Sorry follks, you're all being distracted by a bright shiny object and not seeing the big picture.

1. Industrial Revolution
2. Men realize they can use mass production to build vast fortunes
3. Vast wealth, as it always has, brings out the worst in men--greed over humanitarianism
4. Vast fortunes come to America
5. The legal business form called the corporation, which was invented to avoid taxes and avoid personal liability, becomes rich and powerful in America
6. Government sees the economic inequity of using the corporate form to build vast fortunes and decides to regulate it
7. Big Business realizes it is the natural enemy of government, which prevents it from accomplishing its mission which is to increase its holdings of wealth, and aligns itself with one of the major political parties
8. Government asserts its superior power (the power to make laws governing corporations) to accomplish its own mission which is as the Constitution states, to promote the welfare of the people
9. Corporations realize that the key to limiting the power of government over them is to gain control over the media and condition public opinon against government-for instance, people will complain about taxes without realizing who is picking their pocket during the debate
10. The last vestige of free debate lives on in a cold-war invention called the Internet--like this forum
11. The future: Public financing of elections becomes the new mantra of reforming corporate financial influence over legislative decisions
12. The Democratic front-runner for President loses his/her life from a mysterious illness just after the Democratic convention
13. The nation spends another generation trying to destroy itself

Hopefully points 12-13 are fiction.

Let's not forget that at the very least, during each election, we are the government. We are not the corporations. And over 99% of us never have to worry about the effect of the estate tax.

No, apit, I'm not claiming to have known john's parents. My point (if you read more carefully) is that capital appreciation is not the result of any "work." It's a function of the "value" of an asset, related to money supply, inflation rate, etc.

I've never heard of the IRS pulling a number out of its ass (you called it "fix[ing] a value to [the] asset"). The TAXPAYER is responsible for recordkeeping of cost bases; if the taxpayer doesn't do so, then the government will assert a value. The Tax Court (or District Court) does NOT take that as incontrovertible; the taxpayer can present evidence showing the value different than that of the IRS' calculation.

The rest of your statement regarding IRS quotas and so forth is opinion that is not backed up with any facts.

Bob.

rstein, capital appreciation is not an automatic event, if so, the Detroit real estate home values would not could to decline. People in areas with capital appreciation in housing value usually invest heavily in home improvements, plus thru real estate taxes and county bonds, build sewers, water lines, better roads, better schools, so home owners directly contribute to the community, making the community more desirable, increasing housing and land value. So, it is incorrect to assert that home owners, in general, contribute nothing to the community for the value increase of their property over time.

From what I've read, it would appear that no one has watched the video from beginning to end. Why do I think that? Because of what's being posted here. The vast majority of what's being posted and argued is little more than rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Again, it's NOT about the republicans. It's NOT about the democrats. It's NOT about Bush or Reagan. It's NOT about Kennedy, etc., etc., etc..

Please, go back and watch the video--all of it. Then let's talk.

Dear Jay,

You made an incorrect assumption about your audience. I have watched Russo's film in its entirety. He does a good job, but he MISSES the BIG PICTURE, too.

The big picture is this....

There IS A LAW that requires SOME Americans to pay income taxes. Those taxes are EXCISE taxes that arise in connection with the exercise of a Federal privilege. Many Americans, working in the PRIVATE SECTOR, do not fall into this category.

A tax liability is created, on their part, because of ignorance about this important point. Many Americans unknowingly declare themselves LIABLE for the tax, when they are not.

Learning this CRUCIAL point is the one thing that has any hope of restoring a Constitutional government to the citizens of this country. We don't have that now, and have not had it to any good extent for last 80 years (possibly longer). It may be too late to tackle the Federal Behemoth, but any American who pays lip service to Freedom and Liberty surely must try.

Happy Monday to you all.

Patrick Mooney

jay, I have watch the entire video. A lot of the topics have been hot button issues for many many years. As a kid, my grandparents and uncles discuss the dangers of excess credit for the working class, using examples of sharecropping in the south and west coast, how aggressive pricing of basic goods can keep the farmers in debt and how it controls raw products pricing. And of course, never trust bankers with one's money. One of my favorite pointers was; Build your business with your own money. Today, the theme is "use other people money to build wealth", don't risk your own.

Here's a good link for income tax law; http://www.law.cornell.edu/anncon/html/amdt16toc_user.html

The Fed R is a real issue(don't know if there is a clean solution to dissolving the bank but it should done) and the gold needs to be accounted for. The bank issue reminds me of the "outside" committees that congress creates / forms when they want paid increases but want to deny being involved in the process to the public.

National ID card( driver's card/passport) is not bad, but tagging people electronically or tagging the ID card is a dangerous ideal..

Local governments have too much control over land owners, but this a real hot topic with the green crowd and other self interest groups( too many to list) and they want more control over how land is used or changed.

Credit is a fashion statement today, flash those cards to be the VIP in the room.
Why pay $100 when you can pay $190(credit %, fees,etc). Of course, the IRS has been big on pushing businesses away from cash.

The video reminded me of the movie "fight club", where in the end, the creditcard databases were destroyed to save the people.

OK, I've watched the first 25 minutes of this film. It is the same song which claims there is no law requiring persons to file a tax return. Sorry. Look at IRC 1. Now, does that say you have to "file a 1040?" No. But it specifies the rate of tax on specific levels of income.

Those people interviewed who worked for the IRS who claim they could find no law authorizing this have not read the 16th Amendment (and constitutional amendments ARE INCORPORATED INTO THE CONSTITUTION) and IRC 1. I have heard at least 2 absolutely untrue statements regarding the interpretations of Supreme Court cases on the income tax.

Using the very twisted logic of Russo, the Constitution doesn't provide for women to vote. I guess that means you'd better block access of females at the polls. Oh, and DSE is native American. He cannot vote or be a citizen, based on the Constitution. The remaining arguments made in this film by nut cases like Russo are as assinine as these assertions.

My advice to those who believe this movie's blather is to not file taxes and take your case to the Supreme Court. Just plan on using a laptop to edit your videos using Vegas in the Greybar Hotel.

Bob.