By Wayne Allyn Root, 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee
I am probably the only politician in America whose day job is Las Vegas oddsmaker. I’ve learned many valuable lessons from sports and sports betting. On Sunday I made a fortune for thousands of my clients by picking the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl upset. Obama, Reid and Pelosi might snicker, but they obviously don’t understand the difference between Vegas and Washington D.C. You know what it is? In Vegas the drunks gamble with their own money. Maybe we need a politician in D.C. who understands the psychology of winning; who understands the motivation of risk versus reward; who has the guts to take gambles; and the courage to back his convictions with his own money, instead of the taxpayers’ money.
Here are the lessons Obama should have learned from yesterday’s Super Bowl:
#1) Stop slandering Las Vegas. Ironically Vegas makes people happy… Obama doesn’t. There is something about taking a risk that makes Americans feel alive. We are a nation of gamblers. We all have gambling in our blood. Afterall, we are descended from the greatest risk-takers in world history- immigrants who risked their lives and futures to travel to a new land called America. Those who chose to play it safe, stayed home in Germany, Ireland, Italy, China, Russia or India. We are the descendants of the gamblers. That is why America leads the world in entrepreneurship and small business creation. Americans love to risk, test their skills versus fate, and win their fortune. That could be why Americans love Las Vegas. Try to remember that Mr. President the next time you start to criticize or denigrate Las Vegas.
#2) Taking risks is central to success. The Saints pulled the huge Super Bowl upset by taking a huge gamble. Their onside kick to start the second half was the key play of the game- and one of the most daring calls in Super Bowl history. Obama doesn’t understand how important risk-taking is to success in life. The New Orleans Saints’ Coach Sean Payton only took that risk because he knew he’d be rewarded if he succeeded. He will make millions of dollars in new and bigger contracts and endorsement deals because of that daring gamble. People don’t take risks without rewards.
Obama doesn’t understand that risk-taking (entrepreneurship) is the only way out of this recession. People that take risks with their own money are the lifeblood of America (and the American Dream). They will not take those risks without the proper incentive- the ability to keep more of their own money. Obama must reward and encourage risk-taking by our small business owners, not punish it.
#3) Sports gambling (and all forms of online gaming) needs to be legalized. Our country is bankrupt. We need to use Nevada as a role model for the nation and legalize, regulate and tax “sin,” like any other business. Legalizing medical marijuana and online gaming has the potential to bring in $300 billion in new tax revenues. That could pay down government debts, or allow us to lower taxes for our hardworking American taxpayers.
#4) Don’t blindly follow the media. Obama loves to listen to the media…and to be loved by the media. Too bad for him. The media is almost always wrong. That’s how I’ve managed to pick so many winners in my 25 year career as a Las Vegas oddsmaker. I listen to the “experts” in the media…and whatever they recommend or predict…I go the opposite way. Virtually every expert in the media predicted a Colts victory in the Super Bowl. These same experts could not see any possibility for the Saints to pull an upset. Knowing how pathetic the gut instincts of the media are…I picked the Saints in the upset. Perhaps Obama should stop listening to the media. To the contrary, Obama should do the exact opposite of anything that the media recommends.
#5) Government wastes our money. During the Super Bowl I witnessed a perfect example of why our government is broke and failing…and why only the private sector can save our economy. I saw a TV ad created by the federal government. It was an advertisement for the U.S. Census Bureau. It was stale, stupid and ineffective. But worse, it wasted $2 million of taxpayer money. Yes, that ad cost $2 MM of your money. For what? This is how government wastes your money every hour of every day. It’s easy to waste a million here…and a million there, when it’s not your money. Remember that joke about the difference between Vegas and D.C. This is a perfect example of government bureaucrats gambling and failing miserably with someone else’s money- YOURS.
During the same Super Bowl, I saw edgy TV ads by Snickers, Doritos and GoDaddy.com (to name a few). I’m betting that those ads will make millions of dollars for those companies. I’m also betting that millions…perhaps tens of millions of men responded by going to the GoDaddy.com web site. That’s the creativity of American business. That’s free markets at work. Government could never create that kind of success (or profit).
If the GoDaddy.com TV ads fail…it costs taxpayers nothing. That’s the beauty and bravery of entrepreneurs in the private sector. They are more creative because they are gambling with their own money. And if they fail, it doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime. Not unless our politicians use our money to bail them out. It’s simply unconstitutional for government to bail out private companies who happen to make contributions to the politicians making the loans.
Isn’t it amazing what you can learn from a Super Bowl?
Oh, and one more revelation came from yesterday’s game: After my picking the Saints in one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, it’s now official that I’m having a better year than Obama.
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 1294 )Vegas is the Anti-Obama.
Why This is a Fight Obama Cannot Win.
By Wayne Allyn Root, 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee
So now our failing socialist President wants to take on Las Vegas- again. Bad move Mr. Obama. You may have gotten 66 million votes in 2008…but based on recent polls, you’re down to around 40 million hardcore supporters...and dropping fast. On the other hand America loves Vegas. Just mention the word and watch their eyes light up. It’s the way they used to feel about you- Vegas makes them feel young, fresh, fearless, sexy and ready for action. When you think of Vegas you want to take on the world. You and your Obamanation make them feel old, stale, frightened and weak. When you think of Obama’s economy you want to get in bed and hide under the covers. The more you attack Vegas Mr. Obama, the more you remind Americans of what they love (Vegas)…and what they don’t (you).
Pretty much every hard-working, taxpaying, money-making male in this country has recently visited Vegas…is planning a visit to Vegas…or desperately wishes they could visit Vegas. Every time you denigrate, insult or castigate Vegas, it makes them remember the way things were…before you came along. It makes them remember “the good old days” when they had the money for a trip to Sin City. It makes them long for the “good old days” when they actually had the freedom to do what they wanted with their own money. When progressive politicians or government know-it-alls didn’t try to micro-manage every decision, every move of their life. Last I checked Mr. Obama, this is America and we can all go where we want; do what we want; spend our money however we please. Smell that desert air Mr. President? That's the smell of freedom. Your lectures and scolding about Vegas are enough to bring out the rebel in all of us…to unite us to collectively scream “WITH ALL DUE RESPECT MR. PRESIDENT, SCREW YOU."
Talk about beating a dead horse. Talk about digging the hole deeper. Every time you attack Vegas, you just keep reminding us that you think our money belongs to you. It’s obvious that you think you’re our boss. That we elected you to be omnipotent. Well guess what Mr. Obama? Every day more people (the kind that like to let loose in Las Vegas) are realizing what a big mistake it was to elect you President. We don’t want your socialist ideas…your redistribution of our wealth…your power-hungry czars...your Treasury Secretaries who cheat on their taxes, but think we should pay more…or your lectures on what we can or cannot do with our money. You know what we think you should do with those lectures, don't you?
I understand why you choose to attack Vegas. You resent what it represents. Green. Vegas is the real “Green Economy” that Americans love. Cold, hard cash. Risk-taking. Capitalism. Freedom. Rebellion. A vacation from progressive ideas and political correctness. We are the anti-Obama. We represent the very concepts that made America great. This Sunday will be Super Bowl Sunday. But the biggest party won’t be in Miami. It will be right here in Sin City. Las Vegas will be jammed with 300,000 visitors, many of the most beautiful women on the planet, and lots of green. This weekend Vegas will become the epicenter of the “green economy." But there won’t be any global warming enthusiasts here. We don’t need your permission to spend our green, enjoy it, or blow it. We’ll be sure to have a cold drink on you.
Vegas is a state of mind. It’s a whole city that represents individualism, self-reliance, personal responsibility, and limited government. It’s a place where the state constitution bans income taxes, but welcomes guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens. Where men can be men, without worrying about your progressive politically correct rules. It's the way America used to be. A place that 40 million Americans a year visit to do whatever we want with our own money and our own bodies. I’ll bet Obama just hates this place.
This country makes movies about Vegas…sings songs about Vegas…and considers this their favorite place to watch their favorite stars perform (from Elvis to Cher to Bette Midler to Garth Brooks). Vegas makes people happy. The American Dream is the story of Vegas. Take your best shot Obama. We dare you. Keep framing the issue as Vegas versus you. It’s a battle you can’t win. You can only dig your hole deeper.
Personally I think you’re the best thing that ever happened to this city. You’re the gift that keeps on giving. You’ve reminded us all that we still have freedom…that we still have balls…that America is a nation that rewards risk. You’ve awakened the sleeping giant Mr. Obama. The American spirit is alive and well. It’s good to feel alive again. It’s good to know that in America everyone is their own boss. Even the President can’t tell us what to do. Viva Las Vegas.
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 256 )If You Need Legal Advice, You Need a Good Lawyer. If You Want to Run an Economy and Create Jobs...Run Away from the Lawyers.
By Wayne Allyn Root, 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee
You know what they say about lawyers…their greatest talent is their ability to quote their fees without smiling. Well after watching Obama’s State of the Union speech last week, you can add a new talent to the list: Obama should win an Academy Award for the role of a lawyer lying about the true “state of the union.”
Obama said that his stimulus added 2 million jobs. Really? Where? In some alternate universe? Certainly not in America. We’ve actually lost several million jobs since Obama passed his stimulus plan. There is no hard evidence that any private sector jobs were created. Just another lawyer lie.
Obama said that he was freezing discretionary income to reduce the deficit. Really? So with Obama’s version of math, saving a few billion dollars will cut a $1.6 trillion deficit? Just another lawyer lie.
To further prove my point, only one week after stressing deficit reduction in his State of the Union address, Obama released the biggest budget in U.S. history ($3.8 trillion)- complete with the biggest deficit in U.S. history ($1.6 trillion). Give Obama credit- when he lies, he really lies big!
Obama talked about creating jobs. But the problem is that government doesn’t create jobs. Government spending and record deficits takes money away from the private sector- thereby killing job growth. Obama’s proposed tax increases are in actuality what is stopping business from adding jobs. Just another lawyer lie.
Obama talked about helping small business by making it easier for banks to offer loans. Ask any small business owner- they will tell you that access to bank loans is the smallest piece of the puzzle. Obviously Obama is trying to help small business, without ever actually speaking to a small business owner. Ironically, it is Obama’s universal health care, tax and spend, cap and trade, card check, and expansion of government that are standing in the way of a small business recovery. With friends like Obama, who needs enemies? Just another lawyer lie.
Obama said that any student that takes out student loans and goes to work for government, should have their student loan forgiven. Only in Obama’s radical socialist world does that make sense. Mr. Obama forgot to mention that there are already almost 20 MILLION government employees on the federal, state and local level. And that it is their bloated, obscene salaries, pensions and free health care that is bankrupting America. He forgot to mention that each new government employee adds to our deficit. States have no idea how to pay for their current government employees. Why on earth would anyone want to encourage the hiring of more? Obama is trying to obscure the difference between jobs that cost taxpayers nothing (private sector jobs)…versus jobs that cost taxpayers money and lead to higher taxes and record deficits (government jobs).
Obama said that the recession is over. Well maybe it’s over for Obama’s biggest campaign contributors (who are living on stimulus and bailouts)…but it’s certainly not over on Main Street. We are far from out of this economic Armageddon. And by the way Mr. Obama…it’s not a recession. It’s a depression. Just another lawyer lie.
Obama is living proof of that famous saying…You know what the difference is between a lawyer and a liar? The pronunciation.
Now don’t get me wrong. I like some lawyers. I count lawyers among my best friends. My sister is an attorney. My daughter Dakota intends to get a law degree (which I encourage). My personal attorney is my most trusted advisor. When any of us needs an attorney, we want a good one. But let’s be honest- lawyers are paid to twist the truth around to the point where you no longer recognize it. That’s their job. Creating jobs, running businesses, running an economy- those are all far afield of their areas of expertise.
That explains our problem- our country is being run by lawyers who know nothing about how to run an economy; nothing about how to run a business; nothing about how to motivate small business; nothing about how to create a job; and who now longer recognize the truth.
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 2026 )Who's the Enemy Mr. Obama- The Taliban or America's "Rich?"
Why Are the Job Creators and Taxpayers the ONLY Ones You Can't Afford to Help?
By Wayne Allyn Root, 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee
Ronald Reagan would have said, "There you go again Obama." In last night's state of the union President Obama offered gifts to everyone in America, except the job creators and taxpayers. He told the lie again and again- that he is a tax cutter. He said, "I gave tax cuts to 95% of Americans." True. But he forgot to mention that the other 5% own all the businesses, create all the jobs and pay virtually all the taxes. He gave tax cuts to millions of people that never paid taxes in the first place. Smart move Mr. President. Screw the rich, and reward everyone else. No wonder we have an effective unemployment rate of almost 20%. How's that "spread the wealth around" working for you?
Obama promised goodies for everyone on the planet- except those making over $250,000 a year. He made a point of saying just that- we have no room for tax cuts for those making over $250,000 per year. Hey that's me! How lucky can a fellow get? Being a successful entrepreneur and small business owner under Obama is like winning the reverse lottery!
I studied hard; worked hard; never did drugs (unlike Obama); sacrificed while others were partying; graduated Valedictorian of my high school class; graduated Columbia University with honors (Deans List); and then went onto build businesses and create hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs. I did everything my parents and my country asked of me. They promised me if I did, I'd live the American Dream.
Today I work 16 to 18 hour days; I work well before 9 AM and well after 5 PM; I work weekends; I work holidays; I work on birthdays and anniversaries; I work full days while on vacation with my family; I pay huge taxes; I pay other people's health insurance; I have often withheld my own paycheck during lean times, so that I can make payroll for others; I built companies so that all my employees could also live the American Dream.
And my reward for all of that work, and sacrifice, and playing by the rules, is to be singled out by Obama on national TV as the bad guy. I'm the enemy. NOT the Taliban. It's me. I'm the guy with the bullseye on his chest. Everyone in the country gets a handout, a tax cut, an entitlement, and a tax break, but me. I get up at 5 AM and work 18 hours so that my reward is to be punished. Screwed. Taxed out of existence. There’s no room to reward me. Everyone else- there’s plenty of room for them. Me- I’m the lucky guy who has been singled out to pay for everyone else’s good times.
Obama's claim that he is fighting for small business is a lie. I am a small businessman. My friends are all small businessmen. We feel singled out for punishment and retribution (as well as redistribution). Obama thinks our hard-earned money is his. Well I have news for him- we earned it. It belongs to us. It's the taxpayers’ money; it does not belong to the government.
Obama's plan to help small business is typical Obama. It is all dressed up to sound powerful. But the reality is that beneath the beautiful bow is a huge pile of crap. Obama’s plan is an insult to all small business owners and investors. It is useless and meaningless.
We need tax cuts. We need to keep more of our own money. We need smaller government. We need for government to cut the taxes, rules, mandates and regulations that are strangling the lifeblood out of us. Instead he takes more of our money, yet tells us he's doing us a favor. No thanks. With friends like Obama, who needs enemies?
And Obama wonders why there are no new jobs? Trust me...there won't be any change in the unemployment rate anytime soon. Not with Obama as President. Not with that attitude. Small business is going on strike. Find your jobs and the taxes necessary to fund your welfare state somewhere else. We're out to lunch Mr. President. We’ll be back around 2012.
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 2.9 / 1852 )A State of the Union From a Small Businessman, Capitalist Evangelist, Tea Party Enthusiast, and Reagan Libertarian.
Because Small Business Really is Too Big to Fail.
Only Small Business Can Turn Economic Armageddon into Economic Boom Overnight.
By Wayne Allyn Root, 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee
We are not recovering from a recession. The spin, propaganda and wishful thinking from Obama, Congress and the Fed are wearing thin on the average American. Anyone with a brain and common sense can see that we are not recovering at all. Even the voters of Massachusetts realize things are bad and Obama’s plan isn’t working. There may be a recovery at GE, Haliburton and ExxonMobil (because of the legal bribery given to big business called stimulus and bailouts)- but not on Main Street where all the jobs are created.
Obama is about to present his State of the Union. But he doesn't have a clue about the true state of the union for small business owners. I am a small businessman. My friends are almost all small business owners. We all believe that Obama’s prescription for saving the American economy is a disaster. His policies of tax and spend are killing jobs, destroying confidence, and wiping out small businesses by the thousands per month.
Without a recovery by small business, there can be no recovery for the U.S. economy. Today I present a plan that can save small business…direct from the only small businessman-turned 2008 Vice Presidential nominee. I’m proud to call myself a Tea Party REAGAN LIBERTARIAN. My hero Ronald Reagan understood small business. That is why he created the largest tax cut in U.S. history- a tax cut aimed squarely at small business. That one brilliant stroke of capitalist incentive ushered in the greatest economic expansion in world history, leading to 25 years of virtually uninterrupted economic success.
My plan is “Reagan squared.” It has one goal in mind- creating tens of millions of new jobs by motivating and encouraging small business. This plan allows small business owners to keep more of their own money, and encourages them to invest it, risk it, and spend it on building new businesses, expanding old businesses, and creating new jobs. That is how you save the U.S. economy from economic disaster.
Things are bad…and getting worse. As a small businessman, with my finger on the pulse of Main Street, not Wall Street, I see the true state of the union. This is not a recession; it is a depression. We are not in recovery. We are in the depths of a long-term depression. I believe America is on the verge of economic collapse. For us to get out of this Great Depression II, we must focus on small business- not big government, not big corporations, not unions, not lawyers, not lobbyists, not government spending, not stimulus spending, not the hiring of more government employees. None of those create jobs (as Obama has proven). Jump-starting small business is the only way out of this catastrophe.
Printing money and passing out piles of fake cash in the form of bailouts and stimulus may make things look better for the short term, but they only make the long-term situation worse. The fact is governments around the world are out of ammunition. As soon as the stimulus and bailouts run out, we will all feel the REAL effects of this economic Armageddon: devaluation of the dollar; dramatically higher interest rates; dramatically higher taxes; dramatically higher inflation; dramatically lower government bond ratings; default on our debt; and sooner, rather than later, economic collapse. That is the future we are facing- and it is ugly.
Barack Obama hasn’t a clue what to do. He is a typical lawyer, community activist and career politician. None of those groups knows anything about small business. Obama arrived at the White House without having ever created a private sector job in his life. His track record is still perfect- after a year as President, he still hasn’t created a private sector job.
Mr. Obama needs an economics lesson- saving or creating government jobs doesn’t count. Each government job is actually a drain on the economy- they COST taxpayers’ money (not just today, but for decades to come with pensions and benefits like free healthcare). The size of big government is like a giant vortex- sucking money out of the economy, as well as damaging, discouraging and punishing small business and taxpayers. Government spending, and government employee unfunded liabilities are combining to dig a hole so deep for the U.S. economy that we may never recover. The millions of government jobs at the federal, state and local level aren’t the solution…they are the problem.
BUT there is a solution. There is still time to save America. We can turn this depression into the greatest economic turnaround in world history. We can create an economic boom- just as Ronald Reagan (inspired by my other hero Congressman Jack Kemp) did when he saved us from the malaise and misery of the deep recession and bleak future created by Jimmy Carter. The turnaround started then, and starts today with an economic plan aimed squarely at small business. Small business is the economic engine of the American economy. Small business has created virtually all of the tens of millions of new American jobs since the Reagan Revolution. Without small business leading the way, there can be no economic or jobs recovery.
The Obama economic plan is all wrong. He is an intellectual who has spent a great deal of time reading books. Unfortunately many of those books were written by Karl Marx. Have you seen the results of Marx’s economic prescription on the economies of Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, the old Soviet Union, the old communist China, and even most of Europe today? Those economies share similar results- limited economic growth, no job growth, no small business creation, and a far lower quality of life for their citizens. Redistribution of wealth, tax hikes on the rich, punishing the business owners, encouraging unionization of the workforce, forcing up minimum wages, massive entitlement programs, massive government spending and hiring have never created job growth in the real world. America, under Obama, is headed in the wrong direction.
So how do you save the world’s biggest economy? The same way that Reagan created the greatest economic explosion in world history- by allowing small business owners and investors to keep more of their own money. Obama will call this plan a “giveaway to the rich.” But someone needs to explain to Obama, Reid, Pelosi and their socialist cabal that it can’t be a giveaway, when it’s your money in the first place. Tax revenues belong to taxpayers and business owners- not the government. Allowing someone to keep more of the money they earned is quite simply a smart and lightening quick way to encourage the creation of millions of new jobs. As my father used to say, “I’d like to hate rich people, but the problem is no poor person has ever given me a job.” Mr. Obama has yet to learn that lesson. It’s clear that any Columbia University economics professor who ever gave Obama an “A” is a socialist.
Obama has given away money by the trillions as President- but to the wrong groups. He has redistributed it from the business owners and job creators…to people with their hands out, who didn’t earn it. He has given what he calls “tax cuts” to people who never paid taxes in the first place. He has rewarded unions that destroyed and bankrupted their employers in the first place. He has turned GM and Chrysler into $100 BB government welfare programs (that happen to build a few cars). He has given away corporate welfare by the trillions (calling it “bailouts”) to big business, but given nothing to small business. Those are in fact all the definition of “giveaways.” That kind of spending runs up the debt and bankrupts the nation. If Obama claims we can't afford to cut taxes on small business, America has a strong, loud and clear message for him: CUT GOVERNMENT SPENDING. The reason for our deficit and national debt isn't that we tax too little, it's that government spends too much.
Obama can’t tax us out of a depression. Obama isn’t saving the America economy with income tax hikes, capital gains tax hikes, healthcare tax hikes, VAT taxes, FICA tax hikes, Medicare tax hikes, cap and trade taxes, new taxes on banks and Wall Street. He is killing the motivation and spirit of the only group of people that can save us from disaster- small business owners and investors. He’s CAUSING a depression and destroying capitalism. Perhaps that’s his plan to socialize America. If so, it's working.
This Tea Party plan is simple. It allows the citizens and taxpayers of this great country to keep more of the money they earn. This plan aims to inspire the small businessman and woman; to motivate them; to get them excited again about risking and investing in the American Dream. A government handout doesn’t do that. A tax cut does. That kind of common sense isn’t found in books read by Ivy League intellectuals. Surprisingly, it isn’t even found on Wall Street anymore. It is only found on Main Street.
Ronald Reagan proved that you can turnaround even an economic disaster quickly with a giant tax cut aimed at the most important people in any economy-SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. These courageous financial risk-takers create virtually all the jobs, pay most of the taxes, allow all of their employees to build their own American Dream. These are the heroes of the business world. This simple, common sense 5-step plan to motivate small business goes even further than my hero Ronald Reagan. It is Reagan SQUARED. It is the Tea Party/Reagan Libertarian solution to saving the U.S. economy.
Step # 1: CREATE A ONE YEAR NATIONAL INCOME TAX VACATION:
Liberals (who lack common sense) will scream that Obama already gave us a giant “tax cut.” But he gave it to the wrong group. It went to his voters- people who rarely pay any taxes in the first place. What a gigantic mistake. Aim the tax cut at the people who make all the difference in a capitalist society- the taxpayers. Can you imagine the audacity of that? Actually giving tax cuts to people who pay the taxes in the first place! My plan allows everyone in America who already pays taxes to keep 100% of their own income for one year. Stand back and watch the economic explosion created when they spend it (helping retail sales), invest it (helping stocks and real estate), use it to pay down their mortgages (helping banks and ending the foreclosure crisis), and use it to start businesses in record numbers (creating jobs).
Obama will say, “How would we run government without taxes? We can’t afford it?” Really? The cost of this income tax vacation is a measly $1.2 trillion. None of those issues seemed to bother Obama when he spent trillions on bailouts and wasted stimulus- all of which created zero jobs and did nothing to improve the economy (except reward his voters and contributors). So either shut up and try it, or simply find $1.2 trillion in spending cuts. The American economy is in freefall because government spends too much, NOT because taxpayers pay too little. Cut taxes so that people can keep more of their own money (in this case ALL of their own money) and you will create an economic boom that no amount of government spending can replicate.
Let people keep their own money and watch what they do with it- they will choose to multiply it. Simply put- they will put it to work. They will start small businesses at the fastest rate in history. Keeping 100% of your own money puts people in a positive, confident mood. Watch them be motivated and inspired to create more where that came from. All of which enriches the economy and creates jobs.
Small business owners and investors are only motivated to get up in the morning and risk their life savings, and work long hours (that no union or government employee would ever put in) to improve their lives…to buy things they desire…to create financial security…to send their children to private school instead of failing public schools…to give the best in life to their families. That’s the only reason that entrepreneurs and capitalists risk their life savings. No amount of wishful liberal thinking can change that fact. That’s why Obama is failing so miserably. No entrepreneur gets up in the morning to make government rich with the fruits of his or her labor. Obama understands nothing about what made America so successful. We are a nation of risk-takers. But we risk so courageously to benefit our families, not government. That’s the foundation of capitalism- risk and reward. That is precisely why we lead the world in entrepreneurship and job creation. Reagan understood that.
This Tea Party plan actually creates more tax revenues in the long run by eliminating them temporarily. First, this plan leads to massive sales taxes- as people spend their extra money on goods, clothes, restaurants, homes, stocks, home repairs, and building new businesses. Second, this plan creates millions of new jobs- which leads to a dramatic increase in payroll taxes (and reduction in welfare and unemployment spending). Third, all the business and jobs created by this one-year income tax vacation will create an avalanche of taxes for years to come. This one-year income tax vacation is actually the foundation of a long term tax revenue explosion.
STEP #2) ELIMINATE CAPITAL GAINS TAXES PERMANENTLY:
The key to the success of our economy is small business investment. Even Obama mouths that concept. But a temporary capital gains cut or elimination will not work. Small business owners and investors need security and certainty. There is only one way to spur small business investment and expansion in the middle of a depression- eliminating capital gains taxes permanently. What a synergistic combination- a one-year income tax vacation, combined with the elimination of capital gains taxes! The income tax vacation gives taxpayers $1.2 trillion in extra money in their pockets. The capital gains tax elimination motivates them to invest it- exactly what we desperately need them to do.
As a lifelong serial entrepreneur, I understand small business owners. If you let me keep 100% of my money for one year and tell me capital gains are eliminated, I will put that money to work immediately. I will invest 100% of this extra money in my business, or new business startups. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. The money I invest in this one year could make me financially secure for the rest of my life. I'm sure that liberals will hate this idea. Obama might ask, “What do the poor get out of this?” Well how about jobs? Millions of them. Just as Reagan’s tax cut led to the creation of over 40 million jobs- virtually every one of them in small business. Yes, trickle down did in fact work. Not everyone got rich. But everyone had a job. Now they don't. In retrospect, I think it’s clear that trickle down worked just fine. Every time an entrepreneur opens a business he is helping create jobs, paying salaries, paying payroll taxes, paying for health insurance, paying the taxes to fund the government. Entrepreneurs allow others to live their American dream.
The bonus is this step allows us to compete with our #1 competitor China- who has a zero capital gains tax. China understands how to motivate entrepreneurship and small business creation. If Obama raises capital gains taxes (as he plans in 2011), we lose the economic battle with China- PERIOD. China catapults past the USA forevermore.
Finally think of the biggest bonus of all. If there are no more taxes on capital gains (and investment income of all kinds) older Americans can afford a much higher quality of life in retirement. Anyone can now retire on HALF the amount of assets- because your interest, dividends and investments are now tax free. Think of what older Americans would do with that extra money- fuel the economy, buy homes, buy stocks, travel (thereby enriching the tourist industry), dine out more often (thereby enriching the restaurant industry), and pay for their grandkids’ college educations. A capital gains tax elimination is good for jobs…good for stocks and real estate…good for small business…good for older Americans…and GREAT for the America economy.
STEP #3) CREATE A SMALL BUSINESS PAYROLL TAX VACATION FOR TWO YEARS:
Once again, this tax suspension is a boon for small business. Employees and employers each pay half of payroll taxes. The employees are already getting a one-year income tax vacation. But here we give the business owner a payroll tax vacation- by suspending the employer’s half of the payroll tax for two years. That means for the next two years, it costs far less for any business owner to create a job. Without a penalty for every new employee hired by a business owner, there is now incentive to hire. This idea also frees up capital for business owners. Every dollar saved by not having to pay half of each employees’ payroll taxes, can now be used to expand businesses, expand inventory, buy business supplies and equipment, advertise, market or promote. All of those actions create jobs. Money going to payroll taxes does not. This one idea- combined with the capital gains tax elimination- makes it a joy (instead of a burden) to own a small business again.
STEP #4) TURN IMMIGRATION FROM A DRAIN ON THE ECONOMY…INTO AN ECONOMIC BOOM:
Immigration could be the most controversial and important topic of America’s future. America was built by immigrants. Studies prove that immigrants actually fare financially better in this country than native-born Americans. Now, however, illegal immigrants are draining the American economy. They cost taxpayers billions in welfare, food stamps, free meals at school, English as second language programs, free education and healthcare (and eventually Social Security).
Let’s first secure the borders to dramatically reduce future illegal immigration. At the same time let’s enact the exciting and creative step of offering instant residency and an easy, quick path to citizenship for skilled, educated, and financially secure immigrants, which will help trigger a turnaround to small business and the American economy.
Specifically any immigrant who invests $250,000 into either a home, or a small business creating jobs in the United States, should be granted instant residency and a path to citizenship. Current programs are limited and so bureaucratically entwined as to be practically worthless. This plan is simple, loud and clear: bring money, skills, and resources to start businesses and create jobs and you will be instantly welcomed into the land of opportunity.
This step would instantly unleash the greatest period of immigration to America ever. But not just any immigrants. This plan promotes the right kind of immigration explosion. This plan would encourage millions of patriotic new Americans excited and motivated to live the American Dream. New citizens that love and appreciate capitalism and entrepreneurship. The passion of these new citizens will create an avalanche of new jobs, taxes, consumer spending, and investment in stocks, real estate and small business. America would suddenly add millions of the best and brightest and most ambitious middle class citizens from every country in the world. These immigrants would add jobs by the millions, instead of taking them. These immigrants would pay taxes by the billions, all while utilizing few, if any, government services. What a boon to the U.S. economy!
As it stands now, we send away or discourage the skilled, educated, wealthy immigrants we need to enrich our economy, and allow millions of illegal immigrants that strain our resources to stay forever. That’s simply crazy. That’s self-destructive. That lacks common sense.
When these hungry, ambitious, educated, skilled, middle class and upper middle class immigrants move to America by the millions over the next 5 years they will buy millions of homes- thereby ending the housing and foreclosure crisis. Home prices would instantly rebound for every American homeowner. They will buy or start new businesses- thereby creating millions of new jobs. They will pay into the payroll tax system- thereby delaying the eventual bankruptcy of Social Security (which should be privatized with this new reprieve). They will put their money into U.S. banks- thereby ending the banking crisis. They will buy things- thereby increasing consumer spending and enriching small business. This is the instant fix we so desperately need to turnaround the U.S. economy.
No one is stopping traditional legal immigration. Nothing changes there. That will continue unabated so that people around the world without money or assets still get a shot at the American Dream. But this plan stops illegal immigration and encourages the right kind of healthy immigration to feed a new American economic renaissance. These new immigrants that my plan encourages to come to America will form the foundation of our future.
STEP #5) LEGALIZE AND TAX SIN TO FUND HEALTHCARE REFORM:
Yes, I’m a proud card-carrying Reagan fiscal conservative. But here’s where I showcase my true Libertarian bona fides. We have to stop being busybodies or nannies toward our neighbors. Let people do what they want to do- as long as it involves consenting adults, and doesn’t harm you. It’s called personal freedom. That’s why the Pilgrims first risked their lives to come to a new land. It’s why we fought and won- against all odds- the America Revolution.
Secondly, it’s just none of your business what other people choose to do with their free time, or their money, in their own home or bedroom. If you don’t agree with their choice, then don’t do it yourself. But leave them alone to make their own choices, or mistakes.
Third, prohibition has never worked- anywhere in the world, at any time in history. People will always find a way to do what they want to do. I say we should capitalize on their “sins” by legalizing them. If it’s necessary for government to regulate and tax them to accomplish this, then let’s do it on the state level. Keep the federal government out of it- as per the Constitution. It’s not my ideal to ever tax anything- but it beats throwing Americans in jail who have harmed no one else.
Fourth, we simply cannot afford this Nanny State- the cost of locking up harmless people in prisons is helping to bankrupt many states. Not only would legalizing and taxing “sin” save billions, it would raise billions more that could solve the looming state budget deficit disaster.
We live this credo of economic and personal freedom in Nevada- my home state. We are the laboratory for the experiment- and we have proven it works. Taxes on gambling (and even legal prostitution) fund our state government- enabling us to have no income taxes, no business income taxes, no capital gains taxes, no death taxes, and the 16th lowest property taxes in America. You know what I call that? HEAVEN. The result- until this depression destroyed tourism, thereby effecting Nevada’s tourist economy more than most states, we featured the fastest growing population and fastest growing economy in all of America for the last 25 years. That’s one heck of a track record.
If people want to choose “sin,” that’s none of your business. But interestingly, Las Vegas also leads the nation in churches per capita. What that proves is that allowing freedom does not stop citizens who choose not to indulge in sin, from living their lives. Ironically it helps law-abiding, church-going citizens lead a much better quality of life. The taxes that gamblers and other “sinners” pay in Nevada allow the rest of us to keep more of our own money and lead a better life.
Studies prove that the legalization of marijuana and online gambling would generate almost $300 billion in new tax revenues. People gamble online and smoke pot every day- you cannot stop it. Daily our government wastes billions and ruins the lives of consenting adults by enforcing these ridiculous laws and bans on personal freedom. The only groups benefiting from this lunacy are big government, police, prisons, courts, lawyers, drug dealers and bookmakers. It’s time to legalize, regulate and tax sin, just as we already do with alcohol. That will produce almost $300 billion in new tax revenue can be used to reduce taxes on small business; or fund healthcare reforms at the state level- without raising taxes one dime on the rest of us. In fact, if allocated wisely, it should allow us to be able to reduce other taxes.
Legalizing and taxing “sin” will allow us to solve our healthcare problems without new taxes or bigger government. We don’t need universal healthcare, new mandates, new taxes, and draconian fines or prison sentences to reform healthcare. We need more freedom. We need to get government out of the way. We need to allow consumers to find the best healthcare policy anywhere it is offered- beyond state lines or not. We need to allow anyone to buy the policy that best fits their needs. We need high deductible catastrophic health plans, combined with HSA (Health Savings Accounts). We need tort reform- which Obama won’t even mention in his universal healthcare plan (because he is a lawyer-and he’s bought and paid for by lawyer contributions). And we need to stop trying to ruin or change healthcare for the 80% of America that is satisfied with their current plan.
The best way to “reform” healthcare (besides reducing the role of government and lawyers) is to help the small portion of society facing tragic and expensive, catastrophic medical needs, those with pre-existing conditions, and the indigent. Leave everyone else alone. I believe that private charity should play the biggest role in cases like this. I’m skeptical that turning to big government is ever in the best interest of our citizens. But if there must be any involvement by government, it should only be at the state and local level, where at least it would be Constitutional. That prescription will cost far less than the trillion dollars Mr. Obama wants to spend on healthcare reform. This smaller and more reasonable fix can be paid for with the almost $300 BB in new taxes flowing to the government from the legalization of marijuana and online gambling (and we should even have room left to reduce or eliminate other taxes as a result). This is the way to reform healthcare for the few who need it, while leaving the rest of us alone, without raising our taxes one dime. Problem solved.
This is a simple, common sense 5-step plan to quickly turnaround the U.S. economy and save capitalism. It turns economic Armageddon into economic boom. All it relies on is the idea that letting people keep more of their own money makes them happy, positive and confident...and motivates them to create more, invest more and risk more. That is how you restore and expand the American Dream for centuries to come. God Bless America.
[ add comment ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 1755 )Back Next
Avatar
