While the Tax Day Tea Parties were aimed mostly at the graduated federal income tax, there is another tax that most taxpayers are unaware of, often confusing it with its most visible symptom, higher prices. That tax is the inflation tax. Why is inflation a tax? When the government spends more than it takes in through tax revenue, it creates new money through the Federal Reserve System, a process called monetizing the debt. The inflation that results from monetizing debt is just as much a tax as any other, but because it is hidden and so few Americans understand how it works, it is far easier to collect than a tax that is out in the open.
The famed economist Henry Hazlitt wrote of inflation in his book Economics in One Lesson: "Inflation itself is a form of taxation. It is perhaps the worst possible form, which usually bears hardest on those least able to pay."
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Fortunately, more and more Americans are becoming educated about the cause (increase in the money supply) and effect (higher prices) of inflation. Many are beginning to understand the role of the Federal Reserve System in the process and are calling for dismantling the Fed. Legislation has even been introduced in Congress to abolish the Fed. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has introduced H.R. 833, the Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act, which would abolish the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks and repeal the Federal Reserve Act.
However, because outright abolition of the Fed is presently a politically unpopular position, Rep. Paul has also introduced another measure that would be a step in the right direction, H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. H.R. 1207 would provide the first true audit of the Federal Reserve, to be provided to the congressional leadership and to any other member of Congress who asked for a copy. It would be a powerful tool for exposing exactly how the Fed controls our economy and our freedom through its creation of money out of thin air, and could play a decisive role in restoring sound money and phasing out the Federal Reserve!
H.R. 1207 has gained 84 cosponsors as we write, which is impressive. However, H.R. 833 has none. Obviously, much needs to be done to put pressure on Congress to audit the Fed, and eventually abolish it.
Which brings us to the perfect encore for those who participated in April 15’s Tax Day Tea Parties — and for other patriots who missed those events.
"End the Fed" rallies will be held on Saturday, April 25. The plan calls for having rallies at 40 Federal Reserve locations around the nation. Organizers hope for an average of 5,000 participants per rally, which would amount to 200,000 total participants for all locations combined.
The hub of online organizing for the End the Fed rallies appears to be the "End the Fed" website at www.endthefed.us and its closely affiliated social networking site. Times and places for local End the Fed events are available at the latter site. Educational tools, including PDFs of handouts that can be downloaded, are available from the John Birch Society (click here).
But there is more!
In order to continue the momentum created by the rallies, there will be a "melt-the-switchboard" grass-roots activity in support of H.R. 1207 to Audit the Fed on Monday, April 27. As we noted above, Rep. Paul believes that the best strategy for ending the Fed is to work on passing a politically more attractive bill to audit the Fed first, which would help create the pressure for ending the Fed later.
Here’s an excellent video to bring you up to speed on H.R. 1207:
Even though H.R. 1207 is getting surprisingly good bipartisan support and, as noted above, has 84 cosponsors in the House as of April 24, it will still take a massive grass-roots push on Congress to get this "Audit the Fed" bill passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president.
Click here to participate in "melt-the-switchboard day" on Monday to help pressure Congress into passing H.R. 1207. At this Web page you’ll be able to send a pre-written, editable e-mail in support of H.R. 1207 to your representative and both of your senators. You are also encouraged to help "melt-the-switchboard" on Monday by phoning a specific, toll-free congressional switchboard number, 1-877-851-6437, and asking to speak to the offices of the members of the House Financial Services Committee.
There you have it. Saturday, April 25 is for rallying at the 40 Federal Reserve locations to "End the Fed." Monday, April 27 is for melting the congressional switchboard by massive calling in support of H.R. 1207 to "Audit the Fed."
The early colonists who protested against "taxation without representation" would have been aghast to know that over 230 years later, taxation with representation would be much more oppressive. Keep the spirit of 1775 alive!
