TCM Power Principle #1

Implementing TCM Power Principles can only be done by starting over with a clean house – “Vote them all out and start over!”

The Declaration of Independence lists 27 complaints. Only one deals with taxes. The rest deal with abuse of power. Today we are suffering both.

Beyond labels like liberal or conservative, tags that merely divide us, we need “Adamant Constitutionalists” who are willing to restore power to the States and the People, thus breaking the backs of powerful special interests that are looking out only for themselves. Elected officials who claim they are for individual rights and limited government must put teeth into their positions by insisting the purse strings and power go back to the State and local level. Otherwise, it is just talk and a deception.

We must be prepared to vote out everyone in the executive, legislative and judiciary branches on state and federal levels who do not agree with the precepts established by our Founding Fathers. Why? Because it will take two-thirds of Congress to vote for the repeal of the 16th and 17th Amendments and three-fourths of State Legislatures to ratify their repeal. It will take elected officials who are looking out for the States and the People.

Like the 18th Amendment which prohibited the "manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors" the 16th and 17th Amendments also need to be repealed. We need to elect a Congress that has the requisite understanding of true liberty and prosperity.

Let’s be real. Sure, there are some differences, but both the Democrats and Republicans believe in big government. Read their party platforms. That is why party members so easily switch from one party to the other. Check out the Party Platform Comparisons on this website that segments four different party platforms based on topics. Your choice will be an informed one.

The United States was founded as a Constitutional Republic with the belief that political power resides in each individual citizen. We pledge allegiance to the flag...and to the Republic.” For their common defense and general welfare the People granted limited rights to the States and the federal government. The final word on all political matters has not been granted to the federal government.

This diagram shows the timeless Wheel of Prosperity envisioned by our Founders. Knowing that citizens have God-given rights and by simply putting the interests of The Common Man first everything else falls into place.

Our Founders’ acknowledged in the Declaration of Indepedence that our Creator endowed us with “certain unalienable rights.” Their Christian heritage accepted that the Spirit of Christ living in a man would necessarily lead to seeking to please God and self-control. Being self-governing there would only be a need for small civil government and low taxes. The number of volunteers would be high. This is a well documented fact of our nation’s early life.

Volunteering and getting involved in any problem always leads to a deeper understanding of that problem, with the result often being the rendering of innovative solutions. These solutions lead to new inventions and efficiencies creating wealth which, in turn, enhances the life of The Common Man.

Many today, however, believe The Common Man is unable to provide for himself and must be protected by a large civil government. They promote a government needing high taxes and going into debt to provide services. The resulting debt and interest is paid to large banks which become “too big to fail.” Guess who bails them out? That’s right, The Common Man. Having the civil government exercising such massive control diminishes virtually every aspect of self-respect. And, now The Common Man is poorer and less able to provide for himself.

As you study all TCM Power Principles you will see that three major events took place in 1913: Ratification of the 16th Amendment, ratification of the 17th Amendment and creation of a central bank, the Federal Reserve System. These actions took power from the States and the People and  consolidated power in Washington, DC. The Founders never intended that much power to reside with the federal government. Besides the abuse of power, we now nearing a financial emergency with the national debt approaching $12 trillion . Using an interest rate of only 2% per year, the national debt is incurring interest at the rate of $649 million per day!

The current Congressional makeup will not call for implementation of TCM Power Principles for that would diminish their power. And it takes two-thirds of both houses of Congress to propose constitutional amendments (this method has been used in the past) or two-thirds of the States legislatures (this has never been done). That is why every elected official currently holding political office, from the bottom to the top, has to go. Plus, there is so much corruption and political horse-trading that the only way to stop it is break the bonds that bind – and that means voting everyone out who is unwilling to commit to supporting every TCM Power Principle. No exceptions. No one is indispensable.

We must stop the nonsense. Do more than just complain. Get involved. Join and offer to run for office! The nation cannot go on like this. Officials must be elected who have faith in the States and the People and who are commiting to reducing the role of the federal government to that which is specifically enumerated in the Constitution.

Would you rather be on top or merely a pawn in the game? Would you rather have prosperity coming your way or oppression? The choice is yours.

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TCM Power Principle #2

Repeal the 16th Amendment authorizing the federal income tax.

Return to the original constitution’s funding requirements of “Duties, Imposts and Excises” (Article 1, Section 8), while protecting American jobs, and taxing the States based on population (Article 1, Section 9).

Do not think it impossible to repeal an amendment that has proven to be a bad idea. Consider the lawlessness and corruption created by the 18th Amendment making illegal the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquor. It was repealed 16 years later by the 21st Amendment.

The 16th Amendment ratified in 1913…has led to a broken tax system creating lawbreakers and making most all of us criminals. It states, “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

It amended Article 1, Section 8 of the original Constitution that states, “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts…” Duties and Imposts are known as a tariff, a tax levied on goods coming into this country while an Excise tax is based on consumption such as a gasoline tax paying for road construction and maintenance.

Article 9 goes on to say, “No…direct Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census [of that state].” So, the Founders did not want a direct tax on a man’s labor. It was never their intent to tax the creation of wealth. They wanted a wealthy nation. They envisioned that if the federal government needed additional funding it would levy taxes on each State in proportion to the census.

Some argue that according to today’s definition the income tax is not a direct tax. Any research into the period can find a quote like this from Theodore Sedgwick disclosing that a capitation tax and taxes on land and on property and income generally were a direct charge.” In fact, income from an occupation was a direct tax according to the terms used in that period. And James Madison said, “I entirely concur in the propriety of resorting to the sense in which the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation. In that sense alone it is the legitimate Constitution. What a metamorphosis would be produced in the code of law if all its ancient phraseology were to be taken in the modern sense.”

Duties were the federal government’s main source of tax revenue until 1913. Since then we have the seemingly limitless expansion of the federal government with no abatement in sight. Duties are a tax levied on imported goods ensuring their costs are similar to that of goods produced within the country.

Some say duties are “protectionist” and claim they deepened the Great Depression citing The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act signed into law on June 17, 1930 which raised tariffs on thousands of goods imported into the U.S. This is not backed up by history. Throughout most of the 1800s tariffs averaged almost 30%, peaking at 57% in 1830, while the maximum average for Smoot-Hawley was 20%, peaking at 60% for some products. Tariffs must be adjusted occasionally ensuring they are not protectionist but reasonable and adequate, and this requires work. Poor Congress. They will be responsible for something to which they can be held accountable.

But this ensures the wages of American workers are not merely “a race to the bottom,” reduced to those of the cheapest labor found anywhere in the world. Wouldn’t it be better to let the world’s labor rise to that of the American worker. Must we be content to let our jobs leave the country by the millions to our harm? Let others compete for our business, but, after all, it is our business.

It is the job of our leaders is to look out for the interests of the American worker and employer. Properly implementing duties will rejuvenate small business and create jobs throughout our nation. Small communities throughout the nation will again prosper.

Tax incentives are not needed for the average guy, just get out of his way and leave him alone. Big business will complain because they will have to work harder to remain competitive and will no longer have lobbyist slant tax law their way. But they comprise only 30% of the total job market while small business comprises 70%.

Honest Abe Lincoln may have kept the nation together, but the enactment of the first income tax in 1862 to finance the Civil War was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court declared it so in 1895. So, the 16th Amendment was ratified to finance World War I and we continue with the tax to this day. Again, this was not the will of our Founding Fathers.

Now no one can grasp the many nuances of the nearly 70,000 pages of federal tax law incorporated into the Internal Revenue Code. It truly is a code that leads to corruption with Congress using it to favor contributors. Plus, the true tax rate is hidden and beyond finding out. It is not fair to The Common Man. It is his right to know his effective tax rate.

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TCM Power Principle #3

Repeal the 17th Amendment providing for U.S. Senators being elected directly by the people.

The Founders intended for Senators to represent the States (Article 1, Section 3). Senators would once again look out for their State’s interests.

Every political figure should support this principle or their motives are suspect.

The 17th Amendment ratified in 1913 says, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof…” So now U.S. Senators are elected directly by the people. However, that was not the intent of the Founding Fathers.

Article 1, Section 3 states, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof.”

While U.S. Representatives were to be elected by the people’s direct vote, the U.S. Senators were to be elected by each State’s legislature. They should report to the State Legislature, representing the State’s voice in the nation’s affairs.

As things are now who do the U.S. Senators report to? Everybody and nobody. Nice work if you can get it.

During the stimulus of 2009 it is interesting to note that Michigan Governor Granholm was elated with Michigan receiving $7 billion, but Michigan’s pro rata share of the $787 billion debt (being 3.3 percent of the nation’s population) is $26 billion. Not a very good deal.

Now if the federal government were to levy taxes on each State in proportion to the census as originally intended and Senators reported to their State legislature they would certainly make every effort to work as efficiently as possible on behalf of their States, keeping taxes low and only doing what was necessary.

In 2008 the federal government collected in taxes from all sources about $2.5 trillion, this amount being very close to the total amount of goods and services imported the U.S. for the same period. Using an average of 25% duty would equal $625 billion. So the federal government should be sending each State a pro rata tax bill for the balance. It would then be easy to calculate each person’s share of those taxes and determine if commensurate benefits were being received and for the State Legislature to give guidance to their Senators.

For example, does anyone believe that if Michigan’s current Senators Levin and Stabenow reported to Michigan’s Legislature with a $1.4 trillion deficit atop the assessment described above that this would be acceptable? They would never be re-elected.

See how Senators would have to work on behalf of their respective State?

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TCM Power Principle #4

Abolish the Federal Reserve

Return the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof back to Congress. Reduce the powers of the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve’s responsibilities, few of which have been performed satisfactorily, are to influence money and credit, ensure soundness of the nation’s banking and financial system and provide financial services. The free market should set the interest rate naturally determined by the amount of funds on hand and the demand for those funds. Instead, the Federal Reserve sets an artificial rate causing economic “bubbles.”

Article 1, Section 8 states that Congress shall have the power “to coin money and regulate the Value thereof.” Yet they have turned this utmost responsibility over to the Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the U.S. created in 1913.

If Congress doesn’t want to do the work of regulating the “Value thereof” they should stay home. Instead they spend time working on issues outside confines of their authority making everyone’s life more complicated. The result of Congressional neglect is inflation and the devaluing of our currency.

Many in positions of power do not serve the Constitution which they were sworn to uphold by an oath. Seeking to promote their own agenda, they blatantly disregard it. The political elite believe the average American is stupid.

Regarding any newly elected president Article II, Section I of the Constitution says, “Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:- ‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’”

Obviously the Constitution is not being rigorously adhered to. Every recent president, against the advice of Thomas Jefferson, has been seeing “…what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it’ because it restrains their actions including spending ability – exactly what it was intended to do.” Federal spending is jeopardizing the nation’s security.

The U.S. government now has over $12 trillion of debt. Our national debt is growing at the minimum rate of $2 million per minute increasing to at least $16 trillion of debt within four years. Just to pay debt service (repay the debt and interest) will soon consume, depending on the interest rate, 40 percent of the total revenue the government takes in each year. Plus the federal government is even now creating new programs that will exacerbate and amplify this problem.

The Federal Reserve refuses to disclose how much it has increased the money supply, that is, how many dollars it has put into circulation.

Now it must be asked where did the government get the money to buy the home mortgages through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? They simply printed it and by doing so are destroying the nation's wealth and financial backbone.

The policies of the Federal Reserve create inflation by continuing to print fiat currency, pieces of paper not backed by gold and silver. With the dramatic influx of trillions of fiat dollars into the economy, inflation is sure to follow, inflation that is terribly harmful to The Common Man in particular. But you can be sure the large banks will not suffer to the same degree.

Federal and state politicians should do what we elected them to do, uphold the Constitution and the methods prescribed therein. The Federal Reserve’s role must be reduced to that of a clearing house.

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TCM Power Principle #5

Gold & Silver

Ensure States again use gold and silver coin as legal tender.

The system of money was developed over thousands of years. For example, instead of having to pay for a bushel of apples with a leg of lamb, something that retained its value could be used to perform that function, hence gold and silver with their unique attributes of being scarce, divisible, durable, and easily transported were perfect for that function.

Thus coins of gold and silver were made. Who were the owners of those coins? Was it not the individuals who bartered their goods for the value of those coins? The coins became their property with their value established via the free market. The owner could use the value of that metal for any desired purpose.

Being put on deposit at banks for safekeeping, it was expected that same wealth would be returned upon demand. What right then did the government have to take silver out of our coins? That wealth belonged to the depositor. It was not theirs to take. Our government stole wealth from the American people.

But before all blame is put at the feet of the President and Congress it is important to note that every state, every governor, every state legislature is violating the Constitution.

Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution says, “No State shall...make any Thing but gold and silver coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” According to the Constitution, States must use gold and silver to back up currency. Many States wouldn’t sign the original Constitution unless this provision was inserted.

Congress and President Roosevelt had no Constitutional authority to take the nation off gold-backed tender, and Congress and President Johnson had no Constitutional authority to take the nation off silver-backed tender.

Some will say we cannot return to the gold and silver standard. That is untrue. Granted it will have to be done wisely but it can be done. The process can be easily started by again making coins of solid silver.

Gold and silver tender is like marriage; there are going to be ups and downs but making it work over time proves of inestimable worth. It is possible to return to currency backed by gold and silver.

We must do so to restore the strength of the dollar and our independence (this is, after all, at the core of it all). This is very serious, and makes the stealing of silver from our coins look like child’s play.

Gold and silver protect your assets. They are a hedge against inflation, a worthless currency and they restrain government spending.

Gold and silver establish monetary discipline so money retains it value as it did from 1800 to 1900 when a dollar retained its value for 100 years.

George Washington said, “If ever again our nation stumbles upon unfunded paper, it shall surely be like death to our body politic. This country will crash.”

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TCM Power Principle #6

Return Power

Return powers not specifically delegated to the federal government back to the States and/or to the people (10th Amendment) thereby respecting the rights of each locale to fittingly solve their problems.

Power that has been usurped by the federal government must be returned to the States and the people. Imagine all 50 states competing for the best way of doing things. However, with all the strings attached to its funding, the federal government wants only one idea to prevail – theirs. It is becoming more powerful than intended, a monopoly: unwieldy, cumbersome and oppressive, bent on dominating every facet of our lives.

Regarding Article I, Section 8 in the Constitution, James Madison wrote, “If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one.”

Now the federal government claims it has cures for healthcare, energy, education, etc. The government levies more taxes to provide more services, for it tells us then it will succeed. Every move increases their power and, worst of all, diminishes the confidence of The Common Man in his abilities to find solutions for problems.

Running a healthcare program is beyond the constitutional authority of the federal government. This was never the intent of the Founding Fathers. As noted above, their intent was a federal government with very specific and limited power. All power belong to State government and the people unless they are specifically denoted otherwise in the Constitution.

The federal government can’t even balance their own budget and have proven themselves to be an unreliable fiduciary. Where is all the money you have paid into Social Security and Medicare with the federal government the sole fiduciary? How much is on hand? $0.00. That’s right, there is nothing. The government has spent that money, leaving only an IOU. Any other fiduciary would be thrown in jail like Bernie Madoff.

Again, one can only imagine that if our leaders were protecting our jobs and wealth like they were elected to do, each of us might be able to buy our own portable, individual health insurance policy getting benefits and price according to our need, similar to auto insurance policies we purchase. Healthcare insurance could exempt pre-existing conditions and reward good behavior for non-smoking, exercise, weight control, etc.

Besides being unconstitutional, if the government can tax and provide, why not leave those funds with the consumer/citizen in the first place and let them decide what is in their self-interest?

Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture now wants to regulate all food sold in schools including snacks. Their overstepping continues.

The abuses go on and on.

Thomas Jefferson said, “If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a sate as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.”

Is it any wonder that millions of Americans feel federal government is out of control, that it is not fulfilling its constitutional role?

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TCM Power Principle #7

Restore the Respect and Function of Free Enterprise

The free market, merchants buying and selling and consumers choosing the best allocation of their resources, is maligned as being the root of all our economic problems.

However, go to any industry trade show and you will see the most creative products and sales methods that can be devised, the true wheels of progress.

Look around your home. Everything you see was made by the free market. It provided the incredible selection available for your preferred choice of furniture, carpet, dishes, cupboards, refrigerator, lawnmower, etc.

If the demand is there for a particular color, size, feature, quality or better price you can be sure that the entrepreneurial spirit, not government control, will make every attempt to make your dream come true.

Businessmen dedicate their lives to profitably running businesses. This is not greed. This is service. If any business does not meet the consumer’s need, it will soon be replaced by one that will. That is why businesses must be allowed to fail.

Profit is not greed. Greed is a lust for more than what is actually needed. Profit is required to stay in business, to attract the best employees and to finance research and development of new ideas.

Unfortunately, as the government is ever increasing its regulatory reach it disrupts natural market forces. For example, when government determines who can provide healthcare (because it pays for healthcare it now needs to ensure controls are in place for proper payments) it has disrupted supply. As the demand of a growing population increases, supply will necessarily cost more as the rush to meet that demand is artificially curtailed.

This is not the fault of the free market but too much government intervention. It creates inefficiencies, driving prices upward and causing a decline in service. Is it really necessary to pay for a $100 doctor visit to when you need to get a $25 medical prescription re-filled?

If any business is incompetent, the public will soon be made aware and not solicit that business and it will dissolve. The government cannot stop poor service, but the market self-regulates.

While on the topic, the federal government has some power to regulate (to make regular) healthcare insurance via the interstate commerce clause, there is no enumeration of power in the Constitution authorizing the federal government to provide healthcare services, nor education for that matter.

We are being sold a bill of goods that only the federal government can handle our problems. Each of their fixes causes immense complications which, in turn, they insist on fixing with ever more drastic measures. As they have exceeded their constitutional authority, the federal government now finds itself in crisis management. Big government’s plans of running the nation’s economic system, like their “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” cannot succeed. It is impossible to spend your way out of debt. And it is impossible to dictate to the market.

If more regulation is needed, it is for oversight of the government by the people. Thomas Jefferson said, “In matters of Power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.”

This country was founded on the belief of life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness, and a smaller, leaner federal government. But the government and their political allies use every crisis to expand the government’s powers instead of patiently letting a free people function, which is what made this nation great in the first place. For the most part, big business, along with mainstream media, is in bed with government. They are of little help.

In a nation’s economic growth there will ebb and flow, a time of growth and a time of market adjustment and correction to the latest developments. This is a natural process. However, when politicians intervene to control contractions and limit economic pain they disrupt the process and cause more pain later on. It’s like the old Fram oil filter commercial, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later,” meaning a much higher price later by not paying a small price now.

Too often today, the government picks winners and losers by its use of grants and tax laws. But Thomas Jefferson said, “The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits.”

Let The Common Man decide his future, not some Washington bureaucrat. Let’s restore the respect and function of free enterprise.

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TCM Power Principle #8

Proper Military Use

All the while we have an imposing international presence our own borders remain exposed and unprotected.

John Quincy Adams said, “I deem the essential principles of our government, and consequently which ought to shape its administration…peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.”

We are a peace loving nation. Let’s act the part and lead by example, not by force.

When we are to be involved militarily then Congress has the responsibility to declare war, instead of abdicating its constitutional authority. Should it be declared, war should be fought with all our might to quickly end it.

There is no way we can sustain the size and range of our military, or our government for that matter. It will only lead to our ruin and make serfs of the people.

Only by reverting to limited government designed for a free people as articulated in the Constitution do we have hope.

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TCM Power Principle #9

Religious Freedom

Christians, wake up! Roger Baldwin, co-founder of the ACLU, wanted social ownership of property with communism as the goal. They present themselves as the purveyor of freedom and, while they have done some good, like the Pharisees of old they are blind to the harm they cause.

Their “Freedom of Religion and Belief April 2007” (not to be confused with an Internet search result of International Humanist and Ethical Union) precisely dictates what can be taught to whom under what circumstances. Basically, they want to use our money to educate our kids in their beliefs.

The ACLU asserts they work “to ensure that this essential freedom is protected by keeping the government out of religion.” Sounds like they are keeping religion out of education and public life in general. If they were around they would never have allowed Washington to be sworn in with his hand on a Bible. Fortunately they were not around so we can freely discern the will and intent of our Founders.

Just a brief study of American education will show a generous and substantial amount of religion in its fabric known of and endorsed by the Founders and therefore not in contradiction to their intent. The following are not isolated examples but typical of early American education.

Harvard was founded in 1636 and named after John Harvard, a young preacher, who left his library and half his estate to the college. Its purpose: “To advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches.”

In 1642 The Massachusetts Bay School Law required children to know the laws of the commonwealth and the principles of religion.

In 1690 the New-England Primer and The Shorter Catechism was introduced, the textbook used in American schools for 100 years with widespread use for more than 200 years. Besides its Bible facts, its Catechism teaches of God and man’s relationship and the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Yale was founded in 1701 “wherein Youth may be instructed in the Arts and Sciences [and] through the blessing of Almighty God may be fitted for Publick employment both in Church and Civil State.”

In 1813 the Washington Public Schools reported its students reading and spelling successes using the Bible and a Christian hymnal in its curriculum.

History shows us that schools have every right to teach morals and biblical concepts and indeed the Bible itself. Again, the 1st Amendment of the Constitution which has never been amended states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Prohibiting religious education in any school is beyond control of the federal government. It is a state and local issue. How much clearer could this be? Yet the federal government unconstitutionally forbids it.

For too long the godless and those who deny the power of God have exercised dominion in high places. They are turning our nation into a godless society. You cannot make laws that offend the sensibilities of the godly and expect good to come of it. Perhaps it is time for civil disobedience.

TCM Power Principle #10

The Common Man

TCM Power Principles™ (summary)

1)  Vote third party. Elect officials who will uphold the Constitution. No exceptions.

2)  Repeal the 16th Amendment. The federal income tax code is beyond comprehension.

3)  Repeal the 17th Amendment so U.S. Senators are elected by their State Legislature again.

4)  Congress must value money. Reduce the powers of the Federal Reserve.

5)  States must use gold and silver coin as legal tender per the Constitution.

6)  States must reassert their constitutional rights taking back power from federal control.

7)  Restore the respect and function of Free Enterprise.

8)  Retract our military presence from 700 bases around the world and never subject our sovereignty to the power of any nation or group of nations.

9)  Churches remove themselves from IRS 501(c)(3) status. They are protected by the 1st Amendment and must not subject themselves to the IRS. Pastors have to call things as they see them.

10)  The Common Man must accept personal responsibility and reassert his sovereignty.