2/22: AI is being Used by ElectoralCollege.Org to Develop Tax ReformElectoralCollege.Org is focused on reducing the national debt and unfunded liabilities. The first priority will be to save Social Security by some common sense ideas that are inspired by our Founding Fathers. These Founding Fathers include immigrants Thomas Paine, James Wilson and Pierce Butler. Here is Thomas Paine's View on Taxing Inheritances to Support an Old-Age Pension (SSA.Gov)One of the first people to propose a scheme for retirement security that is recognizable as a forerunner of modern social insurance was Revolutionary War figure Thomas Paine. His last great pamphlet, published in the winter of 1795, was a controversial call for the establishment of a public system of economic security for the new nation. Entitled, Agrarian Justice, it called for the creation of a system whereby those inheriting property would pay a 10% inheritance tax to create a special fund out of which a one-time stipend of 15 pounds sterling would be paid to each citizen upon attaining age 21, to give them a start in life, and annual benefits of 10 pounds sterling to be paid to every person age 50 and older, to guard against poverty in old-age. ElectoralCollege.Org Founder's Interest in Social SecurityIn 1975 the founder of this site became co-author of the AICPA's Pension and Profit-Sharing course after updating the course material for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). While at the AICPA he worked closely with Sidney Kess, a renowned tax expert, on his tax seminars as well as technical editor on the AICPA's first Individual Retirement Account (IRA) cassette. It should be noted that our IRA was based on the Canadian Retirement Savings Account (RSA) that was created in 1957. The founder's next plan was to develop an AICPA course with the title of "What the CPA Should Know About Social Security." He did not develop this course because he left the AICPA to become head of national tax training at Coopers & Lybrand (C&L). That was over 45 years ago. (To be continued) 2/22: Now on Recommended Sites
2/15: Now on Recommended Sites
2/9: Using AI to Understand the Origins of Trump's Gaza Plan [or]Trump's proposal to develop Gaza and resettle all of inhabitants outside their homeland should not surprise anyone. Here are some questions to ask your favorite AI chat service:
2/8: Now on Recommended Sites
2/1: Update to the Proposal to Save Social Security First [ssr]The most rational and logical way to save Social Security is to tax capital. It is also the way that our Founding Fathers would support if they were alive today. The most effective way to tax capital is when there is a transfer of ownership of capital (property). Transfers of property occur when property is transferred to charities, at death, with gifts, in mergers, to trusts, etc. The only transfers that might be allowed would be between spouses with a carried-over basis. A limited exemption at death would be allowed for the family business portion of an estate. The only assets that can be held in tax-exempt savings accounts must be liquid assets that have a readily determinable market value. Business assets would only be allowed to be depreciated once and could not be used to offset ordinary income. On the sale of a asset that can be depreciated, the basis will carry over to the acquirer. There will be no step-up in basis. Tax-free Section 1031 exchanges would be repealed. The tax-free capital gains associated with the corruptible Opportunity Zone loophole that Silicon Valley billionaires inserted into the 2017 Tax Cut & Jobs Act would be repealed. 2/1: Now on Recommended Sites
1/25: Now on Recommended Sites (access by top right panel)
1/20: Reconciliation Menu By House Budget Committee [tbr]Politico has been able to obtain a 50-page menu of items to be considered during the reconcilation process to extend and modify the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This Republican menu probably was constructed with the help of two section 501c3 tax-exempt "charitable" nonprofit organizations - The Heritage Foundation and the Tax Foundation. You should note the following view of this website that has been verified by AI:The 10-year budget reconcilation process is a way to pass tax cuts that are fiscally irresponsible with regards to the national debt and the unfunded liabilites of Social Security and Medicare. On page 14 of this document the GOP estimates the cost of repealing the estate tax. This repeal, if permanent, would make it very difficult for a future Congress from using the estate tax to help fund the poor and middle-clase entitlements of Social Security and Medicare. So don't believe Donald Trump's promise to protect Social Security when he wants to repeal or reduce the estate tax.
Eliminate the Death Tax
My estimate of the cost of eliminating the death tax (or more correctly the estate tax that currently includes a death bonus of a $12.9 million exemption and a stepped-up basis in assets) is many trillions of dollars. In 2001, 2.2% of estates were subjected to the estate tax. Recently, the percentage has declined to less than .1%. The base case for estimating the costs of repealing the estate tax should be based on the inflation-adjusted exemption basis that existed in 2001 of $675,000 and not $12.9 million. 1/19: Scott Bessent, the Nominee for Treasury Secretary, Does Not Appear to be a Prudent Choice
1/18: Now on Recommended Sites (access by top right panel)
12/30: Two Newsworthy DemocracyNow.org Videoa
12/29: Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy favor Foreign Tech Workers
News Item:
This comes at a time when tech workers are being layed off. Since 2022, more than 48,500 tech jobs have been eliminated in the Bay Area. Boston Scientific plans to cut 138 jobs at its Sunnyvale office by the end of December 2024. More job cuts are expected by Cisco and Intel. This comes at a time when the future affect of AI on tech jobs is uncertain. Our research indicates that many current immigrant tech leaders are avoiding FICA and income taxes. Immigrant Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal and Palantir and an early investor in Meta, utilized a backdoor Roth IRA strategy that was signed into law in 2005 but did not take effect until 2010. This strategy allowed him to shift assets from his IRA into a Roth IRA that was valued at least $5 billion several years ago. The backdoor Roth IRA was a method introduced during George W. Bush's presidency that has been criticized for undermining Social Security funding. Additionally, distributions from an inherited Roth IRA by the spouse are tax-free, further enhancing its appeal for wealth accumulation and transfer. Would someone in the media please ask Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy how much they pay in federal taxes? It was recently reported in the New York Times that immigrant Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, is avoiding approximately $8 billion in taxes, likely through a campaign donor-financed legal loophole. Our tax reform proposals will address the Roth IRA loophole by limiting the amount that can be accumlated in all tax-free savings accounts and taxing all changes in ownership of property at a flat tax rate. 12/28: Other Recommended Sites on YouTube.com with Links
12/21: Note the Change in the Top Center Panel
It was: "Thomas Paine, the Common Sense Founding Father who Proposed Taxing Wealth and Inheritances to Help the Poor"
12/13: Coming Soon
12/8: Books to ReadA new feature of this website will be Books to Read. American History now includes 8 books and Judicial Reform 3 books. Note that the book about John Marshall appears in both lists. The complete list will include over 200 books.12/5: Build Your Own Tax Extensions [tbr]On December 3 the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) published Reducing the Revenue Loss of TCJA Extension. The Extension of all the individual and estate tax cuts and subsidies is expected to create a 10-year budget deficit of $3.9 trillion under reconciliation at a time now when the official national debt is approaching $36 trillion. Most economists would think an expaniding economy should be producing budget surpluses but Trump and his supporters love fiscally irresponsible tax cuts and subsidies. On the CRFB page is a table of "Options for Reducing the Deficit Impact of TCJA Extensions" which includes estimates from various government sources and non-profit 'charitable' 501c3 think tanks. You can use the link cited above in the heading to design your own solution to the projected 10-year budget deficit. It should be noted that Republicans have repeatedly used the 10-year budget reconciliation rules to propose tax cuts and subsidies that have increased the national debt in the post-10 years. That is why we need some credible organization to evaluate the effect of all budget reconcilation tax laws on the national debt and unfunded liabilities. Our further comments will appear at [tbr]. 11/20: Who was Pierce Butler? [ah]11/16: Who were the Two Immigrant Founding Fathers Who Conspired to Create the Electoral College? [er-ec]The four key delegates to the Constitution Convention in 1787 who negotiated the Three-Fifths Compromise and the Electoral College were James Wilson (PA), Pierce Butler (SC), Gouverneur Morris (PA) and James Madison (VA). See the Election Tab for more details and eventually a proposal to reform the Electoral College. 11/7: ElectoralCollege.org is disappointed with the outcome of this election. [2024]11/7: Elon Musk's Fraudulent $1 million a day Seven Battleground State Lottery [2024]11/3: Why a Vote for Kamala Harris is a Vote For Civility? [2024]11/2: The Harris Campaign Did Not Have an Ad during the Army v. Airforce Game [2024]10/30: Recent News Articles of Interest [2024]10/29: What's at Stake on State Ballots [2024]10/24; Responses to Questions [2024]
10/4: Research: The GOP Wants to Defund Social Security [ssr]ElectoralCollege.Org believes that for many years the GOP has wanted to defund Social Security. Many Americans who are now 40 or older remember George W. Bush's failed attempt to privatize Social Security. He also began to phase out the estate tax. In 2010 there was no estate tax. He also promoted tax-free savings accounts that would be exempt from the estate tax.Most people who are familiar with the history of Social Security are aware of Thomas Paine's 1795 pamphlet entitled "Agrarian Justice." He proposed to use a 10% tax on inheritances to provide an annual benefit to be paid to every person age 50 and older, to guard against poverty in old-age. You can verify this by visiting the Social Security Administration History Page on Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine is known for being the author of "Common Sense" that was featured within the last 12 months as the first book to read on C-Span's Books That Shaped America. Early in his writing career Thomas Paine used the pseudonym Common Sense. Mr. Common Sense certainly had a common-sense proposal to tax inheritances to fund an old-age pension for the poor. One must ask: "Have any members of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security considered a common sense proposal to use a tax on estates to support Social Security?" They certainly should be presumed to be aware of what Thomas Paine proposed in Agrarian Justice. On January 18, 2024, Representative Randy Feenstra (IA-4). a Republican member of the Subcommittee on Social Security proposed H.R. 7035, the bill to Repeal the Estate Tax. The names of the GOP House Members who are co-ponsors of this bill are listed on two pages of Defund Social Security. I hope this list will be downloaded and used to defeat these GOP members who want to Defund Social Security. 9/27: Forthcoming Updates (Dates will appear here and above when updated)
9/10: News [2024]
9/10: EC Opinion: Common Sense Questions
2/18/24: Proposal to Save Social Security [ssr]This content is now contained in the Social Security section. |
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History and Reforms (date)
- American History [ah] (12/8)
- Election Reform [er]
- Immigration Reform [ir]
- Judicial Reform [jr] (12/8)
- Media Reform [mr]
- Social Security Reform [ssr]
- Tax & Budget Reform [tbr] (12/5)
- Other Reforms [or] (11/30)
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ElectoralCollege.Org advocates for reforms to reduce the National Debt and Unfunded Liabilities
The Founding Fathers, Including Thomas Paine, Proposed Taxing Wealth and Inheritances to Help the Poor
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