I have been a vocal advocate and steadfast researcher of the FairTax plan for almost 7 years. Coming from that background, then, I believe the passage and ratification of the 16th amendment over 96 years ago flew in the face of the Constitution’s framers and their intended use of taxation authority outlined in Article I, Section IX.

Quoting: “No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.”

Furthermore, when direct wage withholding was instituted under the auspices of a “temporary” patriotic duty to fund World War II, our most basic of all natural rights (the right to first dibs on the fruits of our own labor, e.g.: Property Rights) was undermined.

A human being’s life span is finite. You only have so many minutes, hours, and days on Earth. When you go to work, whatever time you spend there is a portion of your life that you can never reclaim. You are trading those hours of your life for a monetary compensation, with which you can purchase whatever you choose to enhance and/or sustain your life, and that of your family.

When your government forcefully confiscates any portion of that money, before you can even use it for sustaining the life of yourself or your family, your government is, essentially, laying claim to a portion of your life.

The framers of the Constitution knew this, which was exactly why they expressly prohibited direct taxation of a person’s income.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating an end to taxation. There are legitimate government functions that absolutely cannot be performed by individuals. National defense, as just one example.

What I am proposing is a return to our founding principles in the form of voluntary taxation. Taxing not income, but wealth. And taxing that wealth after you have provided for the needs of your family.

The FairTax is the only tax reform proposal out there that recognizes the fact that your money is yours, first and foremost. You earned it, you keep it, and spend it in the ways that you deem necessary.

Only after you have provided for the basic necessities of yourself and your family (based on the national poverty level), do you pay taxes. The government can then use that money for necessary (and, too often, ridiculously unnecessary) projects and programs.

Like the sound of that? Your current Congressman doesn’t. In fact, Thomas S. P. Perriello ran ads in the ‘08 campaign blasting Virgil Goode for supporting the FairTax.

Now why would he do that? Why wouldn’t your Congressman support a plan to let you keep more of your own money, to spend or invest as you see fit, especially in a severe economic downturn? Let’s all ask him that question. Who knows? He may even give a straight answer.

Although he is a politician, and a lawyer, so I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for it.

The FairTax proposal has been around for years. If you’ve heard of it, then that’s great, you already support it along with me. If you haven’t, prepare to get really upset at the fact that your Congressman, Thomas S. P. Perriello, will vote to give the Federal government more power and take a trillion dollars out of taxpayers’ pockets, rather than support the FairTax, which will give you, the taxpaying American citizen, more power and much more control over your own money.

The FairTax is very simple. It is a different method of taxation. Instead of forcibly confiscating money you work for from your paycheck, before you even see a penny of it, the FairTax will eliminate all those pesky little deductions from your check in the form of income taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and FICA withholding. Instead, you bring home every penny you work for (which, for the typical American worker, amounts to an average of $500 a month more in take-home pay).

Imagine that! You get to decide where and how your money is spent (or saved, or invested), before the government gets their greedy little hands on it. That’s the “Fair” part.

So, where does the tax come in? Well, in addition to doing away with all of those taxes withheld from your paycheck, this proposal will also eliminate the IRS (and those annoying little filing deadlines every April), corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, self-employment taxes, the alternative minimum tax, and the death tax. That’s basically the entire Federal government revenue stream, with the exception of excise taxes. Our government has to be funded somehow, right? Well, certainly.

That’s why the FairTax will consist of a 23% inclusive national sales tax on new goods and services, at the retail level. Buy something used? No sales tax. Own a struggling business and need to buy supplies from another business? No sales tax. Work on the side, in addition to your regular job, and get paid in cash? You’re not a criminal anymore. Make as much as you want “under the table.” Just pay the sales tax when you choose to spend it on new items.

But 23%! That’s pretty steep! you may say. Well, that just gives you an idea of how bloated your Federal government really is. Consumption is a HUGE part of our nation’s overall economy (after all, we’re in this mess right now because people and corporations, and our government, for that matter, were running up debt buying things they didn’t really have the money for).

If our Federal government requires 23 cents on every dollar in consumption spending nationwide, just to fund existing failed programs, not to mention all the new spending that was just approved in TARP and the stimulus, maybe they’ve forgotten who that money actually belongs to. You and me.

More to follow, but I’ll open this up for comments now. I’m sure there will be a few.