Applicable Individual = Cash Cow

The more I read about the health care bill, the more incensed I become.  How is it possible that something like this can be happening in America?

I pray that this is an April Fools joke.

Sadly, it ISN'T.  Most of us are now considered an, "Applicable Individual" by the new health care bill.  It is everyone that is required to spend their own money, or that of their employer, to purchase health care insurance, even if they don't want it.

There are always exceptions, so who gets off the hook (PDF)?  From Chapter 8 (Maintenance of Minimum Essential Coverage), Section 5000A -

(2) RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS.—
‘‘(A) RELIGIOUS CONSCIENCE EXEMPTION.—Such term [applicable individual - .ed]
shall not include any individual for any month if such individual has in effect an exemption under section 1311(d)(4)(H) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which certifies that such individual is a member of a recognized religious sect or division thereof described in section 1402(g)(1) and an adherent of established tenets or teachings of such sect or division as described in such section.

(...)

‘‘(3) INDIVIDUALS NOT LAWFULLY PRESENT.—Such term shall not include an individual for any month if for the month the individual is not a citizen or national of the United States or an alien lawfully present in the United States.

So, if you're a Muslim (they don't believe in insurance), Amish, American Indian or Christian Scientist, you're exempt from paying, but still get the benefits.

Not Lawfully Present?  Sounds like someone who has broken into your house.  To you and me, that means  Illegal Aliens.  If you are a citizen or legal alien, you must pay.

Yeah, follow the rules and pay.

Not only must we pay, but if we decide not to do so, we will have the new 16,500 IRS agents crawling up our butts, seizing our money and property, and generally making our lives miserable.

Are the Senators, Congressmen, Administration hacks and their compliant media scribes REALLY surprised people are rebelling against this kind of treatment?  Really!?
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Speaking of Compliant Media Scribes, they're doing their best to put a positive spin on the latest unemployment report.  The headline -

U.S. jobless claims fall 6,000 last week

Sounds pretty good, right?  Well.... not so much.  There were still 439,000 NEW CLAIMS LAST WEEK!  In the article, they also make the point that last month, 190,000 new jobs were created last month.

I know I shouldn't even try to understand, but how can you have 439,000 new claims last week (averaging 447,000 per week for the month of March - or 1.8 million for the whole month), but at the same time they say there were 190,000 new jobs created.  How do you reconcile those two seemingly contradictory numbers?

We'll, I'm not even going to try, since the vast majority of the created jobs were for temporary US Census workers.
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Treasury Secretary Geithner is telling us that high unemployment is here to stay for a while, so federal expenses are going to keep going up, but exemptions to paying for our federal largess are everywhere.  It is incredible to me that 36% of all people who filed a tax return had ZERO tax liability -

As a result, recently released IRS data for the 2008 tax year show that a record 51.6 million filers had no income tax obligation (see chart, click to enlarge). That means more than 36% of all Americans who filed a tax return for 2008 were nonpayers, raising serious doubts about the ability of the income tax system to continue funding the federal government's ballooning expenditures.

No tax liability.  What's that like?  Look at the chart they mention -

One way or the other, we're going to pay for this.  My guess is it will be a VAT -

In either scenario, the tax hike to come – as has been reported by many media outlets – is likely to be the “value added tax,” or VAT. The VAT is the most politically palatable means of raising revenue for a couple of reasons. It’s a stealth tax, for one. Consumers won’t see a line item on their receipts labeled “VAT,” but the costs will be built into the products they buy as surely as if it were a sales tax. It also appears to be a fair tax, since it applies equally to all goods and services. That’s how the VAT will be sold to the public, but the reality is quite a bit different.

The VAT is a regressive tax, making the costs of goods and services more expensive as a proportion of income for those who can least afford it. It’s also another way for government to extend the clinging claws of the bureaucracy even further into the free market, since the VAT is applied to every transaction that occurs along the way as goods are produced and services are offered. Liberals may – probably will – point out that some conservatives have championed VAT proposals in the past. True enough, but those conservatives who like the VAT do so as an alternative to an income tax, not in addition to an income tax.

Personally, I would love a VAT, but ONLY as an alternative to ALL other taxes.  But that will never happen.  It will be an addition to the taxes we now pay.

Accept The Challenge

The assault on our pocketbooks is never ending.  If you're not actively seeking ways to limit your tax exposure, you're going to be hit hard in the coming years.

Learn about and start employing barter.  Stop impulse buying, and plan your purchases.  In my latest post over at The California Preppers Network, I discussed purchasing your handguns via private party sales.  Here in my California county, that means you can reduce your out-of-pocket expenses for a $600 gun by almost $60.  That'll put a good deal of gas in the tank or preps in the pantry.  "A free 45 pound bucket of wheat with every handgun purchase!"

When you add in taxes on gasoline, sodas, alcohol, cigarettes and anything else our politicians can think of, you're not going to have any money left to do what you want.

Get educated on the "underground economy" and other similar concepts while you're still able.  It's going to require you to have skills or products that others need.  Look back into past difficult times - here in America and in places like the former Soviet Union - and see what people were willing to pay good money for.

Many, if not most, were restricted or outright illegal.  Time to pick your poison.

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