Herman

Cain

Read Herman's bio and previous columns

January 12, 2009

Congressman Louis Gohmert’s Tax Holiday Lost in Chaos

A great economic stimulus proposal by Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas has gotten lost in the midst of bailout mania, spending madness, political scandals and the media’s pom-pom parade for President-elect Barack Obama.

It’s called a tax holiday.

Rep. Gohmert has introduced legislation (H.R. 7309) that would suspend all federal income tax on wages earned and FICA withholding for two straight months. According to American Solutions, headed by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, it would cost less than the remaining $350 billion in already authorized bailout funds.

More importantly, the tax holiday would be a direct stimulus to the economy by allowing workers and families to decide how to spend or save their money, instead of another round of pork barrel derby in Congress.

President-elect Obama has stated that he is open to all ideas. Well, here is a great idea that the mainstream media and the Democrats in Congress are trying to ignore. This is consistent with what they do with most good ideas. They ignore them and hope they go away.

Opponents of the tax holiday idea will claim that it will not help the lowest income workers. Wrong! A two-month tax holiday in this economic downturn might save a small business on the edge of going under so Paul and Pamela Pitiful won’t lose their jobs.

Opponents will also argue that it would reduce federal tax revenues that the government can’t afford to give up. Wrong again! First of all, it is not the government’s money, it is our money, and every tax cut in history has produced greater tax revenues into the federal Treasury.

The most recent example is the effect of the tax cuts passed in 2001. The overwhelming positive results were overshadowed by constant Bush bashing about the war, a prolonged presidential election and a congressional spending spree that is simply out of control.

Last week the Congressional Budget Office projected that the federal deficit for FY2009 will be $1.2 trillion. This will be the largest annual deficit in our history. The Treasury only collects about $1.2 trillion from income and FICA taxes each year.

That’s right! The projected annual deficit will equal income and payroll tax revenues. To make matters worse, the Treasury pays about $450 billion a year in just interest on all of our outstanding national debt.

That’s insane! Four hundred and fifty billion dollars is about $1,500 per man, woman and child living in the USA legally. That’s $6,000 a year for a family of four in just interest.

The impact of the tax holiday would be $334 billion directly into the economy through our hands instead of Congress’s big sticky paws. That money would go a whole lot further than another toothless stimulus package, because dollars earned by the people, saved or spent by the people is a direct stimulus for the people and the economy.

The biggest reason Congress is trying to ignore the tax holiday proposal is the fear of workers seeing all of their earnings for two months. People might like it and start demanding better results out of our elected officials.

Now that’s another great idea! But the pom-pom parade goes on.  

 © 2009 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

Click here to talk to our writers and editors about this column and others in our discussion forum.

To e-mail feedback about this column, click here. If you enjoy this writer's work, please contact your local newspapers editors and ask them to carry it.