Updated  Saturday, May 01, 2004   

              

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April 26, 2004

Pam and I worked on a trellis on the back porch:

I decided to make it out of driftwood from out back.

 

April 22, 2004

I ate my second tomato today, one bite! It was tiny but delicious.

Last month I copied a blurb about tax reduction. Tonight I listened to Sen. Steve King (R-Iowa) talk about the elimination of income taxes! He was discussing replacement of the income tax with a sales tax. Our national debt would disappear, savings would skyrocket, many people would lose their jobs as pencil pushers and have to get a productive job.

My idea is a little different. I think we should make the income tax a constant number. Just like the Social Security dollars they take out, I think the Income Tax number should be fixed. That way, whenever you get your pay check, that is your money, and you do not have to file, just like the SS portion, do you file paperwork on that? NO!

Sen. Steve King was discussing a bill (HR25) in congress which would change the way we fund the government. I think it warrants some thought as an option:

Neal Boortz

End of the income tax?

Posted: August 12, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

It's in the hopper. HR25 is called the Fair Tax Act of 2003, and its stated purpose is "To promote freedom, fairness and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the states.

I've been studying and promoting this idea for nearly 17 years. I've debated each and every possible point and objection, and have almost always drawn the opposing party to my side. HR25 has 32 cosponsors and absolutely no organized opposition. This is legislation that would transform our economy and our society for the better, yet this may well be the first time you've heard of it. It's time to bring you up to speed.

Here are the highlights. If The Fair Tax Act were to become law, the following would happen.

  1. The law establishing the federal income tax would be repealed, both for individuals and for businesses.
  2. A constitutional amendment repealing the 16th Amendment would be sent to the states for ratification.
  3. All laws providing for payroll taxes for the funding of Social Security and Medicare would be repealed.
  4. A sales tax would be instituted on the sale of all goods and services at the retail level. This retail sales tax would replace all payroll and federal income taxes.
  5. Government funding would remain at present levels, and no changes would be made to Social Security and Medicare other than the method of funding those programs.

Does the idea sound pretty radical thus far? Stick with me a few hundred more words.

With the passage of HR25, you would receive 100 percent of your bi-weekly paycheck. If you make $1,000 a week, your paycheck would be $2,000 every two weeks. Of that $2,000, you would only pay tax on the money you spend at the retail level. All savings and investments would be tax free. Any money you spend at the retail level would carry a 23 percent sales tax.

Yikes! Did that man say 23 percent? Yeah, I know. It sounds awfully high, but here are some points you need to consider.

First, there are the embedded taxes on every single product or service you purchase at the retail level. Harvard economists have estimated this embedded tax to be around 22 percent of the cost of those goods. That 22 percent represents the payroll taxes and corporate business and income taxes paid by every manufacturer, shipper, wholesaler, merchandiser and retailer having any connection whatsoever with the product you have purchased. These taxes are all added to the cost of consumer goods.

As soon as these taxes vanish, economists agree that competitive market pressures will immediately cause prices at the retail level to fall. So, we almost have a wash here. The prices decrease by over 20 percent, and you start paying a 23 percent sales tax. Remember, though. You brought home 100 percent of your paycheck, and every dollar you don't spend at the retail level remains untaxed.

But what about the poor? They're not really paying federal income taxes anyway, so this big sales tax is really going to hit them hard, right?

Wrong. The Fair Tax Act provides that no family, rich or poor, will pay sales taxes on the basic necessities of life. The cost of these basic necessities is set at the federally determined poverty level for various sized families. At the beginning of every month the head of every household in America will receive a check, or an electronic credit to their bank account, in an amount equal to the sales tax they would pay on the basic necessities for their sized family ($475 for a family of four). This provision is completely neutral as to income, so class warfare political rhetoric becomes useless.

HR25 has friends in high places inside the Beltway. When briefed on the idea, Vice President Dick Cheney told Congressman John Linder: "This needs to be put before the president." Commerce Secretary Don Evans, after being briefed, asked Linder: "Why haven't you passed this?"

And just why hasn't it passed? Because the idea is so bold that many politicians, while personally praising the concept, just assume it can't pass.

It can pass, my friends. It can pass if the people of America learn the details and then let their elected officials know that they want some action. If you have the slightest interest, just go to the website for Americans for Fair Taxation. Every detail is covered, every question is answered.

If America is now ready to accept the possibility of the Red Sox winning the World Series, we can certainly support an idea as daring as the Fair Tax Act.

I have had two requests for prior months issues (on the Archive button to the left). Sorry, I misspelled February and failed to add March! It is fixed now.

April 18, 2004

My first tomato!

We had two monarchs born yesterday! The male:

The female, just inflating her wings:

Notice the fur on her back!

Transferring to my thumb:

Look out world, here I come!

Last night we went to the Gulfport Theatre Walk. We walked all over town where they had skits awaiting us everywhere, outside garages, on side lawns (note the picket fence in the background)..

April 13, 2004

Roses for Pam for Easter:

Another letter from Paul and Malinda:

Hello all:
Arrived in Porlamar, Isla Margarita, Venezuela on Good Friday.  The Easter weekend starts on Thursday for Venezuelans and Isla Margarita is THE destination of the rich and beautiful from the mainland. Porlamar is a free port, that is, duty free so there are a zillion shops and botiques to buy clothes, shoes, swimwear, you name it.  Restaurants abound and a nice evening dinner for two will be less than $10.  Taxi is a dollar while the bus is only 30 cents or so. We just had fuel service this morning - two men in a 30 foot cayuco came by and hand pumped 260 liters (68 gallons) of diesel and 20 liters (5.2 gallons) of gasoline aboard for a TOTAL cost of $14.33.  That comes to 18.9 cents per gallon for diesel and 25.2 cents per gallon for gas.. Oh, my!!!.  We are just beginning to explore the place, waiting until the crowds are all gone back to the mainland.  The breezes have been very cool here in the anchorage but hot when ashore.. No rain as it is still the dry season.  There are American style malls here and McDonald's, also several large modern supermarkets to chose from.  There is a mile long beach about a 20 minute walk from the anchorage, with high-rise apartments hotels and condos everywhere.  Well, there is a downside to paradise as petty thievery and holdups occur quite often.  Dinghy motors are prize targets as well as tourists, foreign and local, carrying shopping bags of goodies.  We walk with others and carry our pepper spray.  We are not fearful just careful.  We will stay here a week or so before heading to Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba and Columbia.  It is too bad the bandidos are all pervasive, Chavez has given tacit approval to the poor to rob the rich, and thus gained huge popularity with the poor masses.  Venezuela is really an awesome cruising ground and probably the best in this hemisphere.  We are glad we cruised the area extensively back in '95.  All is well so far, the boat systems are functioning properly with only routine maintenance required.  We had a grand overnight sail the 143 nm from Grenada, averaged 6.1 knots, didn't have to touch the sails for 23 hours, just minor adjustments to the autopilot to stay on the rhumb line.

Fairwinds and love to all,

Paul and Malinda
S/V Daydream
PS: I sent a long note to you all from Grenada but it got returned, sorrry.


April 11 (continued)

Pam and I spent the day both at dad's and at her house.

 

Pictures of flowers at dad's:

Guest in the garden Pam spotted and jumped a mile:

A nest in a hanging plant:

We then put together a picnic and headed for the beach to join up with Pam's sister and family. As we drove to meet them, we got a few raindrops on the windshield. The weather was 0% rain today, the weatherman said, and it had not rained for three weeks. We decided to stop at Pam's home and turn on the TV before we went all the way to the beach. There was a huge rainstorm headed our way! We ended up having our picnic in the garage, with the wind howling and thunder cracking all around! Pam bringing out things for the picnic:

April 11 2004

Happy Easter!

 

We are going over to Dad's for Easter. Had a good time at YES yesterday, I helped out with the mousetrap cars. Pretty interesting! Pam helped out with the kids, mathbowl, quizbowl etc.

April 6, 2004

Note from Paul:

Well, we finally hit some good cruising grounds.  The weather abruptly changed for the better the day we left St. Lucia.  From Bequia south to the Grenadines and the Tobago Cays has been really nice.  We miss ALL our friends, cruisers or otherwise.  Anyhow, cruisers, we enjoyed some good snorkeling off the east side of Mayreau - there is an anchorage on the windward side of Mayreau that sees few other boats and the snorkeling is only a few hundred yards out.  You gain access form the south and leeward side of Mayreau - easy to get into and quite calm.  Presently we are in Grenada, anchored in The Lagoon, Island Waterworld is right across the street as is Foodland.  Bus to downtown St. Georges is only 1.5 EC.  We were in the Hog Island anchorage but had stuff to do so came to the Lagoon.  

We will leave straight for Isla Margarita (Venezuela) this Thursday, about a 150 nm run so that is a noon to noon passage, but downwind so should be an easy sail.  We are well and making friends tho they all seem to be going north.  We will buddy boat to Margarita with Eric on Alga from Austrailia.  Just met a couple finishing an 11 year round the world trip - having them over for refreshments to hear their travels.  BTW the boat is working well - fingers crossed on the shaft.. really runs smoothly now that I put a soft shaft coupling in.

Love and peace to all

Paul and Malinda

April 3, 2004

I got my ladybugs from California yesterday! I put a bunch out on my plants to see if I can control my aphid problem. Below are a couple of pictures I took this morning:

The first shows the "parade" of aphids; check out their black legs and the way they have their butts up in the air!

This next one shows a ladybug having lunch on an aphid:

Today Pam and I are (as I write this) on our way to Orlando to help her daughter Natalie move into her new home. Traffic (knock on wood) is not bad at all this afternoon.

Amy and Sarah are back home. I guess they had a good time, I sure did!!

David and I had a good conversation last night, he is busy getting his ducks in a row to get his home built. We talked about septic tanks and the new thing they are doing with peat moss. They pump the water that comes out of  the septic tank into a container of peat moss, the peat moss cleans up the nitrogen and phosphorus out of the water before it goes into the groundwater. That is good for those who need to put their septic system close to ponds.

It is such fun driving along with Pam, she is so happy and  funny! "How do they know how to drop water from the plane onto the fire? Oops, missed, oh well, need to go get more; meanwhile, another house burned." she says conspiratorially. And another time, "Come on little CRV, you can do it, varoom, varoom." as we pass another car.

John and Darrell and marilyn's weather:

Amy and Darren's weather:

Dad and Betty's weather:

Susan and Al's weather:

David' and jeans weather:

Donald and jeanne's weather:

Daniel and candy's weather:

Heather and michael's weather:

Rod and jill's weather:


Don in California 2004 was cancelled, see you in Maine in 2005!

2005 David and Jean's Housewarming party,
       Pocomoonshine Lake, Princeton, Maine
 
2006 Darrell & Marilyn  
2007 Dan  
2008 Sue and Al  
2009 John  
2010 Donald