Excellent! Great article, I already saved it to my favourite,

This has been marketed as a bi-partisan event. Just found out that in Philadelphia former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah and Bob Brady will partiicipate. No Republican VIP's are scheduled. So much for bi-partisanship.

Hi Joe. Thanks for your comment. The National Town Meeting will indeed be bi-partisan.

We have invited members of Congress from each party to speak at each meeting sites. For example, Congressman Fattah (D) will welcome participants in Philadelphia and Senator Lindsey Graham will welcome participants in Columbia, SC (R). And Erskin Bowles actually will not speak in Philadelphia.

If a factory is torn down but the rationality which produced it is left standing, then that rationality will simply produce another factory. If a revolution destroys a government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will repeat themselves.... There’s so much talk about the system. And so little understanding.
—Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

A good summary of the current situation. I add that other countires are competing for capital to finance their economies. This will make for higher future interest rates.

Your income is your's and not to be taxed. According to the Constitution. If people would read the Constitution they would see that their labor is not to be taxed. All the monies that are collected for income tax (labor tax) is not in complyance to the Constitution. All labor income tax is collected to pay the interest on the money tha the Government barrows from the Federal Reserve Bank. Their is no law that states you must fill a federal tax return. The Congress is not doing it's job and every one of them should be sent home. Because they have not upheld their oath when they took office I believe that all monies and lands that they have taken falsly should be removed from thier possetion, If our leaders cannot be trusted to be hounest in the office we the people have intrusted to them, then they should be held accountabe for thier wrong doings according to the Constitution. WE are a land of laws and those laws should pertain to our Governmental Representatives. LDM

You should find out fairly quick. I got a reply with in 10 hrs. There looking for people with no criminal past and adverage everyday people. Good luck.

When we talk budget we should also think of residual and sustainable venues, I would hope that community service could be used much like co-ops, bartering is good practice and could save plenty of headaches. We must reinvent our way living and our dependency on monetary systems.

I am not at all convinced that the deficit is the major problem we should be facing at this time. The economy is just digging its way out of a near depression, and without sufficient stimulus, it could collapse. Yet we are being distracted by these supposedly crucial long term concerns. If we got the economy going again, much of the deficit would be eliminated without the need for draconian measures.

Is the Payroll Tax a Tax?
The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax is a United States payroll (or employment) tax imposed by the federal government on both employees and employers to fund Social Security and Medicare—federal programs that provide benefits for retirees, the disabled, and children of deceased workers. Social Security benefits include old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI); Medicare provides hospital insurance benefits. The amount that one pays in payroll taxes throughout one’s working career is directly tied to the social security benefits annuity that one receives as a retiree. This has led some to claim that the payroll tax is not a tax because its collection is directly tied to a benefit. No other country uses the word insurance in the business sense, which means to spread risks. The business sense of insurance includes the concept of examining clams to see if they fall within the contractual boundaries for payment.

For 2008, the employee’s share of the Social Security portion of the tax is 6.2% of gross compensation up to a limit of $102,000 of compensation (resulting in a maximum of in $6,324 total tax amount). This limit, known as the Social Security Wage Base, which goes up each year based on average national wages and, in general, at a faster rate than the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The employee’s share of the Medicare portion is 1.45% of wages with no limit. The employer is also liable for separate 6.2% and 1.45% Social Security and Medicare taxes, respectively, making the total Social Security tax 12.4% and the total Medicare tax 2.9% of wages. In 2007, the payroll tax represented over 30 percent of the budget.

In one theory, each employee builds up a Social Security account each year. The maximum contribution to this account would be $12,648 ($102,000 x 12.4%) in 2008, for example. These funds go into a special Social Security fund and benefits are paid out of this account according to how much was paid in. In another theory, these funds are pooled together as premiums and then paid out as insurance benefits according to how much is paid in.
Because we tie Social Security and Medicare insurance to employment, this system is making us less competitive in the global economy. That is because no other country taxes employers for each employee they have on their books. Everywhere else this cost is part of the national ledgers just like the cost of police, education, and lifeguards.

The most widely accepted theory is that Social Security and Medicare taxes are a “social insurance” program. While some nations refer to their plans as insurance, they mean that in the political sense. The Supreme Court has twice declared that the payroll tax is a tax imposed by the congress and congress can treat the revenue just like any other tax, i.e. income tax. Each year the payroll tax is collected to pay for the benefits of that year and the remainder is used as general funds by the government before borrowing from the general public to balance the budget. The funds are also used for the disabled and others unable to care for themselves. It is the duty of our government to insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare, well being of citizens. To further this duty, the government collects revenue from workers to provide services to all citizens. This is the purpose of taxes.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states that three-fourths of taxpayers pay more in payroll taxes than they do in income taxes. The FICA tax is considered a regressive tax on income (with no standard deduction or personal exemption deduction) and this tax is not imposed on investment income (such as interest, dividends and capital gains). It should be criminal that through capital gains breaks and FICA taxes, we pay more taxes on the money we earn through work than on passive investment income.

The first thing this country needs to do is to decide which theory is correct or will best benefit society. The solutions will then present themselves.

If each employee builds up a social security insurance account to purchase an annuity benefit, then government could simply require workers to purchase a minimum private annuity like IRAs and 401 k plans. All other benefits (including benefits for non-workers) would then be supplied by income taxes since it is the duty of government to promote the general welfare and not just the duty of employers and employees. This is privatization of social security as Republicans are in favor of.

If these payroll taxes are pooled together as premiums and then paid out as insurance benefits according to how much is paid in, then government should establish a benefit fund like is required of private insurance companies to cover all claims and establish policies to examine clams to see if they fall within the contractual boundaries for payment. The premiums for non-workers would then be supplied by income taxes since it is the duty of government to promote the general welfare and not just the duty of employers and employees. This would balance the social security account.


If the payroll tax is a tax, then its benefits should be equal for all. A poor man should receive as much in Social Security as a rich man no matter what they paid in just like income tax where each person pays according to what they make. If the payroll tax is a tax and is retained, there should not be a cap on gross compensation and this tax would also be imposed on investment income. but there should be a personal exemption on the first dollars of earned income just like the income tax. This would balance the Social Security and Medicare accounts.


Taxpayers deserve to know what they are paying for. If politicians cannot define what a payroll tax is, then the payroll tax should be repealed and all benefits should be paid from the general fund. So what should our government’s policy on payroll taxes be?

Very well articulated. Continuing to tax labor income and employers via the payroll tax is unjust when the employment rate is only 60-70% of US eligible adults. Now add the healthcare issue which is also tied to the labor force through employer-sponsored plans and you see that only working adults are toeing the line for the Federal Budget. It is no wonder so many see incentives to stay out of the work force or become part of the Underground Economy through unreported self-employment. Only when we stop taxing labor and go to a national sales tax will the "tax" system be sort of fair.

From what I can see, hopefully, there is alot of information to be gained. I had heard about these meetings over the last few years but I am not sure this is the same thing. I am eager to see what these meetings are really like. I hope to be chosen for the representation. I have many things I would like to contribute and be in touch with other US citizens that concerns.