Tuesday, May 12, 2015

The Sale of One’s Vote: Campaign Financing Reform




A Jonathan Swift proposal.

In the interest of supporting the political interests of corporations and the richest one-percent, I propose that people—including the economically poor, politically uninvolved, barely educated and otherwise marginalized—be allowed to sell their vote for a particular election.

To make this proposal work fairly, it is necessary that there be uniform-federal rules about the Sale of One’s Vote. 

The vote-seller here must be a presently-registered voter who will give up his or her vote. The vote-purchaser here must be a presently-registered voter who will get an additional vote.

The Sale of One’s Vote must be managed by the register of voters or other local public board in charge of voter registration.  All transactions for the Sale of One’s Vote must be completed 14 calendar days prior to the particular election.

The Sale of One’s Vote must be to a specific individual purchaser, eligible to vote in the same town, city or county as the seller.

A vote-purchaser may only purchase one additional vote for a particular election.

The vote-purchaser must give the vote-seller, $1,000.00 in cash at the office of the register of voters.

The office of the register of voters must give the vote-purchaser a certificate allowing the vote-purchaser to vote a second time in the particular election.

Corporations and individuals who wish to fund individual vote-purchasers must be protected in the Sale of One’s Vote legislation from any civil or criminal penalty for participating in an election or lobbying activity by funding the vote-purchasers.

In a similar manner, vote-sellers must be protected in the Sale of One’s Vote legislation from any civil or criminal penalty for receiving income from the sale of his or her vote—the income received must not be subject to taxes or any existing claims such as tax liens, court judgments, child support garnishment, welfare or SSI computation or offsets, divorce or child support orders, etc.





Sunday, May 10, 2015

Tax Reform Law for Corporations & Other For-Profit Entities



With regard to the idea of taxing all income of individuals and for-profit entities based on a progressive tax rate, deductions, exemptions and credits must be addressed.

In order to reform tax law for both individuals and for-profit entities, Congress should adopt the proposal in the prior blog, entitled, “All Income of Individuals & For-Profit Entities Should be Taxed at Graduated Rates.”

In a Reform Tax Law for For-Profit Entities, I further propose that Congress should establish a graduated schedule for for-profit entities whether it be the same schedule as for individuals or another schedule.  That graduated tax rate schedule for for-profit entities should go into effect in three years from the date of enactment.

In a Reform Tax Law for For-Profit Entities, Congress should repeal effective in three years from the date of enactment all existing deductions, exemptions and credits.

In a Reform Tax Law for For-Profit Entities, Congress should then enact effective in three years from the date of enactment such deductions, exemptions and credits as Congress determines necessary. 

The new deductions, exemptions and credits in a Reform Tax Law for For-Profit Entities should expire automatically after ten years.

Thus the voting public would have an opportunity to see a blank slate and be able to evaluate the deductions, exemptions and credits that Congress passes.

After enacting a Reform Tax Law for For-Profit Entities, Congress should then enact a reform tax law for individuals in the same manner.

All Income of Individuals & For-Profit Entities Should be Taxed at Graduated Rates.


For individuals, all income wherever in the world it is earned whether it is wages or non-wage income should be taxed at the same progressive or graduated rates.

All income wherever in the world it is earned of all for-profit US entities, corporations, limited liability corporations and associations and estates, regardless of their mailing addresses, should be taxed at the same progressive or graduated rates. 

So income regardless of its source and regardless of where it is earned should be taxed at the same progressive or graduated rates.  Thus interest, dividends and capital gains should be taxed at the same progressive or graduated rates.

Hedge fund managers and billionaires and large corporations and small corporations should be subject to the principle that the more money you make, the more you pay in taxes.