Renowned conservative economist Walter Williams published an op-ed piece Wednesday on Town Hall in which he discusses the recent IRS targeting of Tea Party organizations and other conservatives. Although there has been outrage by the right – and a little bit by the left – Williams concludes that American taxpayers deserve the IRS.
Williams, who has been an ardent supporter for capitalism and free markets, started off his article by explaining that individual Americans should not fear a government agency of an apotheosis stature, but as a collective whole Americans do deserve such an invasive and coercive federal department.
His primary argument is that Americans elect Congressmen and Senators to complete their desires. Whether it’s welfare, warfare, regulations, entitlements or anything else, the federal government needs a body to do take money from certain people to benefit others and that entity is the IRS.
“The bottom line is that members of Congress need such a ruthless tax collection agency as the IRS because of the charge we Americans have given them,” wrote Williams. “We want what the IRS does — namely, to take the earnings of one American so Congress can create a benefit for some other American. Don’t get angry with IRS agents. They are just following orders.”
In his article, Williams also listed the various powers that the IRS can perform, such as garnishing a taxpayer’s wages without a court order if he is in debt to the government – something that cannot be done by a financial institution.
Furthermore, the bestselling author of “Race and Economics: How Much Can Be Blamed on Discrimination?” and “Liberty versus the Tyranny of Socialism: Controversial Essays” explained that the IRS would not be needed if federal spending were, for example, five percent of the nation’s GDP rather than its current 25 percent.
“When our Constitution was ratified in 1791, we were a weak and poor nation,” added Williams. “One hundred forty years later, with federal spending a mere pittance of what it is today, we became the world’s richest and most powerful nation. No small part of this miracle was limited and unintrusive government.”
The Daily Caller reported on his appearance on Andrea Tantaros’ radio show in which he elaborated a little bit on the op-ed. Williams cited the Ten Commandments and noted “thou shalt not steal,” a concept that is certainly ignored by the government.
Williams stated that as soon as “legalized theft” is initiated then there are various gains to be made for participation. “I think all of your listeners must recognize that when God gave Moses the commandment ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ he did not mean ‘thou shalt not steal unless you got a majority vote in Congress.’”
Reports further released show that the IRS targeted hundreds of organizations, including pro-Israel groups. It has been reported that some groups have feared to speak openly because of potential consequences from the White House.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit has been filed against the IRS and White House officials by Tea Party-related groups. The 29-page lawsuit listed Attorney General Eric Holder, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and several IRS officials, including Lois Lerner, in the biggest lawsuit to date in regards to the scandal.
“The IRS and the federal government are not going to get away with this unlawful targeting of conservative groups,” American Center for Law and Justice Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “As this unconstitutional scheme continues even today, the only way to stop this flagrant and arrogant abuse of our clients’ rights is to file a federal lawsuit, which we have done.”
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