Somebody's Gotta Say It

Neal Boortz

• Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9780061736803
• Topic: Politique et relations internationales
• Subtopic: Conservatisme et libéralisme

I've come to the conclusion that roughly 50 percent of the adults in this country are simply too ignorant and functionally incompetent to be living in a free society.

You might think I'm off base, but every day around half the people in this country go out of their way to prove me right.—from Somebody's Gotta Say It

Think you've got it all figured out? Think again.

Neal Boortz—the Talkmaster, the High Priest of the Church of the Painful Truth—has been edifying, infuriating, and entertaining talk radio audiences for more than three decades with his blend of straight talk and twisted humor. Now, the author of the smash number one bestseller The FairTax Book returns to gore every sacred cow in the pasture, from the subversive agendas behind children's books to the scam artists behind "High Art."

In Somebody's Gotta Say It, Boortz warms up for the coming political season with a preemptive strike in "the War on the Individual": "The Democrats' theme for 2008 will be 'The Common Good.' I can't speak for you, but I am an individual. Government exists to protect my rights, not to order my life. And I damn sure don't exist to serve government." He takes on liberal catchphrases like giving back ("Nobody—especially not the evil, wretched rich—actually earns anything anymore. Why do liberals think this way? Because they find it impossible to acknowledge that people work for money"), our rampant civic idiocy ("We are not a democracy. Never were. Weren't supposed to be. And we shouldn't be"), and Big Brother ("We have smoke-free workplaces. We have drug-free school zones. I say let's start establishing government-free oases, where we can be free to leave our seat belts unbuckled, and peel the labels off anything we choose"). And somehow, along the way, he finds room for pop quizzes, cat-chasing contests, and an answer, once and for all, to the eternal question, "Neal, why don't you run for president?"—in a chapter called "No Way in Hell."

Full of irresistible wisecracks and irrefutable libertarian wisdom, Somebody's Gotta Say It is one man's response to America at a time when the government overreaches, the people underperform—and the truth hurts.

THE DEMOCRATS’ (SECRET) PLAN FOR AMERICA

If I haven’t given you sufficient reason not to vote for Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians, I don’t know who could. On the other hand, if you were to actually take my advice (a pretty uncommon strategy, I’ll admit) and refuse to vote for any of those party’s candidates, you’d be left with little choice but to vote for some moonbats from, say, the Green Party or some such gathering of political odd-balls.

If you vote at all, the smart money says, you’ll probably vote for either a Republican or a Democrat.

You would lose that bet on me.

I’ve voted for the Libertarian Party candidate for president in five out of the last seven presidential elections. I also vote heavily for Libertarian candidates in local races. People are constantly scolding me about this; when I vote Libertarian, they say, my vote is “wasted.”

Somehow, however, I have a tough time accepting the premise that a principled vote is a wasted vote. And goodness knows, the two mainstream parties haven’t exactly offered return on investment.

The free-spending behavior of the Republican Party during the first six years of the George W. Bush presidency validated my votes thoroughly.1

During most election seasons, one group of researchers or another will generate a voter questionnaire highlighting planks from the Republican, Democrat, and Libertarian election platforms. Using excerpts from the party platforms, these pamphlets propose to present three alternative ways to address specific issues—without identifying which plank comes from which party. The people taking the survey merely have to choose the positions that most clearly mirror their own.

Interestingly enough, the majority of those taking this blind test tend to favor positions taken from the Libertarian platform over those from the Democrats or Republicans.

Does that tell you something?

What it tells me, I already knew. My years of conversations with talk radio callers have left me with the unshakeable feeling that most of the people in this country—at least, most of those people who take the time to call talk radio shows—have views that are basically libertarian. The Cato Institute, a respected Washington think tank, is a little more conservative (in both senses), but even they put the number at around 21 percent.

But there’s one problem: Libertarians have yet to show the ability to attract these people to their candidates or party when election time rolls around. Result? My vote enjoys the status of being part of the lost 3 percent.

To those of you who are with me in that slender slice of electoral pie, I salute you. For the rest of you, who will likely vote either Democrat or Republican in the coming election, let me share with you a list of some of the little surprises the Democrat Party2 might have in store for you if they retain control of Congress and seize the White House again.

Every time a general election rolls around, the Democrats pull out the same tried-and-true playbook. This plan calls for Democrats to spend their time (and election war chests) trying to frighten the wrinkles right off our senior citizens with a carefully honed litany of scare tactics.

The Republicans want you all to die, they suggest. The GOP will see to it that you never get another Social Security check as long as you live.

And another: The Republicans want you all to be sick! They’re going to destroy Medicare! Oh, and they want your children to starve to death, too.

Of course, there’s nothing in the Republican platform aimed at destroying Social Security and Medicare. So how do the Democrats explain that? They just tell the voters that the Republicans’ plans are “secret,” not to be revealed until the election is over.

Well, since the Democrats are so eager to talk about “secret” plans, I thought I’d spend a few fascinating pages discussing the secret plans of the Democrats.

Just what legislative agenda does the Democrat Party plan to pursue if and when they gain control of the government?

Your friendly author has been watching these socialists for years, and taking notes. I present you now with just some of the goodies the Social Democrat Party has in store for the people of America.

If you think I’m just making this stuff up, then go run to the polls in the next election and give the Social Democrat Party even more power.

Nobody loves a good “I told you so” more than me.

All right—clear your mind, grab your ankles, and kiss your buns goodbye. Here is the Democrat Party’s Secret Plan for America.

MAKE THE (EVIL) RICH COVER THE TAB

Priority one: Remove a majority of voters from responsibility for paying any federal income taxes. The Democrats have been working on this plan for decades—with no small amount of help from the Republicans. The idea is simple. Using “refundable” tax credits and deductions and ideas like the fraudulent Earned Income Tax Credit to free the bottom 50 percent of income earners from their federal tax burden, they’re well on their way to shifting the entire burden for the payment of federal income taxes onto a minority of U.S. taxpayers.

Let’s think about this for a moment. It’s election time. You’re a Democrat running for office. You know that the majority of the voters in your district pay no federal income taxes at all. And you know that very close to a majority of these voters get various tax credits and welfare payments that more than pay back any Social Security or Medicare taxes they may pay. Most are getting a free ride. Many are coming out ahead!

You’re the candidate. What do you tell these people? It’s obvious, isn’t it?

If those Republicans win, they’re going to make you pay income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes!

Money talks. That’s a sure winner.

So how are the Democrats doing with their grand plan to shift the entire federal tax burden onto a minority of voters? Not bad at all—thanks for asking.

Right now the top 50 percent of taxpayers pay almost 96 percent of the taxes. The top income earners—the evil top 1 percent—earn about 16.5 percent of the income and pay almost 33.7 percent of the income taxes. This is what Democrats call “not paying your fair share.”

The Democrats are close to their goal. When the majority of voters have no federal income tax liability, it’ll be almost impossible to pass any meaningful tax cuts—and further tax increases will be a piece of cake, especially if the taxes only affect those classified as “rich.”

This is how the Democrats plan to create a defeat-proof socialist Congress.

SHIFT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE TAXES TO THE “RICH”

It’s crucial to understand the depth of the Democrats’ dedication to the idea of totally eliminating all elements of the federal tax burden from their core voters.

Lifting the income tax burden from the majority of voters isn’t really all that difficult. The argument that the rich need to pay “their fair share” plays well with the dumb masses, as does the consistent Democrat whining about “tax cuts for the rich.”

Social Security and Medicare taxes, however, present a tougher challenge. To solve the problem, hard-core Democrat Robert Reich, Clinton’s secretary of labor, floated an idea on Fox News Channel’s Hannity & Colmes a while back. His idea? “Lift the tax burden off the poor” by eliminating payroll taxes on the first $15,000 of income.

This plan, my friends, is absolutely brilliant—a surefire cinch to broaden the loyalty of the Democrat voter base, and keep spreading it until Social Security finally collapses under its own weight.

Here’s how it’s done: The Democrats pass a law that says nobody has to pay any payroll taxes on the first $15,000 of their income. So wage earners making $30,000 a year will have their Social Security payroll tax bills cut in half! Bingo—a huge segment of our low earners are now on the very brink of getting a completely free ride.

What a windfall! If that won’t make you a lifelong, dedicated Democrat voter, I don’t know what will.

But hold on a minute here! Wouldn’t Reich’s idea cost the government a bunch of money? After all, these people are still going to get their full Social Security and Medicare benefits when the time comes. So just who is paying their Social Security taxes?

You’re not serious. You don’t know?

You, you sap! The difference will be made up by that minority of productive Americans who are still paying the taxes. All they have to do is raise the earnings limit on the evil, hideous, stanky rich to cover the cost!

Now, at first blush, you might think they would just take that $15,000 off the bottom and add it to the top. That would bring the Social Security earnings cap up to the neighborhood of $110,000. But hold on here. There are many, many more people who earn that first $15,000 than there are people who earn $110,000. The truth, then, is that they’d actually have to raise the earnings limit by much more than $15,000 to cover the lost tax revenue. Try $20,000 or $25,000. So the lower-income ranks will get a free ride for a good portion of their future Social Security benefits…a free ride paid for by the wicked rich.

Wait. We’re not through here. Now I want you to think about what the Democrats would do with each new federal election after they manage to create this $15,000 exemption. Can’t you just hear Joe Democrat’s campaign ad right now?

Cast your vote for me, Joe Democrat, and I’ll work to raise your exemption on Social Security payroll taxes to your first $18,000 in wages!

Well, what myrmidon isn’t going to go for that? Vote for Joe and get another tax cut! What a deal!

For many voters who earn less than the Social Security earnings limit, this will be the defining issue of the election. They won’t give one second’s thought to the high achievers in the upper income levels whose taxes will be increased; nor will they care that the tax increases on those evil rich bastards will exceed the tax cut they’re getting from Joe Democrat. Joe and his fellow Democrats have already wiped out any federal income tax liability they might have had with a laundry list of exceptions, deductions, and tax credits…now they see the Democrats working hard to get rid of their payroll taxes!

Keep voting for Joe Democrat and that free ride is on its way!

It’s a classic case of taking away from the upper income earners to give to the lower income earners—and since there are more lower income earners than higher, it’s an automatic vote-getter!

Charlie Rangel, the new head of the House Ways and Means Committee, knows the opportunities that await here, and as the Democrats look toward 2008, he’s prepared to move.

Think that’s too harsh a scenario? Ignore me at your peril. I’ve got plenty of I told you sos ready and waiting.

END THE HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION

Democrats have been gunning for the home mortgage interest deduction for decades.

You’re probably working under the impression that virtually everyone who has a mortgage on their home deducts the mortgage interest on their income taxes.

Not so.

The fact is that around 37 percent of people who owe money on their homes don’t even bother to itemize deductions on their income tax returns, and thus lose out on the deduction all together. That 37 percent, by the way, are in the lower and middle income brackets; they’re the same people the Democrats want to relieve of any responsibility for paying taxes in the first place.

So attacking the home mortgage interest deduction doesn’t really constitute an attack on the Democrat voter base.

Democrats aren’t at all fond of this particular tax break. They like to refer to it as a tax “subsidy.” Now, the more intelligent among us clearly understand that allowing people to keep more of their income can hardly be called a “subsidy.” People likely to vote Democrat, on the other hand, are happy to accept that characterization.

Unless you have a fairly sizeable mortgage you aren’t aware of it, but this home mortgage interest deduction is already being whittled away. Right now, a taxpayer can deduct the interest on only the first million dollars of principal.

The Democrats want to reduce that…steadily…until the deduction is pretty much gone.

As soon as the Democrats have completed their seizure of the federal government, then, you can bet they’ll make their move to start hacking away at the mortgage interest deduction. They know there’ll be little adverse political fallout. It’s not their voter base that’s going to take it in the chin. After all, the mortgage interest deduction is valuable only to people who actually pay income taxes and who itemize their deductions. The Democrats have already succeeded in removing most of their core constituency from the income tax rolls.

So, you see, they have tax revenue to gain, and nothing to lose!

Besides, they get the added bonus of telling their core constituency that they’ve made the evil rich pay even more of their ill-gotten booty in taxes! People who vote Democrat just love hearing stuff like that.

So you can get ready to kiss that mortgage interest deduction—and a lot more of your money—goodbye. Just don’t whine about it when it happens. After all, the Democrats will tell you, there can only be two reasons you have a home of your own in the first place: Either you got lucky and somebody gave you the money, or you exploited some of the poor, poor pitiful victims of our evil capitalist system to get it.

SOCIALIZED MEDICINE

Our Democrat friends already tried this with Hillary Care.

It failed.

But when it comes to growing the size and intrusiveness of government, Democrats aren’t discouraged by setbacks. Give them the chance, and they’ll try again…and again…and again…until they finally get you to swallow the poison pill.

There are two basic reasons the Democrats are working so hard for complete government control of this huge segment of our economy. One, of course, is power. Health care comprises no less than 15 percent of our national economy. If the government can seize control of a booby prize this large, we’ll have taken a giant step toward a socialist economy.

The second re...