminates all other forms of taxation that politicians use to reward groups they like and punish those groups that they do not like.
- Promotes true fairness in government treatment of citizens.
- Rewards saving and investment.
- Promotes Caveat Emptor (buyer beware and choose purchases carefully).
- Punishes Opulence and luxury spending by those who cannot afford it.
- Promotes recycling and conservation of resoures by not taxing used products.

If the United States (or any other country) adopted an individual consumption tax and equalized per capita government social spending each citizen would be treated as fairly as possible by the government. It would lead to a booming economy, high investment from abroad, but also a marked advance in civilization (and I don't think I am overstating the possibilities). As citizens of the United States we should stop trying to gain advantage for ourselves and 'our group' over another and instead just try to treat everyone that is not trying to hurt others equally, and it will benefit everyone.

Nuclear Power

The United States needs to again consider nuclear power for our energy needs but we must first get the design, the regulations, and the waste disposal questions resolved before we start. The American public needs to be educated on nuclear power to eliminate some of the unfounded prejudices.

I was a US Navy Nuclear Reactor Operator for about 6 1/2 years and an Electrical Controls Engineer at a civilian nuclear plant for 3 years. I have seen the inside analysis of the failures at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. The US designs and safety systems were, and still are, significantly more advanced than the Russian designs. That was the reason there was only an insignificant release of radioactive contamination from TMI and a wasteland created at Chernobyl even though the meltdowns were somewhat comparable.

After TMI all of the nuclear plants in the US were required to upgrade all systems to account for the lessons learned from the TMI accident and the operator training requirements were also significantly improved so that the problem at TMI is unlikely to occur again and even if it did the public would not be exposed to any significant danger.

When nuclear power became available in the late 50's and early 60's every company in the US that made boilers and power plants jumped into the nuclear business and created many different designs. This made it difficult to transfer lessons learned from a problem at one plant to other plants. If we start building plants again we should agree on two or three standard proven designs that are pre-approved by the NRC (similar to how France approaches nuclear power) and build only these plants. This will reduce costs and safety risks for everyone.

Radioactive waste is not that difficult to store safely after it has "cooled" for a decade and the plants can keep waste on site in secure storage pools for that long. The storage containers that have been developed for high level waste are very safe for transferring and long term storage. The issues at Yucca Mountain are more political than they are technical, the facility should be approved and we should move forward to storing the waste that is sitting in dry casks at nuclear power plants across the country.

The technology is now proven and the safety risks are now well understood, it is time to start building nuclear plants again to meet the needs of the nation for safe and inexpensive electrical energy that will get the economy growing in high gear.

OneLawThoughts 2005-04-29

Message to all extremists on any issue or topic, political or religious. You will never get your way at the national level because you cannot get 280 million people to agree on anything. If you have the best solution for a problem in your neighborhood and it doesn’t harm others outside of your community then pass it locally and tell all other levels of government to but out.
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I do not have a liberal or conservative view of what is right and wrong. Right is when a person tries to help others, wrong is when a person tries to harm others. Simple.
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Some people want to get their way so badly that they are willing to hurt themselves just to get their way. You can never be happy in life until you are happy with yourself and you do not try to control others.
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If everyone actually defended themselves there would be no crime because the potential criminal would know that they would never get away with it.
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One Law Goal – To teach people that they can trust their neighbors to never harm them.
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Only you choose who your employer is and how much your effort is worth in the United States. If you don’t like your job, your wage, or your benefits then look for another job. If you cannot find another job that meets your expectations you are probably getting what you are worth.
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Make Washington, D.C. and every representative, besides your own, unimportant to your life. If you think you have better solutions for your community than Washington, D.C. does then ask for your community’s share of government resources, and tell your congressman how to spend it.
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One Law Guarantee –
If you hurt others you will have a crappy life.
If you help others you will have a great life.
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The programs that the Democrats create to “help” the poor also ensure that they remain poor so that they will always have citizens to help.
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One Law – Don’t hurt others, always intend to help, and expect the same of others.
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You should always be biased for the solution that you think is best.
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Socialism – People who don’t feel like working stealing from those who are working. I expect no more from others than I give to them and I refuse to give to those who harm others.
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If one citizen is harming another it is the government’s responsibility to help the victim defend themselves, stop the citizen that is committing the harm and force that person to compensate the victim for any damages.
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If you are at the bottom of the ladder, don’t just stand there complaining how high it is, take the first step and keep on climbing until you get to where you want to be.
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One Law - Do what works the best instead of doing what feels the best.
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One Law – Every individual should be allowed to decide what is best for them and allowed to do what they want as long as they are not harming anyone.
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Email: Subject: Would you vote for me? Body: I live by one easy to understand political principle that I call TheOneLaw: I will not harm others, I will always do what is in everyone’s best interests, and I expect the same of others.
Vote YES If you agree with TheOneLaw principle, I would love to represent you.
Vote NO If you do not agree with TheOneLaw principle, I would not want to even want to live in your neighborhood.
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High Drug Prices - Everyone agrees that United States citizens pay more than other nations for the same medications, of which, we develop and manufacture the majority. Instead of asking why we can’t pay less for our medications we should ask why other western industrialized nations don’t pay the same as we do for the same medications. These nations have socialized health care systems that place caps on the price they are willing to pay for drugs which artificially reduces their costs which transfers those costs to the United States citizens. This means the United States citizens are subsidizing the socialist health care systems of these other nations to allow them to operate. The allies of socialized medicine in the United States then have the nerve to compare or health care costs to the health care costs of those nations which are made artificially lower by our subsidies and even though the care provided by those systems is substandard to the US health care system. The people of the United States willing and able to spend money on our health needs which provides the resources necessary to advance health care research, provide new technologies, provide better care in a reasonable period of time, and still be able to subsidize their health care systems as well.
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You cannot preach for personal freedoms without also preaching for personal responsibility and personal accountability for any harm that is done to another.
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I don’t think that it is important to market TheOneLaw idea because it will make money; I think it is important to market TheOneLaw idea because it is an investment that will benefit everyone that believes in it.
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TheOneLaw is the Navy Nuke approach to politics.
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Life IS easy for smart people because smart people always do what is best for themselves and everyone else; and smart people also realize that harming others is never smart.
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One Law – Helping others is right, harming others is wrong.
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Lying for money is wrong in justice, science, government, and business. It is called Fraud.
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South Park inspired One Law – Hurting others is bad, Okay?
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A viable solution is one that can work in the long term. Any form of Socialism is a quick fix and it always fails in the long run because it steals from those who are willing to take care of themselves and gives it to those who refuse to take care of themselves.
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In a dictatorship no one takes responsibility for actions including the dictator.
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Oil – No nation can tell another nation that they must produce more oil. Every nation must take advantage of the resources that are available in their nation so that they minimize the transfer wealth others. These resources should be harvested and consumed in the most environmentally and economically best way that is available.
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One Law Independents utilize the best ideals from both the Democrats and Republicans to find the best solutions for everyone.
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You should not hold fixed opinions on any issue if you have not researched all of the options for a better solution.
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Make your decisions based on what works instead of what feels good. If the solution benefits you, but harms everyone else, then it is not a solution.
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Any government tax is a burden on society and it will slow growth and wealth accumulation for everyone.
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TheOneLaw is the perfect moral compass for anyone to determine what is right or wrong.
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Every leader that practices total control of their followers has convinced them that things are better than they really are and has used force to ‘convince’ those that realized otherwise.
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The South Korean people were capable of developing a western style democracy when they were allowed to by the United States. The North Korean people are capable of doing the same if they were allowed to by Kim Jong Mentally Il. Central control never works because no one knows what is best for you, except you.

Campaign Finance Reform

As long as Senator's, Congressmen, and other politicians have the ability to control large sums of money in the form of subsidies, tax breaks, and favorable regulation there will be someone that is willing to pay large sums of money to the campaigns of these politicians to gain advantage. Federal level politicians now control significant power over decisions that effect more than just the constitiuents in their home states and congressional districts which has nationalized the funding of campaigns. It is hard enough to keep track of what your Senators and Congressional representative are doing with your tax dollars, now you also have to try to keep track of what the leadership and commitee members of other states and districts are doing as well.

The best form of campaign finance reform would remove the national motivations by equalizing actual tax revenues spent per capita at the congressional district level and giving the direct control of how that money is spent to the congressman for that district. This would allow the constituents of each congressional district to have more direct control over how their federal tax money is spent and what it is spent on.

Fair taxation, fair distribution of revenue, and increased accountability of your representatives, that would be Campaign Finance Reform and so much more.