July 17, 2006
Your Vote on My Ballot [Updated]
My primary ballot for Tuesday's vote has the questions below. How would you vote on the following Yes/No questions and why?
[Update] The election results are now shown after each question. Question 2A, directing Congress to enforce our immigration laws and to protect our borders, seems to show a decidedly different view on this issue between this group of voters and Congress.
1. Do you support the Fair Tax, which establishes a national retail sales tax on all new goods and services, and which would eliminate all federal income taxes? [Yes-85% No-15%]
2. How should be federal government deal with the problem of illegal immigration now facing the nation? (Vote Yes/No on both A & B)
- A. The U.S. Government should actively enforce current immigration laws, secure our country's borders and permit only those lawfully entering the United States legal status? [Yes 95% No 5%]
- B. The U.S. Government should establish a guest worker program for those illegal residents in this country, thus establishing a path to legal residency? [Yes 49% No 51%]
3. Do you favor naming a public building, road, and/or landmark in the county to honor President Ronald Reagan? [Yes 71% No 29%]
These questions are found on the Republican ballot and not on the Democratic one. Big surprise. I also bet that you will not find these questions on ballots in Massachusetts, New York, or California. One of my votes might surprise you.
1. Yes
2. A
3. Yes
4. Woody makes up his own mind? Doubtful, that's why he posted the questions. :-)
I'm pretty sure you don't support the "fair tax."
Posted by GM at July 17, 2006 09:13 PM
Are you sure this is the Republican ballot? Looks more like a Libertarian ballot to me... It could have been written by the John Birch Society itself.
Posted by e. nonee moose at July 17, 2006 09:25 PM
1. No opinion
2. A
3. Mint his profile on the dime.
Posted by Jeremayakovka at July 17, 2006 10:36 PM
Yes
A
Yes
As a matter of fact, I'm going to the Fair Tax rally in Orlando at the end of the month. I've already got a hotel room reserved and I'm going to visit Sea World on my way home.
Nya, nya, nya.
Posted by Oyster at July 18, 2006 05:08 AM
!. YES. Or any other plan to get the legal profesion out of tax law and make the situation equitable. No more loop holes.
2. A. Something has to be done and ignoring illegal behavior sets entirely the wrong tone.
3. Ambivalent. Reagan's legacy is secure. I would rather see naming rights sold and the corporate money going into retiring the national debt.
Maybe the "Moose" would pay to have something named after him.
Posted by MLSmith at July 18, 2006 06:31 AM
Yes
A
Yes
1. Yes, I whole heartedly support it, but it won't be enacted unless the income tax is retained. Taxes just don't get abolished - They have a life of their own. Only with the next Tea Party will we be able to retire the income tax.
Posted by Vulgorilla at July 18, 2006 07:40 AM
Question 2 wasn't clear, so I added the highlighted word "both" to the lead in question.
2A: Do you favor enforcement? Y or N
2B. Do you favor the guest worker program? Y or N
Oyster, I listened to Boortz today and he said that if you give AirTran the promotion code words "Fair Tax", then you get a discount on the flight to the Orlando rally.
Moose, I live in a pretty conservative county, but it is Republican rather than Libertarian. In the 2004 Presidential election, Bush received 71%, Kerry 28%, and Libertarian & Other 1%. However, Neal Boortz is a popular talk-show host in the area and has really been pushing the fair tax with his show, rallies, book signings, etc.
G.M. is correct in that I am not supporting the Fair Tax for a lot more technical reasons than the theory of it or my livelihood.
(1) Income tax laws do more than raise revenue. They give incentives for certain behavior or actions--like charitable deductions for donations, home mortgage interest deductions for home buyers, etc. The fair tax cannot fulfill that.
(2) The biggest problem, to me, is enforcement. I see huge possibilities of companies collecting the tax but not paying it all in. The current system has a lot of controls. A fair tax system would not.
(3) My biggest fear is that the country would institute a fair tax (federal sales tax) but would still keep or reinstate the income tax. We voted on a sales tax in our county to reduce property taxes, but two years later our property taxes were the highest in the state.
The questions of the tax and means to correct our system are much more complex than that, but that's my quick take on it and why I say that we should keep our current system as bad as it is.
Posted by Woody at July 18, 2006 04:05 PM
Hmm...
1. I'm not sure about the Fair Tax thing; I could see it being seriously abused/misused. I think I'd be more for a flat percentage rate income tax (ie. 10%, with deductions for the same things we currently get deductions for now -- don't use my numbers, I'm no mathematician - it's the idea I'm suggesting) but I definitely would have to go with Woody on this (lest the Dems get hold of lots of our money to put toward all their welfare programs and ecological pork programs).
2a. YES!!!!! I'm also for enacting any further legislation to close any of the gaps that are still there. I'm not against the idea of certain cases THAT MERIT CONSIDERATION being reviewed on a case by case basis for a waiver.
2b. NO. The very idea is a slap in the face, not only to the many people immigrating legally, but the many who have done so in the past (my mom included). Let them do it the right way, or not at all. Enough of all this "Well, the laws are really just "guidelines" kind of business.
3. Heck yeah! I loved the Ron. (It was so great when he got elected! Even though I was just a kid, it was so nice to know that it was okay to be an American, and a patriot, and proud of my country again; no more of the Carter Shame Culture). I'm just happy they re-released the Ronald Reagan stamps (available at your local post office - vote with your wallet and go pick some up today!)
Posted by Katje at July 18, 2006 06:02 PM
Neal Boortz is a popular talk-show host in the area
We get Boortz here in Alabama as well and he's about as Libertarian as they come. It may say 'Republican' on the ballot but I do believe that I correctly identified the philosophy that's the driving force behind these issues. Libertarians have, by and large, been in favor of the "flat tax" and tightening up immigration laws for a long time. I don't know that they all worship Ronald Reagan but I'm sure they'd much rather see him on a dime than FDR. The only thing missing from the Libertarian plank on that ballot was something about gun ownership rights. Maybe next time, eh?
For what it's worth there are Libertarian trains of thought that can be considered leftist as well. Many Libertarians aren't the least bit bothered with gay marriage or abortion and are mostly in favor of treating drug addiction rather than simply putting drug addicts in jail. But I think when push comes to shove, most Libertarians will vote with their pocket books.
Posted by e. nonee moose at July 18, 2006 09:06 PM
1. Yes
2. A
3. Yes
Posted by Bonnie Spolin at July 18, 2006 10:19 PM
Moose, your last sentence is the best summary of Libertarian values from my observations. It's "leave me alone and let me keep my money and I'll do the same for you."
In my county in the 2004 Presidential election, the Libertarian candidate only received only one-half of one percent of the vote and Bush received 71%. Also, on the state amendment to ban same-sex marriage, the county vote was 78% in favor. So, my county is conservative and Republican and definitely not Libertarian.
There's no need for a vote on guns as the Second Amendment has already passed.
Posted by Woody at July 19, 2006 07:12 AM
