I read the article in today's Sarasota Herald-Tribune by Jeremy Wallace titled, "Tax liens against Buchanan Explained". Jeremy did a good job pointing out that what all the hubbub is about is a IRS clerical error.

I began thinking about writing an article about gotcha politics and journalists that spend their entire careers digging up the dirt on politicians. Suddenly I realized that everyone was missing the whole point of this story about one of Congressman Buchanan's many successful businesses.

The whole point is taxes!

Nationally syndicated columnist Walter E. Williams compares paying taxes to "slavery". Walter states, "The average American worker toils from January 1st to the end of April, and has no legal claim to the fruits of his labor for that period. Federal, state and local governments, through the tax code, take what he produces. A small portion of the fruits of his labor is used to provide for the constitutional functions of government. Most of what's taken, up to two-thirds, is given to some other American in the forms of farm and business subsidies, Social Security, Medicare, welfare and hundreds of other government handout programs. As in slavery, one person is being forcibly used to serve the purposes of another person."

I was thinking what if we didn't pay any federal income taxes? What if VB Investments could keep the $556,000 it sent to the government?

Let's see, that money could be used to hire 10 employees for $55,600 a year. It could be reinvested in the company to build a new office building, which would help our slumping construction industry. It could be invested in stocks to give other businesses capital to work with and grow. It could be used to fund a new startup company, which employs even more people. It could be deposited in a bank and loaned to individuals that are having a hard time getting a mortgage. It could be given to charity to help great causes.

Congressman Buchanan and thousands of wealthy individuals like him do this every day, pay outrageous amounts in taxes. What if they had all that money to reinvest in their businesses to create jobs, pay their employees a higher salary or improve health care benefits? What if they just spent it on themselves to buy new cars, boats, homes, condos and luxury items, fueling each of these industries that employ tens of thousands of people across America?

As Claude Frederic Bastiat, French economist, legislator and writer who championed private property, free markets, and limited government, said, "Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else".

Do you endeavor to live at the expense of everybody else? Vern and Sandy Buchanan don't. We should thank them.

In their editorial the liberal Sarasota Herald-Tribune focuses on one proposal by Senator John McCain in, "Gas-tax break is a mirage".

First the liberal editorial board cherry picks what Senator McCain said. Here are the exact words he used on suspending all taxes on gasoline:

"I propose that the federal government suspend all taxes on gasoline now paid by the American people -- from Memorial Day to Labor Day of this year. The effect will be an immediate economic stimulus -- taking a few dollars off the price of a tank of gas every time a family, a farmer, or trucker stops to fill up. Over the same period, our government should suspend the purchase of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has also contributed to the rising price of oil. This measure, combined with the summer-long "gas-tax holiday," will bring a timely reduction in the price of gasoline. And because the cost of gas affects the price of food, packaging, and just about everything else, these immediate steps will help to spread relief across the American economy."

Secondly, what the Sarasota Herald-Tribune does not tell you is Senator McCain's vision for the economy and America's future. There are many more important points in his speech than the suspension of all gas-taxes.

The liberal Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial board does not want you to know about them. Well we do.

Here are some of the really important things that Senator McCain said in his breath taking speech on the economy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA:

"We need rules that assure fairness and punish wrongdoing in the market. We need tax policies that respect the wage-earners and job creators who make this economy run, and help them to succeed in a global economy."

"Americans are also right to be offended when the extravagant salaries and severance deals of CEO's -- in some cases, the very same CEO's who helped to bring on these market troubles -- bear no relation to the success of the company or the wishes of shareholders."

"In the end, the truest measure of prosperity in America is the success and financial security of those who earn wages and meet payrolls in this country. Many are waiting for their first homes... their first big break... their first shot at financial security. And helping them will be my first priority in setting the economic policies of this nation."

"...many in Congress think Americans are under-taxed. They speak as if letting you keep your own earnings were an act of charity, and now they have decided you've had enough. By allowing many of the current low tax rates to expire, they would impose -- overnight -- the single largest tax increase since the Second World War. Among supporters of a tax increase are Senators Obama and Clinton. Both promise big "change." And a trillion dollars in new taxes over the next decade would certainly fit that description."

"I will use the veto as needed, and as the Founders intended. I will veto every bill with earmarks, until the Congress stops sending bills with earmarks. I will seek a constitutionally valid line-item veto to end the practice once and for all. I will lead across-the-board reforms in the federal tax code, removing myriad corporate tax loopholes that are costly, unfair, and inconsistent with a free-market economy."

"...we will institute a one-year pause in discretionary spending increases with the necessary exemption of military spending and veterans benefits. "Discretionary spending" is a term people throw around a lot in Washington, while actual discretion is seldom exercised. Instead, every program comes with a built-in assumption that it should go on forever, and its budget increase forever. My administration will change that way of thinking."

"In my administration there will be no more subsidies for special pleaders -- no more corporate welfare -- no more throwing around billions of dollars of the people's money on pet projects, while the people themselves are struggling to afford their homes, groceries, and gas. We are going to get our priorities straight in Washington -- a clean break from years of squandered wealth and wasted chances."

"I will send to Congress a proposal to cut the [corporate] taxes these employers pay, from a rate of 35 to 25 percent."

"I will also send to the Congress a middle-class tax cut -- a complete phase-out of the Alternative Minimum Tax to save more than 25 million middle-class families more than 2,000 dollars every year."

"Our tax laws and those who enforce them should treat all citizens with respect, whether they are married or single. But mothers and fathers bear special responsibilities, and the tax code must recognize this. Inflation has eroded the value of the exemption for dependents. I will send to Congress a reform to increase the exemption -- with the goal of doubling it from 3,500 dollars to 7,000 dollars for every dependent, in every family in America."

"What we need is a simpler, a flatter, and a fair tax code. As president, I will propose an alternative tax system. When this reform is enacted, all who wish to file under the current system could still do so. And everyone else could choose a vastly less complicated system with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction."

"Those who can afford to buy their own prescription drugs should be expected to do so. This reform alone will save billions of dollars that could be returned to taxpayers or put to better use."

To read the full speech and the sweeping reforms that Senator McCain is proposing go here.

We continue to be amazed at what the liberal Sarasota Herald-Tribune wants you to know but more importantly what it doesn't want you to know.

Their editorial is at best dis-information and at worst political pandering to the liberal view point and dishonest journalism.

There is an article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune titled, "A plan to cap local government".

This plan is called the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). We ask that you immediately send an e-mail to the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission supporting TABOR. The commissioners need to know how Florida's taxpayers feel about taking away from government the ability to tax us.

To send an e-mail or write a letter to the full commission expressing your support of this plan – send correspondence to Kathy Torian at Florida TBRC, Holland Building, Suite 245, 600 S. Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1300 or email her at Torian.kathy@leg.state.fl.us. Request that your correspondence be sent to all Commission members.

According to the article, "The plan...would cap all taxes, fees and other revenue increases at the rate of inflation and population growth. Exceeding that cap would require voter approval...it is not just a chance to cut taxes even further, it is a step toward forever throttling the size of government."

"I think there's a direct correlation between the size of your government and the health of your economy," said House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami. We agree.

The plan would require voter approval of even the smallest increase in taxes or fees. What a fantastic plan.

"When we went across the state, the two things that we heard from almost every single individual that came up and spoke was 'provide property tax relief and get a hold of government spending,'" said Patricia Levesque, currently the executive director for former Gov. Jeb Bush's education think tank. "Government shouldn't grow faster than we should pay for it."

Patricia and Representative Rubio have it right.

We believe that government closest to the people is best. We also believe that voters should decide if they should be taxed. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" depends on individuals keeping their hard earned dollars and passing their wealth on to their families. The more money in the taxpayers pockets the stronger the economy. The stronger the economy the better for our cities, counties and the state of Florida.

Please send your e-mail today to the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission supporting TABOR.

Have you ever noticed the primary difference between liberals and conservatives?

Liberals attack government to get more of it.

Conservatives attack government to get less of it.

Our very liberal friend and former editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune Waldo Proffitt is the perfect example. In his column, "Hostile takeover of government" he remembers the good old days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Mr. Big Government himself.

FDR gave us Social Security, which is about to bankrupt this country. If FDR had supported private savings accounts in the 1930s we would all be millionaires by now. How could FDR have known that government would take the money we put into Social Security and use it to feed more government rather than invest it in our economy? Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme ever.

Anyway, Waldo rants against the usual suspects President George W. Bush and former Governor Jeb Bush, "So, here in Florida, with a Bush as president and a Bush as governor, we got a double-strength prescription: Cut taxes, cut services, dismantle regulations. Cripple Social Security. Turn over Medicare to private companies. Make it more expensive for children to get medical care. Make it more expensive to attend college, and more difficult to fund decent public schools. Do not spend enough to maintain roads, bridges and other elements of the infrastructure."

We say fantastic, congratulations to GWB and Jeb. Let's do more of it. Less government regulation, privatize Social Security, privatize and deregulate Medicare, cut taxes, cut non-essential services, privatize our state colleges and universities, provide real school choice by providing vouchers to parents, eliminate the onerous property taxes and move them over to the fairer sales tax, and let families bear the burdens of taking care of their own by empowering them.

Take all the money saved from doing these things and give it to the people and families that pay taxes. Do not give it to those who do not pay taxes. We want to see a national sales tax and elimination of the income tax because one taxes consumption and other productivity. If we can't do this immediately then let's start with a flat tax and have everyone in America pay something toward our national defense. That is fair.

As for the S&L crisis of the 1970s we say we are glad it happened, just as we are glad we are having a sub-prime problem now. That is how the markets work. Lenders gave money to more and more people so they could buy their own homes. Some were speculators and they got burned, good. Some were honest families that stretched their budget to have the American dream, let's try to help them with lower interest rates or a temporary freeze in rates. Some were given loans to feed the greed of the market, punish the predatory lenders. Otherwise let the market correct itself. Will we all feel some pain? Yes. Will we get through this crisis? Yes.

The thing that is really is disgusting about Waldo's article is his "cheap shot" at Senator John McCain. Waldo refers to the Keating Five congressional investigation that was part of the S&L crisis. The Keating Five were 4 Democrats and one Republican.

After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Democrats Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings, while Democrat John Glenn and Republican John McCain had been only minimally involved. The Committee recommended censure for Cranston and criticized the other four for "questionable conduct."

That is it. In reality the lawyer who headed up the investigation said that he recommended that Senator McCain be dropped from the investigation. The Senate Ethics Committee disagreed because if they did that then it would only be Democrats left. They needed a token Republican - John McCain.

Waldo knows this and still slings mud. Sad that Waldo would stoop so low. But that is what former employees of the New York Times do. Sling mud without basis in fact. We call that in the blogosphere "tabloid journalism".

We agree with Ronald Reagan who said, "Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

If we stop feeding the government baby we will get less you know what coming out the other end.

Tallahassee–With one month to go until the tax filing deadline, you may not have received your return or even filed your 2007 taxes. The Democrat-led United States Congress, though, has already voted to increase your taxes for next year. Yesterday, the Democrat-led United States Senate passed the biggest tax increase in history by passing a 2009 budget that fails to extend President Bush’s tax cuts and includes $1 trillion dollars in discretionary spending.

“People in Florida and across the nation are increasingly concerned about the economy, and they want our leaders to take a new direction when it comes to the economy that doesn’t leave the middle class behind,” noted Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer. “But U.S. Senator Bill Nelson isn’t listening to Florida voters—instead, he is up in Washington, joining Senators Clinton and Obama to vote for every tax increase in sight,” said Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer.

The Club For Growth's Andrew Roth Notes The Democrats' FY 2009 Budget Would Result In "The Largest Tax Hike In U.S. History." "The Democrats' FY09 budget does not extend the Bush tax cuts. As a result, Americans are set to be hammered with the largest tax hike in U.S. history." (Andrew Roth, "Tax Hike Impact By Congressional District," The Club For Growth's Blog, www.clubforgrowth.org).

Bill Nelson Joined Clinton and Obama to Raise Taxes On Individuals Earning As Little As $31,850. "Under both Democratic plans, tax rates would increase by 3 percentage points for each of the 25 percent, 28 percent and 33 percent brackets. At present, the 25 percent bracket begins at $31,850 for individuals and $63,700 for married couples. The 35 percent bracket on incomes over $349,700 would jump to 39.6 percent." (Andrew Taylor, "Presidential Hopefuls To Vote On Budget," The Associated Press, 3/13/08)

Clinton, Obama and Nelson Voted Against Providing Death Tax Relief For Small Businesses, Family Ranches And Farms By Increasing The Exemption Amount And Lowering The Top Tax Rate. "Kyl, R-Ariz., amendment no. 4191 that would adjust the resolution to allow for a $5 million estate tax exemption for small businesses, family ranches and farms, and allow for a maximum estate tax rate of 35 percent." (S. Con. Res. 70, CQ Vote #50: Rejected 50-50: R 48-1; D 2-47; I 0-2, 3/13/08, Clinton, Obama and Nelson Voted Nay)