Hate Mail, Gotta Love It

Fair Tax = Fairy Tale

Steven P Munsey A+, MCP, IASO Orange Park | Green Cove Springs munsey13@comcast.net

OGV,

If this is your first instance of hate mail, count yourself fortunate.  I've never received hate mail, but have received what I would call crank calls.  These came from letters to the editor in the Times Union & one crank call long distance from Miami.  I had written a letter to the editor to the Miami Herald.  It got printed while I was gone for the weekend & when I got back & checked my messages, there it was.  I contacted the CCSO & Miami Dade PD & made sure that they knew it was in the nature of a crank call, not threatening.  Haven't heard from the yutz since.

Same with the calls in the local area.  Since I limit myself to the topics of politics & religion, my views on religion have drawn more knuckle draggers by far.  Haven't had any problems with the blogs, but way back, I did change my user name.  It didn't work out so I fessed up.  I may have had some animated conversations, from the sublime to the ridiculous in intellectual range, with some of our blogeratti brethern, but nothing in the way of crank or threats. 

Hope this was your first & last.  But just to be on the safe side, keep your head down & watch your six.  JATFUR.

Rich K

Shoot man. The best I can do is get an email from Mother somebody who is dying from cancer with an offer to let me share in the 20M Pounds Sterling her husband left her if I'll just promise to use it to build Churches.

Think I should have taken her up on her offer?

BTW I liked the letter. 

Mike Heemer

Believe me, I am not afraid of this pervert. I wanted to alert the rest of you guys to what happened to me just so you know what kind of people these are. I doubt they are dangerous, just cowards. In a fair (har) fight, my granny would mop the floor with this guy and she's been dead 15 years. This is a guy who really needs a six pack. I really hate cowrds. Remeber the pervs name. John D. Williams, although it could be an alias. Isn't that the name of the guy that did the St r Wars movies music? I gotta google that one.

Mike, here be a really dumb e-mail I got.  It's good for nothing but laughs.

Attn,
   I am a registered loan lender ,we offer both personal loan and business
loan, if in need of any financial help and want
to apply for a loan as we Offer to People internationally no matter  the
Country or age but must be above 18 Years as we offer from $1,000 USD (One 
Thousand United States Dollars to $50,000,000.00  (Fifty Million United
States  Dollars)if you are interested I will advice you to kindly get back to
us so that We can furnish you the procedure,  do contact.
Email: johnbhendricks101@strompost.com
Best Regards
Mr.John Blair Hendricks
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Alliance Loan Company (ALC)

Just looked up John D. Williams. I really don't think Mr. Williams who writes movie music is stupid enuff to embrace anything as dumb as the fair tax. The cowrd who wrote me can't even use his real name.

Hey Buddy, your credit score must be pretty damn good to qualify for $50 Million.  Here's an idea for you..... maybe you could take that $50Mil and build your own little beltway around town and then set up a tollbooth at both ends.  All you would have to do for the rest of your life is kick back and collect all the dough.  Just imagine, park yourself under a shade tree, pop the top on a brewski, watch all the cars go by and holler "Cha Ching" once in awhile.

I get hate mail on the blogs. You know what I say lock and load.  

It's quite unfortunate that you received such a negative response from a FairTax supporter. It's not a fairy tale, and I hope I can quickly offer a new viewpoint.

Suppose you grew up with the FairTax in place...i.e. took home your entire paycheck. Now imagine some politician coming along and trying to sell you the current tax plan (taking money from you before you get any). There's really more to the FairTax than angry supporters, and I hope you are able to engage in debate and get your questions answered.

One of the main reasons why the FairTax hasn't passed is the THOUSANDS of tax lobbyists that are in Washington. Their entire job depends on the easy manipulation of our current tax structure and are using their influence to keep it from becoming a reality.

While I won't ramble on with the substance of the FairTax bill (as I am not knowledgeable enough and lack the time) I can say that it's far better than our current tax system. I hope your bad experience doesn't ruin your desire to learn about a better tax system. 

     If the fair tax was a good idea it would have caught on by now.  To me it has always sounded like a gimmick, a desperate attempt at reform by people who are frustrated by the current tax system.

     I don't think that the current income tax system is all that bad.  Yes, we pay too much in taxes and it get's more complicated according to what you are trying to declare, but if you are just doing a regular tax return there is no reason that you can't do it yourself and either mail it or take it into a tax office and have them send it electronically.  I remember when Giulliani was running for the Republican nomination, one of his big plans was for people to be able to file their taxes on "one piece of paper."  I consider this type of rhetoric to be the height of pandering because a 1040 is one piece of paper.  This simplifying of taxes is one of the selling points of the Fair Tax, and i just don't buy it.  I think that people just get overwhelmed because when they go into the tax office they produce an entire packet of papers.  However, most of that is loan papers and authorizations for electronic signature and whatnot.  The 1040 is still one piece of paper in the packet, and even if you have a few other tax forms (EIC,  additional child tax credit, schedule A) that's still only a few more pieces of paper.  Yeah, if you are trying to claim a lot of things then you should have someone do your taxes, but otherwise there is no reason you can't do it yourself. 

     I do have a major gripe about taxes, and that refers to refundable tax credits.  There are a whole lot of people who get large refunds who paid little or no taxes during the year.  I once saw a family that had paid $18 in taxes get a refund of around $2000 because of EIC and additional child tax credit.  It made me mad, because last year after deducting my tax return from my payments,my family had still paid about $2000 in taxes.  I don't see the reasoning of me paying $2000 if you are just going to turn around and give that money to someone with a lot of refundable credits.  It's just welfare under another name.

     My other gripe refers to the tax services because they are the biggest rip-off in the World.  They reel people in with their rapid refunds and when you add up all the fees and interest they charge people a couple of hundred dollars to do a rapid return that every January I do on the internet for about $30.  Many of these people are getting large sums of what is to them free money, so paying a few hundred extra to get it is no big deal to them.  When you get into holiday loans it gets even worse because the tax services get them twice. 

     The way I see it, last year the government took my $2000 and gave it to someone else, they gave a few hundred to a tax service because they had to have their money now, and then they went out and bought some big ticket items to stimulate the economy.  I would rather have kept my money.  

     In the past I have heard of churches or other charities helping people file their taxes, if you saw more of that I think it would be helpful to lower-income people.  At x-mas they could just buy the stuff they could afford rather than going out for holiday loans, and if they filed themselves and just waited for a normal return they could save a few hundred bucks in tax fees and maybe do something more useful with my, I mean their money than blowing it at the mall.

Travis C    

A hate mail letter is not unexpected from what I have had to deal with regarding these people. They are a very nasty, mind contolled group who will brook no interference with their quest to make things better as they see it and anyone who objects, well look out. I referred to them as cult like and I stand by it. To have an anonymous cretin actually take the time to write a letter and put a stamp on it shows how devoted they are to harrying any naysayers. If this individual is looking for a fight, I will be more than happy to join in. These people are a disgrace to our country and their unbridled hatred of anyone who criticises them shines a light on their "group think"mentality.

As to a better tax system, I long ago stated my preference for a flat tax. Everyone pays the same percentage. Yes the rich pay more but they make more. They should not be unduly penalized for that. There are, like it or not, certain things the country must raise funds for. I do not believe the perks the congressmen and senators get are fair or valid. That should end immediately. I also believe if you are an American, a percentage should be paid whether you are rich or poor, elderly or youthful, these services don't become cheaper just because one does not earn as much as say Stephen King. But all Americans should pull together for the common cause. Their are also things I find it immoral to tax. One being a consultation with a physician. This is one of the most despicable parts of the so called Fair Tax. These clowns actually think you can save on taxes by choosing exactly how you wish to spend your moey. The letter in the T-U was right. These people tell you that your tax liability is determined by when you spend. They don't tell you that everything you need will be taxed. Food, medicine, home maintenance, drawing up a will, a haircut... The list is as endless as the universe. Everythjing is taxed. And in true Big Government ideology, a massive new bureaucracy must be formed to make sure "fairness" will rule in the ludicrous "Prebate" scam. If they or anyone else thinks any current bureaucracy will be voided, they are as delusional as socialist ever was. No, we will only get another bureaucracy to fund.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

Suppose you grew up with the FairTax in place...i.e. took home your entire paycheck. Now imagine some politician coming along and trying to sell you the current tax plan (taking money from you before you get any). There's really more to the FairTax than angry supporters, and I hope you are able to engage in debate and get your questions answered.

Is it true that in a country founded on the idea of no taxation without representation your group would have everything taxed? I certainly think the tax system as it is today should be overhauled but i don't think thisis the way to go. I believe in a flat tax. I also wonder about the kind of people who exhibit such close mindedness.

I like the flat tax too. I never trust anything that proclaims to be fair. When have you ever seen anything in life that was fair?

It would remove most power from politicians and make it near impossable to buy votes and keep their jobs. Most would have to go to robbing banks or the like

Ex, you gopt that right buddy. But in the longrun, robbing banks may appeal more so to those guys than the constant pocket picking they do now to "get along". After all, they do know they are better than us.  

OGV: Is it true that in a country founded on the idea of no taxation without representation your group would have everything taxed?

The above was asked on August 27th of Politacalnewbie. It is now September 1st and still no reply. This is SOP with this bunch. Only statements that should be accepted as gospel and never a straight answer to any question.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

Lily,

Have you been in a cave somewhere?  Have you been captured & spirited away to a nunnery?  I have posted mumerous times on just this situation.  Whenever questionable, unsubstantiated claims have been made, & one comes back to challenge them, to provide facts or sources, the usual response is a non response...complete, ignoring silence.  I might add that from my perspective, the biggest offenders have been Smuncey & CCC, wherever he has been.  There have been others, of course.  but you are absolutely correct.  It is SOP for those who melt, like vampire, at the phrase, "BS walks, facts do talk."

Clean those glasses sweet knees.  Smell the coffee burning.  In these cases, you will never get a response because even after a while, BS eventually sinks out of sight.  JATFUR.

Rich K

LOL, Solo. No, I have not found a suitable cave in Florida. I think they were outlawed a long time ago as they didn't have enough value to qualify for a Homestead Exemption.  :>)

I knew I would not get a response. I was just tweaking the Fair Taxers by pointing out to others that they are ill equipped for debate and really have no interest in having their sacred cows BBQed. Since, overall, there was very little interest in tax concepts anyway, why even bother. But I am just annoyed enough to get in a dig every now and then for fun.

Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman

I realize nobody is gonna be all that interested in the fair tax story. I thought I was done with it till I got the anonymous hate mail from some jerk. I jest can't imagine somebody so silly as to have to borrow insults from someone else just to try and prove a point.

It gets sillier. Today I got a call from somebody in El Paso Texas who wanted to change my mind about this goofy idea. Can you imagine how little you have to have in the way of a life to call up a stranger several states away because he happened to write something about yer pet project you didn't like? It's almost scary. But I have to say their network is pretty close knit.  But it's so ridiculous I just had to let you all in on the joke. I gotta wonder about the people behind this notion. I really don't think they are all that stable as images of Jim Jones flash before my eyes.