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> It first appeared in 1861, born out of a necessity for Civil War funding, and in 1913, Congress made the income tax a permanent part of American life. And fe

> It first appeared in 1861, born out of a necessity for Civil War funding, and in 1913, Congress made the income tax a permanent part of American life. And federal income tax should again be eliminated. The federal government should get fed from the hands of the state, not the other way around. Having all of the money flow down from the top is helping to create this mess we're in now. The one that controls the purse holds the real power. Federal income tax is consolidating that power at the top.

ubernostrum 10y ago
The Civil War, and the period preceding it, sort of put the lie to any attempt to idealize the states as somehow a more pure, less-corrupt or less-oppressive place to put government power.
- ArkyBeagle 10y ago
  Lincoln put it best - half-slave and half-free won't work. They were legally immiscible ( unmixable ). The abuse of "states rights" in text by Southrun Lost Causers is invalid and should be discarded - the Fugitive Slave Act and the Dred Scott decision clearly showed that they wanted Federal enforcement of that "state's right". You have the emerging legal unsustainability of this, coupled with slaves being the only asset of value left in the South. So, war, war.
Mz 10y ago
If you read the history, the form of government the US has failed and failed and failed while trying it the way you describe. The US was on the verge of collapse when it re-arranged things a bit and handed over more power to the federal government. That's why the country still exists. In its earliest days, it was in danger of collapse just like every other state that had attempted the same kind of organization. If we take away the federal government power to a) raise money and b) keep a standing army we will likely see this country destroyed in short order, whether from within or from without. Quite a few countries would be thrilled to pieces if we hamstrung our federal government so they could invade and do as they please.
- matt_wulfeck 10y ago
  This country seems quite capable of destroying itself in short order regardless. Now we have unstoppable constitutional rights abuses and endless drone wars in far away lands. Not to mention a lobbying apparatus that can concentrate "donations" to less and less people to get its way.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- true_religion 10y ago
  Which time period specifically are you talking about?
  - Mz 10y ago
    The US was originally founded as a Confederation: http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/am_rev_timeline.htm http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/am_rev_ti... http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/confed.htm http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/confed.h... This emphasized state powers. The central government was extremely weak. The constitution came about in 1887, more than a decade later, strengthening the central government. http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/creating-new-government/essays/creating-new-government http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/creating-new-gov... http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/1700_1800_timeline.htm http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/1700_1800... The initial form of government under which the US was formed was a confederation of independent nation-states. This form of government never survived long and the newly born country was foundering until they made some critical adjustments, thereby strengthening the central government. I am not going to research this further. Off the top of my head, the central government initially lacked teeth in terms of ability to a) raise money and b) raise an army. This was threatening to cause the entire thing to collapse until the form of government was fundamentally altered. The confederation was put to an end when we ratified the constitution, iirc. We are talking about very early American history, if that helps.

ubernostrum 10y ago

The Civil War, and the period preceding it, sort of put the lie to any attempt to idealize the states as somehow a more pure, less-corrupt or less-oppressive place to put government power.

ArkyBeagle 10y ago
Lincoln put it best - half-slave and half-free won't work. They were legally immiscible ( unmixable ). The abuse of "states rights" in text by Southrun Lost Causers is invalid and should be discarded - the Fugitive Slave Act and the Dred Scott decision clearly showed that they wanted Federal enforcement of that "state's right". You have the emerging legal unsustainability of this, coupled with slaves being the only asset of value left in the South. So, war, war.

Mz 10y ago

If you read the history, the form of government the US has failed and failed and failed while trying it the way you describe. The US was on the verge of collapse when it re-arranged things a bit and handed over more power to the federal government. That's why the country still exists. In its earliest days, it was in danger of collapse just like every other state that had attempted the same kind of organization. If we take away the federal government power to a) raise money and b) keep a standing army we will likely see this country destroyed in short order, whether from within or from without. Quite a few countries would be thrilled to pieces if we hamstrung our federal government so they could invade and do as they please.

matt_wulfeck 10y ago
This country seems quite capable of destroying itself in short order regardless. Now we have unstoppable constitutional rights abuses and endless drone wars in far away lands. Not to mention a lobbying apparatus that can concentrate "donations" to less and less people to get its way.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
true_religion 10y ago
Which time period specifically are you talking about?
- Mz 10y ago
  The US was originally founded as a Confederation: http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/am_rev_timeline.htm http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/am_rev_ti... http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/confed.htm http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/confed.h... This emphasized state powers. The central government was extremely weak. The constitution came about in 1887, more than a decade later, strengthening the central government. http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/creating-new-government/essays/creating-new-government http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/creating-new-gov... http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/1700_1800_timeline.htm http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/1700_1800... The initial form of government under which the US was formed was a confederation of independent nation-states. This form of government never survived long and the newly born country was foundering until they made some critical adjustments, thereby strengthening the central government. I am not going to research this further. Off the top of my head, the central government initially lacked teeth in terms of ability to a) raise money and b) raise an army. This was threatening to cause the entire thing to collapse until the form of government was fundamentally altered. The confederation was put to an end when we ratified the constitution, iirc. We are talking about very early American history, if that helps.