U.S. tax system is hurting economy

By Nicholas P. Gartner, Henderson

Saturday, April 5, 2014 | 2:01 a.m.

April 15 is just around the corner. This time of year, our fellow citizens are wrestling with how to best comply with the tax codes to avoid being thrown in jail or having to undergo an audit by the IRS. They are also given the bad news about how much they had to pay during the past year and how much they may or not get back.

The whole thing is a slap in the face of the citizens. The federal government is sliding further and further into debt with no way to collect enough to stop the deficit spending that adds to the debt.

At this point, there is no humane way to cut enough spending to stem the tide. There just are not enough employment opportunities to go around. In some areas of the country, there are no opportunities at all. We can’t hope for any change in our nation’s financial situation until the tax system is changed to allow the economy to expand and more jobs made available to every citizen who wants to escape the dead end that is government handouts.

If the fair tax were to be implemented as a replacement for the income tax, April 15 would just be a nice spring day rather than a day to dread. It is criminal that the federal government refuses to come up with a plan to help the people who support its idiotic behavior. When was the last time the government did anything that was intended to help the people?

The American people have supported the government for more than 237 years, through wars, depressions, recessions and too many corrupt politicians to count. Is it not about time that the government give some of that loyalty back?