The American People are Smart

I've encountered many progressives who seem to hold that the American people are stupid and that we need a larger overbearing government that lies to and manipulates the people for their own good. The video shows an exchange with PPACA (ObamaCare) architect Johnathan Gruber in what I find to be a typical conversation:



I happen to believe the opposite. I think the American people are extremely intelligent and that it is not only possible to create a reform program in a transparent manner. I believe that a program developed in a transparent manner will be superior to one developed by power players behind closed doors.

The only feedback I've received on "The Object Tax" is that people find the name is a bit pretentious.

The reform is named after Object Oriented Programming. My guess is that the vast majority of Americans between 15 and 50 have had a programming class and know what an object is. An object is a programming construct that groups together data and procedures.

I suspect that more Americans have attended programming classes than classes on Constitutional Law.

The Object Tax replaces the burdensome system of payroll withholdings and the annual return with a thing called a Tax Aware Account.

The Tax Aware Account is an object. This object includes the information needed to calculate a progressive tax along with information about individual financial transactions. The object has procedures for calculating and paying taxes.

Most computer savvy Americans know Object Design process was used to create the graphical user interfaces used on the MacIntosh Computer, Windows, the World Wide Web and Smartphones.

The reform proposal says: Let's use the design techniques behind the World Wide Web and Smartphones to streamline the tax collection process.

I believe the American people are smart enough to understand this concept. In fact, I am willing to take things one step further.

I believe that we could use an Open Source process to create a Tax Aware Account that executes the current tax code.

Open Source programming is simply a technique to allow a large group of people to participate in a project and share in the rewards of the creation.

Perhaps the best example of Open Source development in action is Wikipedia. Wikipedia invites the public to help create the world's largest encyclopedia.

To finalize my faith in the American people, I believe that if The Object Tax were approached correctly, we could create a program that empowers the American people to take charge of their personal finances.

Now, personally I dislike the subject of tax reform. The reason that I am trying to kickstart this book on tax reform is because I believe in the American People.

In my opinion, the current convoluted tax code demonstrates that our political system has systematically failed the American people. The Object Tax would provide a chance for the American people to stand up and show that there is a better way. The Object Tax suggests that we use the wonderful ideas that came from Silicon Valley to reform the hideous tax system that came out of Washington DC.

I believe the American people are smart enough to understand the approach that I am suggesting.

The problem I face is not with the lack of intelligence among the American people. The challenge I face is in breaking through the fog that the political system has draped around the process of governance.

Quite frankly, I think more people are put off by the subject tax reform than are put off about by the subject of computer programming and system engineering.

My hope with this kickstarter campaign and book suggestion is that it might start a conversation that leads America in a better direction than the one that the partisan political process follows. With luck a few people will get it. If I am able to carry through with this project it might have a positive impact by influencing the tax reform debate that will invariably take place during the 2016 election.