Cutting off the money supply

Last year, we discussed with Ohio legislators an idea for the State of Ohio to intercept federal tax money pending a determination of the constitutionality of its purpose. After considerable research and discussion, we were unable to find a feasible way to carry this out (but please feel free to e-mail me or comment if you have any ideas!)

Tom Mullen is looking at a different approach to the same end. Simply block enforcement of the tax laws until the feds balance their budget. Other legislation has been suggested to block federal enforcement of Obamacare, firearms law, and medical marijuana -- why not this? Writing for LewRockwell.com, Mr. Mullen suggests:

This would be accomplished in the same way as several other recent nullification/interposition efforts. The state legislatures would pass a law indicating that no person or business in their state could be prosecuted or fined by the federal government for failing to file an income tax return or failing to pay their quarterly payroll tax deposits, so long as said filings and payments were made within sixty days of the Congress passing a balanced federal budget. For those who still trust the people less than they do the government, a stipulation could be added that the funds go into escrow and be audited by the states, if necessary.

This would accomplish two things. First, it would reestablish exactly who works for who in this relationship. Obviously, elections have failed to do that. More importantly, it would work. The blind fear that would grip our legislators when they realize that the party is really over would at least scare them sober enough to balance what would still be an over $2 trillion budget. While it wouldn’t solve our long-term problems, that truly would be a start.

Bloated governments are imploding all over the world and ours is poised to do likewise for all of the same reasons. Now that we have seen what “extremism” really looks like in Greece, Egypt, and Tunisia, this proposal should strike any rational person as reasonable and moderate. We do not need a rebellion or violence to balance the federal budget – just a little adult supervision.

I especially like the part about adult supervision. The children are in Washington, the adults are in the states. We the grown-ups need to get back into control.