Alert: Congress Wants Automatic Wage Deductions To Pay Down The Debt

[Feuer Frei!]

On July 6th, just two days ago, at least a dozen busybody Congressmen sponsored the introduction of HR 2411, the “Reduce America’s Debt Now Act of 2011.” They always come up with fantastic names for these pieces of legislation… and rest assured, the better/more patriotic the name, the more ominous the bill. This one follows the pattern.
HR 2411 states that every worker in America should be able to voluntarily have a portion of his/her wages automatically withheld and sent directly to the Treasury Department for the purposes of paying down the federal debt.
“Every employer making payment of wages shall deduct and withhold upon such wages any amounts so elected, and shall pay such amounts over to the Secretary of the Treasury…”
That’s right. Uncle Sam is so broke that he wants to give all the good little Americans out there the opportunity to contribute an even greater portion of their paychecks to finance government largess.


Desperate? Hmmm…. Don’t worry, it gets better.
Obviously, if an employee feels so compelled and should elect to have a portion of his/her paycheck withheld, the onus of responsibility is now on the employer to make it happen. The employer has to do all the paperwork, withhold the money, send the payment to the Treasury, maintain the account records, and probably submit to all kinds of new filing requirements.
You can imagine that, if passed, the bill will result in a host of new IRS regulations, complete with a battery of penalties for employers who don’t fill out the paperwork properly, submit filings on time, or make some administrative mistake.
Think about it: if a small business owner has one single employee who is dumb enough to think that it’s his patriotic duty to pay down the debt and decides to contribute $1/month, that owner will have the responsibility for all kinds of new forms and filings, plus submit to new ‘debt reduction audits.’
But don’t worry, it gets even better.
So let’s say there are millions of sheep out there who elect to donate a portion of their toil and sweat so that the Chinese and big financial institutions don’t have to worry about an American default. How does Congress plan on rewarding its most patriotic citizens? By sticking it to them on their taxes, of course.
HR 2411 stipulates that any contribution made to the Treasury in order to pay down the federal debt IS NOT TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
“The [Treasury] Secretary shall include. . . a reasonably conspicuous statement that any amounts deducted and withheld from wages. . . are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.”


Imagine this scenario: You make $100,000/year. In a fit of complete insanity, you decide that you want to withhold your entire annual salary to pay down the debt. Hey, you can always move in with mom for the next year, right?
Well guess what– Uncle Sam will gladly take your money… and then STILL expect you to pay taxes on the $100,000 that you earned, so you’d have to come out of pocket with an additional $40,000 or so.
Don’t worry, though. The Social Security and Medicare wages are reduced by the amount that you withhold, making you only liable for state and federal taxes. Seems like a good deal, eh comrades?
There are so many things utterly wrong with his piece of legislation, it’s hard to know where to begin other than by saying that such intellectual and philosophical perversion is only capable of springing from unprincipled sociopaths whose sole capability is the destruction of value.


There’s a great quote from Atlas Shrugged that comes to mind which sums this all up:
“[W]hen you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you. . . you may know that your society is doomed.”


SOURCE

[mookiemookie]

Take with a grain of salt anything that someone who quotes Atlas Shrugged says.

[TLAM Strike]

Good idea poorly introduced. Why not make it tax deductible and part of your income tax form much like the $1 to presidential campaigns box you can check.

[FIREWALL]

Because the deduction isn't tax deductable the Bill will never get off the ground as was expected.

This version was to see how it would be accepted. A test. A traditional Politician ploy. Many past examples out there if you want to bother to look for all failed bills of this type.

Another example to the world showing how lame our government leaders are.

[gimpy117]

Hey, the government has to find a way to keep their huge tax breaks for the rich and super rich somehow!

[Feuer Frei!]

If it was tax deductible, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of this bill?
You pay ex amount into this fund, and i'll be honest here, i don't know what the tax brackets are in the US so i'll use my example from Australia, but, you pay let's say $1000 into the fund per year.
You can claim 33% of that back on tax. That figure is applicable here.
So in effect your only giving the debt fund 66.66666666%?
And ofc you wouldn't get that 33% for a year, until tax time. But.
Is that a wrong assumption?
Because tax refunds=government.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by gimpy117

Hey, the government has to find a way to keep their huge tax breaks for the rich and super rich somehow!

Always the same. The National Debt isn't the fault of the rich, or of the poor, or of the middle-class. The National Debt is the fault of Congress, spending money they don't have. You don't owe the debt, they do. Bill Gates doesn't owe the debt, Congress does.

Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, but when those beliefs do nothing but toe one party line or the other then they serve no purpose other than to pass gas. Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh, Molly Ivins (God rest her insular soul), Sean Hannity, Yubba and you are all exactly the same. You just can't see it.

[Aramike]

Always the same. The National Debt isn't the fault of the rich, or of the poor, or of the middle-class. The National Debt is the fault of Congress, spending money they don't have. You don't owe the debt, they do. Bill Gates doesn't owe the debt, Congress does.

For the people, by the people. What Congress does, we've done. We absolutely owe the debt.

However, fault-wise, you are exactly right.

Edit: Maybe not. We keep electing these people.

The debt can never be repayed.
It's not owed to other nations, as every nation on earth is in debt.
Central Banks, or the "Federal Reserve" in your case are a scam.
Cetral Banks (The Federal Reserve) are not part of the government, but privately owned by The Banksters.

The Bankster prints 100 USD, which he loans to your government (who gave up the right to print it's own money).
Even at 1% interest, the debt can never be repayed.

How can that be?
Because next year your government will owe The Bankster 101 USD.
101 USD does not exist, as The Bankster only printed 100 USD.
So we all go to work, and a big chunk of our taxes go to paying interest, on a debt that can never be repayed.

The only solution is to Default, and start printing your own money again.
This doesn't only apply to USA.

[Anthony W.]

In my industry we struggle to make payroll in the first place half the year.