We, the citizens of the United States of America, call upon those seeking to represent us in public office to sign the Contract from America and by doing so commit to support each of its agenda items and advocate on behalf of individual liberty, limited government, and economic freedom.
1. Protect the Constitution
2. Reject Cap & Trade
3. Demand a Balanced Budget
4. Enact Fundamental Tax Reform
5. Restore Fiscal Responsibility & Constitutionally Limited Government in Washington
6. End Runaway Government Spending
7. Defund, Repeal, & Replace Government-run Health Care
8. Pass an ‘All-of-the-Above” Energy Policy
9. Stop the Pork
10. Stop the Tax Hikes
On April 15th, hundreds of local Tea Party and limited government groups around the country will join together to announce the launch of the “Contract from America,” a grassroots legislative blueprint for 2010 and beyond. Originally proposed by Ryan Hecker, a Houston Tea Party activist and National Coordinator for the initiative’s chief organizing group Tea Party Patriots, this project is intended to present a different kind of agenda for our federal lawmakers: unlike the Contract with America introduced in the 1990s, everyday citizens proposed and voted on every plank of the Contract from America.
The current tax system is a perverse combination of class warfare and special interest gimmicks. With more than 70,000 pages of law and regulation, it is an anchor weighing down the American economy. High tax rates, corrupt loopholes, and pervasive double taxation of saving and investment are a recipe for reducing American competitiveness. To make America more prosperous, the internal revenue code should be replaced by a flat tax or a sales tax, both of which are based on the notion that laws should apply equally to all people. Moreover, people are rewarded for creating jobs and wealth with real tax reform, rather than rewarded for having more lawyers, lobbyists, and accountants. Real tax reform also means a low tax rate to make America a vibrant competitor in the global economy.
But it is also important to identify what is not real tax reform. Under no circumstances should politicians be allowed to adopt a new tax – such as a European-style value-added tax – without first completely repealing all income taxes. Politicians should not be allowed to pull a bait-and-switch that will finance a much bigger burden of government. Politicians have been swapping loopholes for campaign cash since the income tax was created in 1913. It’s time to end the scam.
~ Dan Mitchell, Ph.D. Cato Institute
The most important part of the early stage of the process was to identify the issues that truly resonated with Americans and the need for fundamental tax reform was identified as one such issue. With regard to the specific proposals of FairTax and the flat tax (not to mention other viable proposals), we concluded that to choose one over the other at this early stage will only serve to divide rather than unite us on a critical issue impacting every single American.
