John Oxendine's FairTax Video

Here's the video that was referenced in the previous press release:  





John Oxendine Calls for a Fair Tax Constitutional Convention from Gabe Winslow on Vimeo.

JOHN OXENDINE - FairTax Video & Meet Up!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:         FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: September 17, 2008                       Kathryn Ballou,  (404) 558-4905  JOHN OXENDINE - Fair Tax Video and Meet Up    Minneapolis, MN and Atlanta, GA - On September 4, 2008, at the National Fair Tax reception held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine delivered a speech to a packed audience of national Fair Tax grassroots' leaders from over a dozen states.  Commissioner Oxendine taped the speech for a viral video, which he has posted to his website at http://www.johnoxendine.com.   Commissioner Oxendine is working with Leo Linbeck, national Fair Tax Founder and President, The Georgia Fair Tax grassroots' leadership, and national Fair Tax leader Congressman John Linder on this important issue.   "The only way, other than Congress, to make the Fair Tax a reality is for the people - the states - to take charge in the form of a Constitutional Convention. Yes, I hope to become the next Governor of Georgia, but I am committed to the cause of the Fair Tax because it will help my children and it is right for America by once again making America the greatest manufacturing and economic capitol of the world. Win or lose, I will promote the Fair Tax across Georgia and across America - we will never allow the professional politicians to ignore the American people on this issue."   "I am honored that our Fair Tax leader in Georgia and DC, Congressman John Linder, the author of the Fair Tax, is supporting this effort. We are going to bring the voices of all Fair Tax supporters to bear on our state legislatures and ask for only one thing: to call a Constitutional Convention to repeal the 16th amendment and pass a Fair Tax amendment!"  "We need to begin talking with our neighbors, our friends, family, co-workers, our faith leaders and anyone else you can bend an ear to tell them that the power of putting the IRS out of business, once and for all, is in our hands and our voices. We need to use our voices to get our local government officials to pledge their support for this action, and then remind them - we vote," stated Oxendine.     Commissioner John Oxendine will host a Meet Up for the Fair Tax Meeting:             Day:     Monday, October 6 Time:    7:00 pm to 8:30 pm Place:  Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center 75 Langley Drive, First Floor Auditorium/Breezway Lawrenceville, GA 30045  The meeting is open to the public and all supporters of the Fair Tax or anyone interested in learning more about the Fair Tax.

PRESS RELEASE - John Oxendine For The FairTax!

The following is a Press Release issued by John Oxendine. for those of you who don't live in Georgia, John is our State Insurance Commissioner (he is a Republican). He has already declared his candidacy for Governor in 2010 to succeed Sonny Perdue who will be finishing up his 2nd term and cannot run for a 3rd. I proudly endorse John Oxendine and this press release pleases me very much as a FairTax fighter and supporter! Go John Go!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

August 18, 2008 Kathryn Ballou, (404) 558-4905

JOHN OXENDINE – WORKING FOR THE FAIR TAX

Atlanta, GA - "I want to stand with Congressman John Linder and Neal Boortz and lend my name and leadership to supporting the fair tax. I am very disappointed that the US Congress has not followed the outstanding leadership of Congressman Linder.

Therefore, pursuant of Article V of the U.S. Constitution, I call upon the states to join together in a constitutional convention to adopt the Fair Tax. If you honor me in 2010 by allowing me to serve as Governor of Georgia, I will invite the nation's Governors to meet and draft a plan to implement legislation in every state to adopt the Fair Tax by Constitutional Amendment." – May 17, 2008 Georgia GOP Convention, Columbus, GA.

The only way, other than Congress, to bring reality and the Fair Tax together is for the people – the states – to take charge in the form of a Constitutional Convention. Yes, I hope to become the next Governor of Georgia, but I am committed to the cause of the Fair Tax because it is right for America and will help my children by once again making America the greatest manufacturing and economic capitol of the world. Win or lose, I will promote the Fair Tax across Georgia and across America – we will never allow the professional politicians to ignore the American people on this issue.

I understand how difficult the struggle has been to make the Fair Tax a reality. We have both Republicans and Democrats sitting on the fence waiting for someone else to make the first move.

I am honored that our Fair Tax leader in Georgia and DC, Congressman John Linder, the author of the Fair Tax, is supporting this effort. We are going to bring the voices of all Fair Tax supporters to bear on our state legislatures and ask for only one thing: to call a Constitutional Convention to repeal the 16th amendment and pass a Fair Tax amendment!

I give my solemn pledge to all Fair Tax supporters across America and my home state of Georgia; I will endeavor to ensure that we the people take back our country and reclaim our freedoms from an intrusive and corrupted tax code that has been manipulating our behavior since most of us have been born. We will, additionally, reclaim jobs that have moved off shore due to invasive taxes under our current system.

Never again are we going to hear the phrase "Congress will never pass the Fair Tax" because we the people are going to do it!

We need to begin talking with our neighbors, our friends, family, co-workers, our faith leaders and anyone else you can bend an ear to tell them that the power of putting the IRS out of business, once and for all, is in our hands and our voices. We need to use our voices to get our local government officials to pledge their support for this action, and then remind them – we vote.

HUCKPAC'S VERTICAL DAY - John Linder For The FairTax!!!

There were not many Politicians who stood up on principle and stood beside Mike Huckabee during his presidential campaign.  However I am very proud of my Reprentitve in the House because he was of those few.  With that said the next guest blogger today is John Linder (GA-7).  Linder writes to us today about the need to enact the FairTax: 

We are rapidly coming to the point when people will be telling stories about what a great and powerful nation the United States of America used to be.  The cost we are asking our citizens to endure makes us less than competitive in a global economy.  We have a tax law with nearly 70,000 pages of law and regulations.  Our tax on capital is crippling.  Our tax on income for the highest earners takes half of what we earn.  All of these costs, as well as the cost of complying with a code that no one understands, become embedded in the cost of our goods and services pricing us out of global markets.  This is very well understood overseas.  In a recent visit to Ireland, Neal Boortz, the co-author of two books on the FairTax, was told by an Irish gentleman that the Irish are scared to death that we will go to the FairTax.  He explained that their economic “miracle” came as a direct result of our crushing taxes on capital and labor.  Very simply, American companies relocated to Ireland because their tax code was much friendlier to business. 

Since 1998 I have advocated for the FairTax.  A simple bill--in fact, a mere 132 pages long--that will abolish all Federal income taxes, including personal, estate, gift, capital gains, alternative minimum, corporate, payroll, and self-employment taxes, and replace them with one simple, visible, personal consumption tax. The FairTax taxes what we take out of society rather than what we put into it. 
Every household will get cash distribution at the beginning of each month that will be based on the size of the household and will allow that household to buy its essentials untaxed.  Beyond that we are all voluntary taxpayers paying taxes when we choose as much as we choose by how we choose to spend. 

Our nation has coped with this tax code for 95 years and it has failed.  Our tax code has driven $2 trillion into the underground economy costing us about $50 billion in tax collections.  Our tax code has driven $12 trillion into offshore financial centers that should be parked in our markets and banks.   We are spending between $400 and $500 billion each year just complying with the code.  That is like paying for a dead horse.  We get nothing for that expenditure but a headache.
Getting rid of the IRS fixes everything.  Keeping it in place and nibbling around the edges of the current system fixes nothing.  As former Secretary of the Treasury told me, “You have just proposed the largest magnet for capital and jobs in history.”  Why wouldn’t we want the United States to be the outsource destination for jobs?  Why wouldn’t we want our nation to be the world’s safest and most stable tax haven?  The FairTax will give us these results as well as create an environment that will expand freedom. 

We have amassed millions of supporters across the country, all of whom are hungry for change.  That said, we have millions more to go and we need to grow this grassroots army.  I hope you will go to my website, www.johnlinder.com.  There you will find much more information on the bill, and you can join the fight by signing up to become a “Citizen Co-Sponsor” for the FairTax.  You can play an active role in bringing change to Washington.

FairTax Vs Flat Tax

First of all I am no expert on this argument. The following are my opinions on the matter. I cannot get much deeper that I will get. I am not the best person to ask questions about this subject to. However let me set you in the right direction. First of all there is the FairTax Website. If you are willing to spend hours upon hours of time getting all the specifics there ya go. Libertarian Talk-show host Neal Boortz and Republican Congressman John Linder have written two books on the subject. First there is the original FairTax Book that was released in 2005. There were many questions and critics that resulted from the first book so a second book was written to answer those questions and clear the air. FairTax: The Truth. Answering The Critics was written last fall and released this Spring, just a month or two ago. On the other side of the argument are Steve Forbes' and Dick Armey's books.

Is that not enough for ya? Are you thirsty for more? There were two relevant workshops hosted during Newt Gingrich's Solutions Day last September. Linder & Boortz hosted one for the FairTax and Dick Armey hosted on on the Flat Tax. In addition Neal Boortz has produced a Web Seminar on the FairTax and you can view it HERE (it works better in Internet Explorer than it does in Firefox).

Okay so we've got that out of the way. Now to the meat and potatoes of this post. It is no secret I am a proponent of the FairTax. I think it is the only way we should go to fix our system. I know that some of you disagree with me and have let me know that in no uncertain terms. Fine. Let's all agree on one thing before we move forward. Our tax system sucks and we need to do something about it. It's terrible and horrible. It needs to be fixed in some form or fashion.

First of all for the person who is coming by and has no idea what I am talking about let me explain. The FairTax (aka the National Retail Sales Tax) is a plan that would eliminate the Internal Revenue Service (or IRS for short), eliminate payroll taxes, corporate taxes, FICA, The Death Tax, Medicare Tax, Social Security Tax, etc and replace it with a flat 23% sales tax on every new item that you purchase at the consumer level. The tax would be included in the price of every item you buy (in other words not added to the price at the counter like a normal sales tax). The plan was developed by a group of professors and economic experts back in the early 1990's after much research and development. The plan was designed to be revenue neutral. In addition the plan includes a prebate check issued to each legal American citizen and family to offset the purchase of items that are needed each month (like groceries) and would pay you for each person lving in your household up to the poverty level. In simplistic terms the FairTax replaces our current tax on productivity and income and replaces it with a consumption tax. The FairTax wa supported and pushed by several GOP candidates for President (Mike Huckabee, Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes,) and a Democratic candidate (Mike Graval, who is now running for the Libertarian nomination). In addition Libertarian candidate, Bob Barr is a supporter. The FairTax is an actual bill in the hopper of the house and Senate and has over 70 co-sponsors at present.

So why do I favor the FairTax over a Flat Tax. It's very simple. We've already tried it before. Back in the 1980's under the Reagan administration we went to a flat tax. It basically wiped the slate clean as far as the tax cod is concerned. Almost twenty years later the tax code is hundreds of pages long and very complex. Let's all agree that it is too complex. Here are reasons why I favor the FairTax over the Flat Tax (these are all things not possible under a Flat Tax):

• Under the Fairtax, April 15th becoems just another Spring Day. No more filing to worry about. No more filing stress! No more paying someone to do the work for you. Go out have a picnic and celebrate the end of Tax Opression!
  
• While there is a tax code still in place, the Federal Government, along with help from K Street lobbyists and their soft money will continue to influence our behavior with tax breaks and tax increases depending on who you are and what behavior they want to punish or reward.
  
• The poor are untaxed! That prebate check is designed to cover their basic necessities. The FairTax does more to fight poverty than Lyndon B. Johnson ever did during his "War on Poverty."
• Under this system the States will realize that this is the best way to collect their money too and when that happens you get to keep every dime that you earn and nothing is taken away!
  
• Your money is your money. You get to decide what to do with it. The consumption tax is voluntary. You can save or invest your money and when you want to withdraw that or cash in there are no more taxes paid when you collect!
  
• There are many companies that have relocated overseas for tax purposes. the day the FairTax is enacted and the 16th Amendment repealed the United States will become the world's tax haven. All those companies, their jobs, and their dollars will return to American soil and they will be followed by many more companies that will decide that it will be better to do their business here in the United States! Talk about the ultimate economic stimulus!
  
• Remember that prebate check I talked about? Well if you are not a legal citizen you don't get one. The only way you are going to get one is to go back home and enter this country legally. In other words the FairTax punishes illegal aliens and is a motivation for them to actually become legal citizens!
  
• Most importantly the FairTax would be the single most transfer of power from the Federal Government back to the people.
  

That's why I prefer the FairTax over a Flat Tax. I am sure there are people out there that still disagree with me. that's fine. This is America. The great thing is that we can share our opinions with each other and it is not a crime to disagree with the Government and how it works. If yo uwant to give a rebuttal, go ahead. You have free reign. I won't fire back at ya. I will now allow you, my readers to opine. Any rebuttals on the side of the FairTax will not come from me (if any they will come from supporters of the FairTax). I have already stated my case. Just don't attack anyone or their views on the issue. There ya go. Have at it.

More on the HuckPAC Launch

Okay we are a few hours past the re-launch of Mike Huckabee's website. I've had a chance to poke around. For anyone who was a regular to Huck's site during his Presidential run, the site will be familiar to you and it won't take you long to get acquainted with it, like an old friend you haven't seen in awhile.

To kick things off there are three candidates already being supported by HuckPAC: Bob Clegg of New Hampshire (running for the US House), Gilbert Baker of Arkansas (running for re-election to the Arkansas State Senate), and my Congressman, Georgia's John Linder.

Also being posted within the first hours of launch is a very topical policy blog from Mike on the FairTax.

The things that made Mike's Presidential campaign the Internet's best have resurfaced here - Donations to the PAC can be made through PayPal. Each blog post can be dugg on Digg. There are blogger banners and widgets that can be used. The Ranger fundraising and volunteering initiative is back! The community through the blog has been kept intact. There's also some new features (and more will probably surface later) like a chat room on your MyHuckPAC dashboard.

Welcome back Mike. We missed you!

Gwinnett County FairTax Rally Saturday Afternoon!

John Linder will be hosting a Fair Tax Rally in Gwinnett County on Saturday starting at 4:00 p.m. Because this election is so important, the Fair Tax MUST make a large presence to this event. The sound system will be supplied by our Fair Tax bus, and Boortz & Herman Cain are going to help pull this off.

Location: Gwinnett County Airport (Briscoe Field)

470 Briscoe Blvd. (The Hangar side of the Airport)

Lawrenceville , GA 30045

Just pass the intersection of Hwy 316 and Hwy 124

THIS WILL BE A HIGH MEDIA EVENT, EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE HERE!

US Rep John Linder: Huckabee Presents The Best Choice For Reagan Supporters

On Sunday morning the Gwinnett Daily Post printed this glowing editorial by my Representative, John Linder (GA - 7):

Huckabee presents the best choice for Reagan supporters

By John Linder

Sunday, January 20, 2008

I was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives 34 years ago. I have watched this party change for a long time. Some changes have been better than others.

Two years after that first election, I went to work on the Reagan campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. I was one of the leaders of that campaign in Georgia, and my friend, Paul Coverdell, led the establishment's efforts to nominate President Ford.

It was the typical establishment-versus-interloper campaign. Most of the friends I had made in the party were in the establishment. Most of them thought the nomination of Ronald Reagan was not only impractical, but would destroy our party.

Reagan had just served two terms as the governor of California. His record was not all that conservative. He signed the biggest tax increase in the history of the state. He got the best he could get with a Democrat-dominated general assembly. He signed a bill legalizing abortion. But governors have different challenges than presidents.

Frankly, most of the establishment couldn't have cared less about abortion. They thought the discussion of it was, well, tacky. But we were, at the time, the party that Barry built, and the new foot soldiers cared about abortion.

Their concern with Reagan was that he just wasn't up to it. What did he know about foreign policy? How could he stand up to the Soviets? Did he understand detente?

During that campaign, as in all campaigns, the establishment sat at the head table, and the rest of us milled around the small round tables below.

Coverdell approached me, after Ford had won the first several primaries, and urged me to switch sides. Paul was convinced that Ford had the best chance of winning. Paul recited all of the reservations mentioned above and then said, "John, Reagan cannot win. No one will take him seriously." That was also the consensus of the Republican writers and commentators.

I said, "Paul, I think politics is all about what you believe. I know what Reagan believes. I have no idea what Ford believes. But you need to watch Reagan connect with the people. He is the best communicator I have ever seen. He is bringing new people into the party. And these are folks you won't be meeting at the club for lunch. They carry a lunch bucket to work. Or a brown paper bag."

Four years later, I worked again for Reagan and Paul worked for George H. W. Bush. Again, the Wall Street crowd sat at the head table, and the Main Street crowd sat at the small round tables on the floor.

The same arguments came from the establishment. His tax cut idea was a "riverboat gamble." In fact, his tax cuts doubled the size of the economy and doubled revenues to the treasury. Unfortunately, they spent that and more.

Reagan didn't understand that the world is a dangerous place and dealing with the Soviets required a more "understanding" policy. It also required a willingness to sign more treaties. They didn't know that Reagan had no interest in understanding the Soviets. He wanted communism consigned to "the ash heap of history."

It was a neverending series of put-downs until New Hampshire. Then it was over.

Reagan won that election with the support of Larry Lunch-bucket and Betty Brownbag. They were called the Reagan Democrats. When we celebrated that victory, I asked some of them why they chose to join us. They said, "When he talked, we felt that he was talking to us." The Reagan Democrats believe they have been ignored since 1988.

The establishment doesn't like change. They have always felt that their seats at the head table were threatened by those new to the club. The establishment that so ardently opposed Reagan's nomination in 1980 crawled all over each other to chair his 1984 race.

Today they now see themselves as those who put Reagan in power. His presidency was their presidency. They believe they are the keepers of the flame.

Today's establishment includes elected officials, consultants, lobbyists and even conservative writers and commentators. Unless you allow them to write the rules and approve of your positions you are unwelcome. Anyone who does not genuflect before their altar is "not conservative."

When you look at the many fine candidates seeking the Republican nomination for president, who do you believe can best speak to those Reagan Democrats?

I believe that candidate is Mike Huckabee.

When Reagan became president, one of his first moves was to reduce income taxes from 70 percent to 50 percent and ultimately down to 28 percent. As pointed out above, both the size of the economy and the federal revenues doubled in eight years.

Huckabee doesn't want to lower income taxes. He wants to abolish them - along with the IRS, the most intrusive, coercive and corrosive federal agency ever. Mike would replace those taxes on income with a sales tax - the FairTax. Every American will become a voluntary taxpayer paying taxes when you choose, as much as you choose, by how you choose to spend. How conservative can one get?

Rep. John Linder, R-Duluth, has served in the House of Representatives since 1992.

This Afternoon's Blogger's Call

I just got off the phone from a Blogger's Call with Mike Huckabee. The Governor is in Michigan today. He just spoke to the Detroit Economic Club. He had a little extra time between his speech there and a campaign stop later this afternoon. As a big music fan I was impressed that he got an opportunity to visit Hitsville, USA, and the original Motown Recording Studios. A lot of great music was recorded there. As I am, Mike is a music fanatic and I know he must be blessed to visit those hallowed halls.

The great news from a Georgia Perspective is that for the past few days Mike has been joined by my Representative in the House, John Linder (R GA-7), the sponsor of HR 25 "The FairTax Bill" In fact John was sitting right next to Mike on the bus. That answered my question right away. I knew that Mike had been endorsed by Rep. Linder but I hadn't seen anything official from the national campaign on that. Well I am very pleased to see Linder active in the campaign!

Mike did not have much time for questions. When I do see a synopsis by One Mom or someone else I will post it in this spot.

BREAKING - JOHN LINDER (R-GA 7) ENDORSES MIKE HUCKABEE!!

The folliwng is a press release that I have just received from Georgia For Huckabee:

Governor Huckabee Receives First Georgia Congressional Endorsement

The following is a press release issued by the Congressman’s Office:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: DERICK CORBETT (678) 773-4866

December 11, 2007

Duluth, GA- John Linder (R-GA) released the following statement announcing his support for Mike Huckabee for the GOP presidential nomination:

"I am proud to announce my endorsement of Mike Huckabee for the GOP presidential nomination. The values and character Mike has shown throughout this campaign are reflective of what America should strive to be. Most importantly, he has shown that he has the tenacity to confront our nation's problems head on. A good example of this is his zeal to replace a broken, crippling, tax system and replace it with the FairTax. This is an idea that I have worked on for over 10 years and I have had the opportunity to talk with Mike about it on numerous occasions. He understands the need for change, and he understands that we are far past quick fixes."

"Our country has reached a point where we need big ideas to affect real change. Mike Huckabee is the only candidate I have seen with the vision and fortitude to bring big ideas to the table, and for that reason, he has my full support."

This is wonderful news! I am proud to say that John Linder is my Representative in the House. Way to go John!