History Repeats
The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions.In this way the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed.
Adolf Hitler
John C Brookes, Walsall, UK
A good example on this is the American Income tax.
When the 16th Amendment was passed as the American Income Tax it was supposed to pay all the governments bills by just shaking down RICH people for a small tax.
The first US income tax was only required to be paid by RICH people who made $3,000 or more in 1913, which is probably $50,000 to $60,000 in 2014 dollars.
OK, $50,000 or even $60,000 isn't really rich now, but in 1913 most Americans worked on farms and didn't make any income that could be hit with an income tax.
I think in 1913 less then 1% of the population was required to pay the income tax.
Of course now in 2014 even if you work at McDonald's and make minimum wage Uncle Sam wants to shake you down for the income tax and withhold money for taxes you might owe.
In 1913 the US income tax started at 1% and maxed out at 6%. Congress even debated at capping the maximum income tax rate at 10%, because they thought if the tax ever went that high it would be outrageous.
I just looked at the 2013 US income tax tables and they start out at 10% and max out at 39.6%.
That means the current minimum income tax of 10% in 2013 is 10 times higher then the minimum income tax rate of 1% in 1913.
That means the maximum income tax of 39.6% in 2014 is almost 7 times greater then the maximum income tax of 6% in 1913.
If you really want to get sick check out this IRS website and look at the first US income tax form created for the 1913 income tax.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/1913.pdfIt's a lousy 4 pages long and that includes both instructions and the tax form.
And look at the rates. As I just said the min tax rates was a lousey 1% compared to the min rate of 10% now.
And the max rate was a lousy 6% compared to the max rate of 39.6% now.
And of course in 1913 they didn't have income tax withholding. In 1913 the Federal government didn't steal money out of your weekly or monthly pay check. You had to pay the tax the next year when it was due.
Of course in 2014 Uncle Sam shakes steals the chunk of money Uncle Sam thinks you owe him from each and every pay check.
Yea, Hitler was right.
If the current draconian income tax of 2014 was implemented in 1913 the people would probably have revolted and over threw the American government like they did to King George in 1776.
