Welcome back to another installment of the Watercooler, RedState’s daily Open Thread! Today, we’ve got…

Taxation WITH Representation

With Congress teeing up to finally pass a “baby step” Tax Reform bill, I thought it might be interesting to spitball ideas about what REAL tax reform might look like. Here’s my plan, a simple two-bracketer:

• Up to 250% of Federal poverty level pays 5%, no exceptions other than minor children
• Everybody else 10%–if it’s good enough for God, it should be for government too
• NO deductions or exemptions except medical expenses
• NO “refundable credits” transfers from makers to takers, you can only get a refund up to what you pay in
• ALL income treated the same, regardless of source, whether wages, capital gains or gambling winning–EXCEPT things already taxed like Roth IRA’s and Social Security
• Annuities and structured payments ONLY become taxed when payment is received (today, it’s at time of amount becoming owed, which is why some game-show players “win themselves into poverty” by not being able to pay the immediately-due taxes on their paid-over-20-years winnings)

Some details to be negotiated and worked out, but that’s basically my Tax Reform plan in a nutshell. What’s yours?

This Week In History

• Sunday, 12/17: France grants US diplomatic recognition, 1777; first flights of Wright Flyer, 1903, Douglas DC-3, 1935, and Boeing B-47, 1947; F-86 Sabre’s combat debut, 1950
• Monday: 12/18: Mayflower reaches Plymouth, 1620; Mesa Verde discovered, 1888; B-52s first “go downtown” over Hanoi, 1972
• Tuesday, 12/19: Continental Army encamps at Valley Forge, 1777; Apollo 17 splashdown, 1972; Clinton impeached, 1998
• Wednesday, 12/20: It’s A Wonderful Life premieres, 1946; first production Boeing 707’s maiden flight, 1957; Just Cause invasion of Panama, 1989
• Thursday, 12/21: First crossword published, 1913; Snow White and the Seven Dwarves premieres, 1937; Apollo 8 launched, 1968; F-14 Tomcat first flies, 1970
• Friday, 12/22: Congress embargoes all foreign trade, 1807; Savannah falls to Sherman, 1864; McAuliffe’s “Nuts!” at the Bulge, 1944; SR-71 Blackbird first flies, 1964
• Saturday, 12/23: Washington steps down from Continental Army, 1783; fall of Wake Island, 1941; Rutan & Yeager complete first nonstop, unrefueled round-the-world flight, 1986

Today’s Birthdays: Tire magnate Harvey Firestone, 1868; actor John Hillerman (Higgins from Magnum, P.I.), 1932; GA governor Sonny Perdue, 1946

Holidays Around the World: It’s Abolition of Slavery Day in French Guiana.

This Week In History is compiled with assistance from History.com and Wikipedia. Something interesting not listed here? Please share in the Comments section–this is an Audience Participation Encouraged featurette.

Gratuitous Gun Giveaways

• *American Handgunner magazine, for an SCCY CPX-3 .380ACP or Glock 19 Gen 5 9mm pistol package: http://americanhandgunner.com/giveaway/
• *Guns Magazine, for a Devil Dog Arms RIS-15 AR-pattern rifle, Canik TP9 SFx 9mm, CZ-USA P-10C 9mm, or Auto-Ordnance 1911BKOW WWII-style .45 pistol package: http://gunsmagazine.com/giveaway/
• Davidson’s Gallery of Guns, for an IWI Galil Ace or Tavor X95 rifle: https://ggg.galleryofguns.com/
• Aero Precision, for a custom AR15: http://gvwy.io/q7pyhud
• GrabAGun, for a Henry Golden Boy .357 Magnum lever-action rifle: http://grabagun.com/giveaway
• Springfield Armory, for assorted XD and 1911 pistols and SAINT 5.56mm AR15 pistols and rifles: http://www.springfield-armory.com/resources/giveaways/

*Note: FMG Publishing giveaways require you to provide an FFL dealer’s info at entry. Aero Precision giveaways give me one entry each per person who uses my referral link.

Quote of the Day

Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.–Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

As always, the Watercooler is an Open Thread. And as so eloquently coined by ntrepid, “Thanks for the click! Your effort helps fund future posts of this nature.”

“It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.”–Voltaire

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