Aaron Russo’s ‘America: Freedom to Fascism’ is a shocking documentary, informing viewers that there is no legal basis for personal income taxes in the US. In fact the US Constitution forbids any federal income taxes. Russo asks many officials to cite the law which permits a tax on labour, but none can show him and some responses are simply unbelieveable, such as “my badge is my authority”.
Determined to find the law that requires American citizens to pay income tax, producer Aaron Russo (“The Rose,” “Trading Places”) set out on a journey to find the evidence. This film which is neither left, nor right-wing is a startling examination of government. It exposes the systematic erosion of civil liberties in America since 1913 when the Federal Reserve system was fraudulently created. Through interviews with U.S. Congressmen, a former IRS Commissioner, former IRS and FBI agents and tax attorneys and authors, Russo connects the dots between money creation, federal income tax, and the national identity card which becomes law in May 2008. This ID card will use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips which are essentially homing devices used to track people. This film shows in great detail and undeniable facts that America is moving headlong into a fascist police state. Wake up!
The Federal Reserve is a private institution, created in 1913. It prints money, lends it to the US Government and US income tax pays the interest charged on those loans.
Whether income tax is legal or not (here is one opposing view) much of the information towards the end of the film is definitely worrying. RFID chips, government surveillance, ID cards, Bush’s dismantling of civil rights and the constitution are indeed movements towards a fascist state. The merging of big business and central government is fascism, whether Mussolini said this or not. Many of the arguments against Russo’s perspective seem to concentrate on details and creating doubt about his sources and moral character. This does not change the reality that the US is a police state, civil liberties have been stripped away in the name of the ‘War on Terror’, the Federal Reserve is a private enterprise making money by lending money to the USA, or that the US is bankrupt. As Russo says “Wake Up America!”.
http://www.freedomtofascism.com/
I came across your blog on Technorati. Nice site layout. I will stop by and read more soon.
Mike Harmon
As with other things you have written about the country you live in, the same could be said for the current UK government which I have the misfortune to live under. Health and safety laws, security, the war on terror, identity theft, fears over illegal immigration, global warming, all these are being used to curtail our liberties, increase our taxes and generally make life more unpleasant. Bit by bit, our government is dismantling hard-won liberties and replacing them with draconian laws, all in the name of our health, safety, security, environment, etc. The fact is the government couldn’t give a shit about the environment except where it affects the business of making money. If they did care they wouldn’t allow new airport terminals and runways to be built. It is all just an excuse to extract more money for their favourite projects, of funding their wars, increasing their own salaries and pensions, and remaining in power. As in the US, there is a very unhealthy relationship between government and business, which may one day coalesce to form a corporatist state of the type you describe, and because the ruling party calls itself the Labour Party, they are still largely supported by most of the unions. So much to look forward to! I shan’t be voting in the next general election. It just encourages them.
Sigh… What does the constitution say in Article 1, Section 8?
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
If they did care they wouldn’t allow new airport terminals and runways to be built. It is all just an excuse to extract more money for their favourite projects, of funding their wars, increasing their own salaries and pensions, and remaining in power. As in the US, there is a very unhealthy relationship between government and business, which may one day coalesce to form a corporatist state of the type you describe, and because the ruling party calls itself the Labour Party, they are still largely supported by most of the unions. So much to look forward to! I shan’t be voting in the next general election. It just encourages them.
I like your post very much but i want to say that income tax is some how a way to gain money from those who are earning a decent amount of salary. If they remove it from tax collection than it will increase a huge burdon on those who aren’t earning a good living and they have to pay taxes that can destroy their entire budget. But i also agree that the money that has been collected from income tax should be used to benefit people. Thanks for posting such a nice article and the video is really quite awesome.