Schmidt column: Government run by thieves, tax cheats

Michael Jedson’s letter, “Just some more tea party rhetoric” (in the Jan. 4 issue of Carolina Gateway), has some truth in it, but is supported by untruths. I want to share some history to support the reason for tax cuts. The left wants to always increase taxes. Our debate is whether to increase or decrease taxes or to increase or decrease spending.
Here’s some history to support decrease of taxes and tea party rhetoric. The idea of an income tax finally took hold on Democratic President W. Wilson’s watch. The idea was always supported by the Socialists here. You do know it was one of the 10 planks desired by Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto.” A small problem existed – the Constitution. Income taxes were unconstitutional as determined by the Supreme Court in an actual case. The problem was solved in 1913 with the 16th Amendment being ratified. At first, the richest earning more than $500,000 a year paid 7 percent. By 1921, that tax (under Democratic control) rose 10 times to 77 percent.
In 1918, we went into a deep recession which lasted until 1921. What caused it to go away? Republican Warren G. Harding became president in 1920. He noted that as taxes were raised the wealthy paid less and less taxes. Revenue actually went down everytime taxes were raised under President Wilson.
Harding’s Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon found that high taxes drove money underground and overseas. From 1921 to 1926, Harding and Mellon drove Congress to reduce the tax rate from 77 percent on top earners and 4 percent on the lowest to 24 percent and 1.5 percent. Then we had the so-called Roaring 1920’s. The national debt was reduced from $24 billion to $18 billion and GovCo revenue increased 61 percent.
Harding and Mellon’s tax policies set the stage for a period of amazing growth.  President Harding is not remembered as a great president. Most of his appointees were of less-than-stellar character like the appointees of the president of today.
Harding died in office and Republican Calvin Coolidge was his successor. Coolidge, in his inaugural address of only 102 words, warned Americans not to expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong and not to be in a hurry to legislate. All good words of advice for us today.
The Democrats insist on increasing taxes because, you know, it is only fair. Pretty soon you will only be able to get a job from a poor person. Let me know how that works for you.
The government is a kleptrocracy – we are ruled by a group of thieves and tax cheats who consider themselves the elite and have the right to rule us. The only way to get this GovCo in check is to reduce its size and reduce its funding with some serious spending.
Jedson, the top 1 percent is paying 40 percent of the taxes today. Don’t you think that is enough – 53 percent of the taxpayers are supporting 47 percent. That 47 percent is not poor, but have been trained to live off of entitlements. They are capable of working.
The EPA is its own government with little or no oversight and should be eliminated. The Energy Department does not produce any energy and needs to be eliminated. The Education Department does not educate anyone and needs to be eliminated. The government can be reduced in size to remove the burden from the citizens of America.
Our government today is a kleptrocracy. We are ruled by a band of thieves and tax cheats, aka the elite ruling class. They have the right to rule because of who they are. We must reduce their funding and then vote them out in November 2012.