开飞机撞国税局大楼的乔-第3章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！



The　intent　of　this　exercise　and　our　efforts　was　to　bring　about　a　much…needed　re…evaluation　of　the　laws　that　allow　the　monsters　of　organized　religion　to　make　such　a　mockery　of　people　who　earn　an　honest　living。　However；　this　is　where　I　learned　that　there　are　two　“interpretations”　for　every　law；　one　for　the　very　rich；　and　one　for　the　rest　of　us…　Oh；　and　the　monsters　are　the　very　ones　making　and　enforcing　the　laws；　the　inquisition　is　still　alive　and　well　today　in　this　country。

That　little　lesson　in　patriotism　cost　me　40；000＋；　10　years　of　my　life；　and　set　my　retirement　plans　back　to　0。　It　made　me　realize　for　the　first　time　that　I　live　in　a　country　with　an　ideology　that　is　based　on　a　total　and　plete　lie。　It　also　made　me　realize；　not　only　how　naive　I　had　been；　but　also　the　incredible　stupidity　of　the　American　public；　that　they　buy；　hook；　line；　and　sinker；　the　crap　about　their　“freedom”…　and　that　they　continue　to　do　so　with　eyes　closed　in　the　face　of　overwhelming　evidence　and　all　that　keeps　happening　in　front　of　them。

Before　even　having　to　make　a　shaky　recovery　from　the　sting　of　the　first　lesson　on　what　justice　really　means　in　this　country　（around　1984　after　making　my　way　through　engineering　school　and　still　another　five　years　of　“paying　my　dues”）；　I　felt　I　finally　had　to　take　a　chance　of　launching　my　dream　of　being　an　independent　engineer。

On　the　subjects　of　engineers　and　dreams　of　independence；　I　should　digress　somewhat　to　say　that　I’m　sure　that　I　inherited　the　fascination　for　creative　problem　solving　from　my　father。　I　realized　this　at　a　very　young　age。

The　significance　of　independence；　however；　came　much　later　during　my　early　years　of　college；　at　the　age　of　18　or　19　when　I　was　living　on　my　own　as　student　in　an　apartment　in　Harrisburg；　Pennsylvania。　My　neighbor　was　an　elderly　retired　woman　（80＋　seemed　ancient　to　me　at　that　age）　who　was　the　widowed　wife　of　a　retired　steel　worker。　Her　husband　had　worked　all　his　life　in　the　steel　mills　of　central　Pennsylvania　with　promises　from　big　business　and　the　union　that；　for　his　30　years　of　service；　he　would　have　a　pension　and　medical　care　to　look　forward　to　in　his　retirement。　Instead　he　was　one　of　the　thousands　who　got　nothing　because　the　inpetent　mill　management　and　corrupt　union　（not　to　mention　the　government）　raided　their　pension　funds　and　stole　their　retirement。　All　she　had　was　social　security　to　live　on。

In　retrospect；　the　situation　was　laughable　because　here　I　was　living　on　peanut　butter　and　bread　（or　Ritz　crackers　when　I　could　afford　to　splurge）　for　months　at　a　time。　When　I　got　to　know　this　poor　figure　and　heard　her　story　I　felt　worse　for　her　plight　than　for　my　own　（I；　after　all；　I　thought　I　had　everything　to　in　front　of　me）。　I　was　genuinely　appalled　at　one　point；　as　we　exchanged　stories　and　miserated　with　each　other　over　our　situations；　when　she　in　her　grandmotherly　fashion　tried　to　convince　me　that　I　would　be　“healthier”　eating　cat　food　（like　her）　rather　than　trying　to　get　all　my　substance　from　peanut　butter　and　bread。　I　couldn’t　quite　go　there；　but　the　impression　was　made。　I　decided　that　I　didn’t　trust　big　business　to　take　care　of　me；　and　that　I　would　take　responsibility　for　my　own　future　and　myself。

Return　to　the　early　‘80s；　and　here　I　was　off　to　a　terrifying　start　as　a　‘wet…behind…the…ears’　contract　software　engineer。。。　and　two　years　later；　thanks　to　the　fine　backroom；　midnight　effort　by　the　sleazy　executives　of　Arthur　Andersen　（the　very　same　folks　who　later　brought　us　Enron　and　other　such　calamities）　and　an　equally　sleazy　New　York　Senator　（Patrick　Moynihan）；　we　saw　the　passage　of　1986　tax　reform　act　with　its　section　1706。

For　you　who　are　unfamiliar；　here　is　the　core　text　of　the　IRS　Section　1706；　defining　the　treatment　of　workers　（such　as　contract　engineers）　for　tax　purposes。　Visit　this　link　for　a　conference　mittee　report　（synergistech/1706。shtml#ConferencemitteeReport）　regarding　the　intended　interpretation　of　Section　1706　and　the　relevant　parts　of　Section　530；　as　amended。　For　information　on　how　these　laws　affect　technical　services　workers　and　their　clients；　read　our　discussion　here　（synergistech/ic…taxlaw。shtml）。

SEC。　1706。　TREATMENT　OF　CERTAIN　TECHNICAL　PERSONNEL。

（a）　IN　GENERAL　…　Section　530　of　the　Revenue　Act　of　1978　is　amended　by　adding　at　the　end　thereof　the　following　new　subsection：

（d）　EXCEPTION。　…　This　section　shall　not　apply　in　the　case　of　an　individual　who　pursuant　to　an　arrangement　between　the　taxpayer　and　another　person；　provides　services　for　such　other　person　as　an　engineer；　designer；　drafter；　puter　programmer；　systems　analyst；　or　other　similarly　skilled　worker　engaged　in　a　similar　line　of　work。

（b）　EFFECTIVE　DATE。　…　The　amendment　made　by　this　section　shall　apply　to　remuneration　paid　and　services　rendered　after　December　31；　1986。

Note：

·　〃another　person〃　is　the　client　in　the　traditional　job…shop　relationship。

·　〃taxpayer〃　is　the　recruiter；　broker；　agency；　or　job　shop。

·　〃individual〃；　〃employee〃；　or　〃worker〃　is　you。

Admittedly；　you　need　to　read　the　treatment　to　understand　what　it　is　saying　but　it’s　not　very　plicated。　The　bottom　line　is　that　they　may　as　well　have　put　my　name　right　in　the　text　of　section　（d）。　Moreover；　they　could　only　have　been　more　blunt　if　they　would　have　came　out　and　directly　declared　me　a　criminal　and　non…citizen　slave。　Twenty　years　later；　I　still　can’t　believe　my　eyes。

During　1987；　I　spent　close　to　5000　of　my　‘pocket　change’；　and　at　least　1000　hours　of　my　time　writing；　printing；　and　mailing　to　any　senator；　congressman；　governor；　or　slug　that　might　listen；　none　did；　and　they　universally　treated　me　as　if　I　was　wasting　their　time。　I　spent　countless　hours　on　the　L。A。　freeways　driving　to　meetings　and　any　and　all　of　the　disorganized　professional　groups　who　were　attempting　to　mount　a　campaign　against　this　atrocity。　This；　only　to　discover　that　our　efforts　were　being　easily　derailed　by　a　few　moles　from　the　brokers　who　were　just　beginning　to　enjoy　the　windfall　from　the　new　declaration　of　their　“freedom”。　Oh；　and　don’t　forget；　for　all　of　the　time　I　was　spending　on　this；　I　was　loosing　ine　that　I　couldn’t　bill　clients。

After　months　of　struggling　it　had　clearly　gotten　to　be　a　futile　exercise。　The　best　we　could　get　for　all　of　our　trouble　is　a　pronouncement　from　an　IRS　mouthpiece　that　they　weren’t　going　to　enforce　that　provision　（read　harass　engineers　and　scientists）。　This　immediately　proved　to　be　a　lie；　and　the　mere　existence　of　the　regulation　began　to　have　its　impact　on　my　bottom　line；　this；　of　course；　was　the　intended　effect。

Again；　rewind　my　retirement　plans　back　to　0　and　shift　them　into　idle。　If　I　had　any　sense；　I　clearly　should　have　left　abandoned　engineering　and　never　looked　back。

Instead　I　got　busy　working　100…hour　workweeks。　Then　came　the　L。A。　depression　of　the　early　1990s。　Our　leaders　decided　that　they　didn’t　need　the　all　of　those　extra　Air　Force　bases　they　had　in　Southern　California；　so　they　were　closed；　just　like　that。　The　result　was　economic　devastation　in　the　region　that　rivaled　the　widely　publicized　Texas　S&L　fiasco。　However；　because　the　government　caused　it；　no　one　gave　a　shit　about　all　of　the　young　families　who　lost　their　homes　or　street　after　street　of　boarded　up　houses　abandoned　to　the　wealthy　loan　panies　who　received　government　funds　to　“shore　up”　their　windfall。　Again；　I　lost　my　retirement。

Years　later；　after　weathering　a　divorce　and　the　constant　struggle　trying　to　build　some　momentum　with　my　business；　I　find　myself　once　again　beginning　to　finally　pick　up　some　speed。　Then　came　the　　bust　and　the　911　nightmare。　Our　leaders　decided　that　all　aircraft　were　grounded　for　what　seemed　like　an　eternity；　and　long　after　that；　‘special’　facilities　like　San　Francisco　were　on　security　alert　for　months。　This　made　access　to　my　customers　prohibitively　expensive。　Ironically；　after　what　they　had　done　the　Government　came　to　the　aid　of　the　airlines　with　billions　of　our　tax　dollars　…　as　usual　they　left　me　to　rot　and　die　while　they　bailed　out　their　rich；　inpetent　cronies　WITH　MY　MONEY！　After　these　events；　there　went　my　business　but　not　quite　yet　all　of　my　retirement　and　savings。

By　this　time；　I’m　thinking　that　it　might　be　good　for　a　change。　Bye　to　California；　I’ll　try　Austi