There are 151 Taxes in the Price of a Loaf of Bread

[Warph]

Sen. Barack Obama won for a simple reason: historical amnesia.

Someone once asked a room full of college students who the father of capitalism was.

Crickets began chirping as blank stares shot his way.

"Oh, come on," he prompted. "Does anyone want to take a guess?"

Finally, one bold student blurted out, "Isn't it Karl Marx?"  (That creaking sound you're hearing is *Adam Smith rolling over in his grave.)  [See below]

Sadly, this is a true story. And sadly, this kind of economic and historical amnesia goes a long way toward explaining how the most far-Left candidate in American presidential history wound up in the White House.

The reason Sen. McCain's "socialism" charges didn't stick is precisely because "socialism" means little to voters who don't know what the term even means.  Public schools teach multicultural curriculum but seldom if ever the basics of free market economic principles.

But don't take my word for it.  Today, go out and ask five members of Sen. Obama's target demographic—the 18 to 25-year old voter—to explain how capitalism works.

Then sit and wait for the crickets to begin chirping again.

Joe the Plumber understands free markets because he's operated a business.  But without proper economic education or real world experience, young people are left in economic darnkness.

And what about the ** "46 million Americans who don't even pay taxes?" [See Below]
Do they understand that President-Elect Obama's economic designs only rattle an already rickety economic infrastructure?  Of course not.


Republicans must bear much of the responsibility for not communicating these lessons clearly.  Unlike Ronald Reagan (who majored in economics at Eureka College), Sen. McCain missed critical opportunities to play the role of "Educator in Chief."

Take, for example, Sen. Obama's "soak the rich" tax proposals.  Sen. McCain missed huge opportunities to teach the American voter a lesson that Ronald Reagan pounded home often: businesses don't pay taxes!  Oh sure, on paper they pay taxes, but in reality they merely pass taxes along to consumers or cut jobs to make up the difference.


Here's how Ronald Reagan taught this principle during an interview with Reason magazine:

Who pays the business tax anyway? We do! You can't tax business. Business doesn't pay taxes. It collects taxes. And if they can't be passed on to the customer in the price of the product as a cost of operation, business goes out of business. Now what they're going to do is make it easier for demagogic politicians–and you've got plenty of them in the state legislature–to say to the people, look, we need money for this worthwhile project but we're not going to tax you, we're going to tax business, now that we can do it by a one vote margin. So they'll tax business and the price of the product will go up and the people will blame the storekeeper for the rise in the price of the product, not recognizing that all he's doing is passing on to them a hidden sales tax.
If people need any more concrete explanation of this, start with the staff of life, a loaf of bread. The simplest thing; the poorest man must have it. Well, there are 151 taxes now in the price of a loaf of bread–it accounts for more than half the of a loaf of bread. It begins with the first tax, on the farmer that raised the wheat. Any simpleton can understand that if that farmer cannot get enough money for his wheat, to pay the property tax on his farm, he can't be a farmer. He loses his farm. And so it is with the fellow who pays a driver's license and a gasoline tax to drive the truckload of wheat to the mill, the miller who has to pay everything from social security tax, business license, everything else. He has to make his living over and above those costs. So they all wind up in that loaf of bread. Now an egg isn't far behind and nobody had to make that. There's a hundred taxes in an egg by the time it gets to market and you know the chicken didn't put them there!


They didn't call Ronald Reagan the Great Communicator for nothing.  That's a pretty amazing quote, isn't it?  Especially in light of the recent financial meltdown and the rationale used to justify a $700 billion bailout.  But here's what's even more amazing: Ronald Reagan said those words in July 1975, a full five years before winning the White House.  Put simply, Reagan stayed "on message" for years and didn't relent.

Reagan understood that you have to teach voters why Leftist policies are wrongheaded.  He also understood that you have to pound home a message before it will stick.

Rebuilding the conservative message will demand that the next generation of conservative leaders do the same.


*Adam Smith - http://www.termpapergenie.com/adam_smith.html

**46 million Americans who don't even pay taxes:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/13/obama-tax-cut-refunds-those-who-dont-pay/

[pepelect]

Things have changed since Reagan.....

We now at tax payers expense give the underachievers a Vision card so we can electronicly pay for the loaf of bread, eggs, and a couple of gallons of milk  for every poor in the entire system.

No one pays the tax on that. 

You don't ever see the money so you don't know the concept of having to work for it.

[jerry wagner]

Underachievers? You do realize that many Vision card holders are gainfully employed? Wages aren't that great and the cost of living keeps rising. The income guidelines change every year to a lower and lower threshold so more people have access to the program so they can maintain a healthy lifestyle. Not to mention these "underachivers" give your wife and other grocers a lot of business.
Sarah

[redcliffsw]

I'm not familiar with Vision card except I've seen them using at the stores.  The people that were using the Vision cards usually look better fed than other folks.  Sounds kinda like when food stamp program was implemented - it simply changed who was paying for the food.

Johnson's "Great Society" was a failure and so will be these programs since then. 
This country is still changing - but not for the better.  Liberalism thru gov't never makes things better.

PS 37: 25  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

[pepelect]

I love the knee jerk reaction.
ok. there is this forest.....It has trees.......You missed it........

Things have changed since Reagan.....

We now at tax payers expense give the underachievers a Vision card so we can electronically pay for the loaf of bread, eggs, and a couple of gallons of milk  for every poor in the entire system.

No one pays the tax on that. 

If you would have read what I wrote is said that there is no tax payed on items paid for by the Vision card.  I was stating the truth. 

I do realize that gainfully must have a different meaning....When I was eight I made $6.50 an hour.  Is that gainfully employed? 

Every dollar made by working 70-100 hours a week is taxed. 

Every dollar spent by Vision, Medicare, and Medicaid is money from federal and state tax payers.

My wife is not a grocer...She has these little letters behind her name caused  by a post secondary experience that was also not paid for by tax money.  She built, again with no tax money incentives and lots of interest payments graciously started the grocery store to keep providing health care medications to the community. 

I am a grocer and underachiever.   I own 49% of a grocery store and still flunked out of college.

I am not slamming the people of the Vision card system in any way shape or form....The program has merits and should be used as a temporary measure until people get back on there feet. 

I just don't understand how we can continue to fund generation after generation of under achieving individuals that are living beyond their means.  This is the case for the large automakers or banks paying outlandish salaries and bonus as we bail them out to the worker that quits their job because they make more on the system.