PAY UP AND SHUT UP

Too much government control is not good. Then government owns the means of production. Freedom is lost when bureaus run thingsl No incentives. Please think for all USA citiziens. Our country needs to go back to the Constitution.

I agree completely - making sure that our tax dollars are spent appropriately will always be a concern. Radical ideas such as the flat tax or abolishing income taxes all together appeal to people who feel overwhelmed by the mess our current tax has become, but they are unrealistic solutions. Rather than taking a radical departure and implementing an unproven system, we need to go back to plans which have worked for our nation in the past.

I vehemently disagree where governments intercede the potential for abuse exists and is always to some degree exercised. A flat tax system is entirely feasible from a financial, economic and logistical point of view; justifications that advocate adherence to old ways in order to deal with new problems are from a historical context largely ill-conceived. A government is a group of individuals whose actions are loosely based on rules set forth by other individuals. A government is basically a large corporation with the scary privilege of self regulation and is able to charge you for the privilege of being subject to it, they offer to return safety and security in varying forms but if you are unconvinced it does not hesitate to use force of any sort including the violent force it takes to send your ass to prison. The moment we begin to think of governments which are composed of nothing more than fallible individuals as being magically more capable or knowledgeable than any one person or group can be that, idea is leveraged against us and brings us closer to a state of bondage. The bush administration is a load beacon and the idea that it was some impossible anomaly is deeply naive, more like Bush exist and we should focus our energy on limiting their destructive capacity and free access to resources.

Our federal government was formed to protect the colonies from the British. Our forefathers were none-too-excited about forming a federal government, but they had to, to protect themselves.

Unlike this commenter, I appreciate my freedom, which is afforded to me (and you!) by the constitution and limits of government. The primary reason for government in a free society is protection of its citizens, and for infrastructure. Anything else, like social programs, green initiatives, etc, etc...are nothing more than giving up your freedoms for a little temporary security, and are true threats to your right to pursue happiness.

I don't look at government as my mommy, or a vehicle to utopia, because government rarely does anything right (especially lately), regardless of who is in power.

Dude, if you're a socialist and don't like America, move to Venezuela and stop threatening our freedom and right to pursue happiness. I'm sure that Hugo Chavez will make you feel right at home.