By Gary Flomenhoft
Dear
friends,
The final
days of US empire are fast approaching. Perhaps its end will pass slowly and
gradually, or perhaps the event will unfold rapidly and catastrophically. Maybe
chaos will break loose, or maybe its demise will be organized well and proceed
smoothly. This nobody knows, but the end of empire is coming as surely as day
follows night and sun follows rain. Over expansion, overreach and
over-indebtedness will take their toll—as all past empires have discovered.
Empires are like bacteria in a Petrie dish; unthinking, unseeing, unfeeling,
they expand until they run out of food or contaminate their environment with
their waste, and then they die. They are automatons, and they just can’t help
it: they are programmed to expand or die, expand or die, and, in the end,
expand and die.
What does
the empire feed on? It feeds on money and fear; your money and your fear, both
obtained with your cooperation. It is bigger now than when it faced an actual
adversary in the Soviet Union. Russia is no adversary; all it wants is to be a
normal country, at peace with the world. But the empire won’t let it, will it?
It must create enemies. Who are our enemies? According to the authors of
endless war they are North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Islamic terrorists. Are any
of them actually capable of threatening the US? Well, yes, but they are all
quite easy to deter. But the plan of the authors of endless war is not to deter
them; it is to back them into a corner with political instability and
sanctions, while whipping up the population on both sides into fear-filled
frenzy.
We all know
that the US military-industrial complex has become a self-perpetuating and
uncontrollable organism, just like Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us in 1961.
Everyone knows the phrase and Eisenhower's warning—it is part of our collective
memory. At a trillion dollars a year and growing, with over 1000 bases ringing
the planet, it has expanded far beyond what Eisenhower could have imagined in
his worst nightmare. We can’t say we didn't know: he warned us. After the National-Socialist episode in Germany, many good Germans voiced regrets at not
speaking up, claiming that they didn't know what was being done in their name.
But we do not have that excuse: we all knew all along.
Nor was it
the first time we were warned. General Smedley Butler told us before, in 1933,
and his words are still with us, posted online. Why is it that everyone,
generals included, suddenly gain wisdom immediately upon reaching retirement?
Butler offered an explanation: his “mind was in suspended animation while serving
as a soldier and following orders.” In 1933 Butler told us that he “was a
racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.” He said:
“I helped
make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I
helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to
collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American
republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long.
I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers
in 1909-1912…I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar
interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its
way unmolested.”
This empire
is nothing new, and we knew what it is and what it does all along. We can’t say
we didn't know. We have watched throughout our lives as the US put down every
popular uprising against local autocrats and oligarchs, placed countries under
US control, then helped organize and train the death squads that killed off the
opposition. Think of Indonesia, Argentina, or Honduras. We watched as the
empire crushed every democratic government that threatened US business
interests under the false pretext of “anti-communism,” starting with Iran in
1953, Guatemala in 1954, and proceeding to Congo, Haiti (numerous times), and
most notably and infamously Chile in 1973 (assassinating president Salvador
Allende on September 11, 1973), Nicaragua in the 1980’s, and many, many others.
(For details see William Blum’s Killing Hope.) And of course, many of us lived
through the epic lies and genocide of millions in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
during the so-called “Vietnam War.” We knew, we watched, and we paid taxes that
paid for the bullets and the bombs.
More
recently we’ve seen the barefaced lies of empire laid out for all to see in
Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Georgia, Pakistan, Yemen, Ukraine...
they never end! But the trouble we stir up in other places never seems to come
home and ring our doorbell, does it? Maybe that’s why it keeps on going. We
think that we can just ignore it and go on with our lives—that it won’t affect
us. Or does it?
Let’s leave
aside the destruction of democracy that always accompanies a militarized,
fascist police state that the US has gradually turned into. And let’s ignore
the violence that pervades US society, or the vast gulag of incarceration that
disposes of our useless eaters. Consider that the only military attack on US
soil that actually scored a palpable hit since Pearl Harbor was 9/11. Pearl
Harbor was on the periphery, way out in the Pacific, “A Day that will live in
Infamy,” the more so since FDR knew it was coming and did all he could to
provoke it by cutting Japan off from oil supplies, directly provoking it into
launching the attack. But Hawaii is the periphery while 9/11 struck at the
heart of the empire, the financial center in New York that drives the imperial
wealth pump, and the Pentagon, which is charged with the mission of US world
domination.
Whether you
believe that 19 Arabs armed with box cutters who couldn’t fly propeller planes
took down 3 World Trade buildings that plummeted straight down at the speed of
freefall in what looked like controlled demolition (yes there were 3, look up
“Building 7”), and destroyed a section of the Pentagon, or whether you believe
it was an inside job, doesn’t matter. The point is, in that act of destruction,
the wars of the empire finally came home.
What was the
result? Did these events cause us to reconsider what we are doing? Of course
not! Instead, we went all-in for war. Remember, the empire is an automaton, a
self-perpetuating organism, living on money and fear. What better way to whip
up fear than to stage, or to allow, or to simply fail to prevent, an attack on
the “homeland”—which is, by the way, a Nazi propaganda term. The purpose of war
is simply to cause more war, since it is so profitable for the badly misnamed
“defense industry.” Butler told us in 1933 that “war is a racket,” and
documented massive war profiteering during WWI. Do you know how much money
Lockheed, Northrop-Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon et al. are
making from the “War on Terror”? The sums are astronomical.
As you read
these words, the empire is busy doing its work in Ukraine. Here is how that
works. First, it overthrows the elected government in a US-backed coup. Next,
it directs its local puppet regime to unleash a military attack and organize
death squads to deal with the population in the east that won't go along with
the US-backed coup, in this case using actual Nazi-branded death squads,
complete with Nazi SS Insignias. (Anyone can verify these facts with the most
cursory internet search.) And for the final, consummate imperialist touch, it
votes in the UN (together with Canada) against a resolution condemning the
Ukrainian Nazis and other racist murderers, while the Europeans shamefacedly
abstain. This sort of plan used to work really well, and so the empire keeps
repeating it over and over again, even though the results are worse every time.
Vast numbers
of Americans support the empire’s wars of conquest because they help maintain
their lavish lifestyles. They bother some of us more than others. Many of us
are adamantly against them, but only a few find it emotionally unbearable to
countenance the destruction of millions of lives in our names and with our
money. What makes them different? Who knows, you would have to ask a
psychologist.
The question
for those who oppose endless war is, What have we done about it? A mass
movement in the 1960’s that added up to an uprising by a vast segment of
society perhaps had something to do with ending the conflict in Vietnam. In
spite of these protests, the empire was able to extend the war by an extra five
years all the way to 1973, when it agreed to end it on the same terms that had
been offered in 1968 to Nobel “peace laureate” Henry Kissinger. There has been
no significant anti-war protest since then, and certainly none that succeeded
in preventing or ending war. Why?
First, the
draft was ended. This put an end to the involvement of average US families in
the wars of empire, and therefore ending the requirement for consent of the
governed. The strategists realized that the draft was a disaster for the
empire. The new, much better and cheaper way to procure cannon fodder for the
endless war is to enlist the children of the underclass, by using economic
oppression in order to deprive them of any other means of advancement except
military service.
Second, the
military has been outsourced and privatized, requiring even less involvement by
US families in the military, and less need for their consent. “You’re all
volunteers, so shut up” is the attitude.
Third, the
vastly increased scope of domestic spying by the NSA and other government
agencies has helped keep everyone under control and stifle dissent.
Fourth is
the tight government/corporate control of the US media, which has become
consummately successful in brainwashing and propagandizing the population.
Finally, there
is the war on whistleblowers and journalists who expose the truth, from Tom
Drake to William Binney, Sibel Simons, Jesselyn Radack, Bradley Manning and
Julian Assange. If necessary, the police, who are vastly more militarized than
in the past, together with national guard troops, can squash any dissent like a
bug. All these measures ensure that efforts at reform pursued through legal,
nonviolent means such as voting, protest, civil disobedience, civil resistance,
etc. will have absolutely no effect. The only action that can possibly stop the
empire in its tracks is cutting off its food supply—the tax money on which it
lives. We have to starve the beast through divestment, capital expatriation,
tax resistance, tax refusal and tax revolt. Former Secretary of State Alexander
Haig told us this flat out in the 1980’s when, being confronted with huge
protests over US Central American policy, he said: “Let them protest all they
want as long as they pay their taxes.” Truer words were never uttered by a US
official. Is there any evidence to contradict his statement? Has any other
measure had any impact on the war machine? The honest answer is no. Millions of
people around the world protested before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. These
protests were ignored. No amount of protest or other efforts can stop it,
because it doesn’t cut off the empire’s food supply of money and fear. Only by
cutting off its funds by not paying taxes can we stop the empire.
Many have
said that the US doesn’t need tax money as it survives on endless debt. Yes,
the empire lives on debt, but the ability to sell debt is based on the bond
rating of US treasury bonds. Most recently in June, 2014 S&P gave the US a
AA+ rating with “stable outlook.”
If there is
any doubt about the US credit rating, the ability to sell debt to continue
financing the empire comes into question. The ability to collect taxes is what
maintains the US bond rating. Any reduction of the US bond rating, and interest
rates have to go up in order to continue attracting more investment. Then the
interest on the debt balloons out of control and becomes unrepayable—never mind
the principal, which they have no intention of ever paying back. By the way,
the Tea Party’s efforts to shut down government by refusing to raise the debt
ceiling was helping this effort for a time, although for different reasons.
They thought that the welfare system is bankrupting the country. This is a
laughable claim, because welfare spending looks negligible when compared to
military spending. Still, they did manage to lower the bond rating for a time.
Shutting down the federal government is a step in the right direction, and
since in recent years only the Tea Party has managed to do it, lets give them
some credit
If the US
became unable to reliably collect taxes, then its ability to finance the empire
with debt would be diminished, and the US would have to turn to increasing
taxes—another politically unpalatable choice, especially in the age of the Tea
Party, when the empire’s main constituency is dead-set against more taxes. So
it is absolutely clear that the only thing that could stop the empire is a tax
revolt. It wouldn’t even have to be that big; the slightest question about the
ability of the federal government to collect taxes could reduce the bond rating.
Even a minor reduction could raise interest rates enough to make the US debt
unrepayable.
Let's get
down to brass tacks: How do you avoid paying taxes, when the IRS withholds our
salaries, and the tables are rigged to withhold about 15% more than necessary
on average, so 80% of people get a refund? Did you think that this is a
coincidence? No, this is a one-year interest-free loan to the empire from
taxpayers. But it’s actually quite simple not to pay taxes. Get a W-4 form,
write EXEMPT in the space provided, and turn it in to your friendly HR office.
Your employer is not allowed to change it unless directed by the IRS. Normally
they have no reason to question it.
Here’s what
happened last time it was tried on a big scale. In 2007, Code Pink joined the
War Resisters League to organize a national project for war tax refusal, to
“Stop Bush’s Wars.” This was not a true tax revolt, just more or less a
referendum on how many people would potentially support withholding a portion
of their taxes owed, even a token amount. The online petition asked people if
they would be willing to commit to withhold some of their taxes, even $1, if
100,000 other people would agree to do the same. Out of the US population of
316 million, how many people do you think signed it? About 2,000. So you see,
there is not much evidence that people will do the only thing that could stop
the empire: a true Tea Party tax revolt.
What this
implies is that the empire will continue to churn along, and debt will continue
to build up, because any other approach to paying for it is not feasible, and
therefore collapse is inevitable. The aftermath of collapse is unpredictable;
maybe there will be a soft landing, maybe not. But unless you are willing to
engage in some form of tax revolt, collapse is inevitable. You will get to live
with the results: stage a tax revolt now, or face collapse later.
Are you sure
you want to take your chances on collapse? The results of a personal tax revolt
are predictable: retribution with penalties and interest from the IRS; living
in fear of having your salary, your property, even your house seized, or worse,
your door broken down by federal agents (although these extreme measures don’t
happen too often, they happen often enough to instill fear). Perhaps there would
be loss of income, or even your job. Losing one’s job often leads to
depression, divorce, drug or alcohol abuse, etc. So you may prefer collapse
after all: loss of your savings, no heat, electricity or trash removal, shops
looted or closed, armed gangs roaming the streets... Your choice!
On the other
hand, collapse might go well! Hope springs eternal in the optimistic American
heart. We are (or used to be) the “can-do” people. Maybe we can-do collapse
better than anyone else? Doubtful though if you read Dmitry Orlov’s Collapse
Gap presentation.
The results
of collapse later are likely to be worse then the effects of tax revolt now.
Especially, since the IRS takes years to catch up to exempt W-4 forms, and it
would be even harder to crack down if it were being was done en masse. But it’s
perfectly understandable if you opt to do nothing now and suffer no
consequences, while engaging in ineffective protest to assuage your conscience.
You probably have a family to support, an expensive hobby, or some other
excuse. So you decide to take your chances with collapse later. After all,
collapse might turn out OK for you! This psychology is quite understandable. I
truly hope that collapse will be as painless as you wish it will be, but
somehow I doubt it. Good luck though! Whatever happens, you will have to live
with your decision for the rest of your life—be it long or short.
Signed,
expat and long-time conscientious tax refuser, Gary Flomenhoft.
