You can't pigeon hole Stack in some political slot. It's imposssible.

The "he was a teabagger" shit, is just deeply stupid- as is the "he was a lefty" designation.

I've read his screed three times now, and what is clear is that he was all over the political map, but more importantly, this was the product of someone who'd spent over 20 years almost obsessively building up a grievance and hatred of the tax system- and not because it's unfair to the working class person. this was an anti-tax nut with a big bug up his ass. He had a history of not paying his taxes and blaming it on accountants and the IRS. It was all about him.

That is exactly the impression I got reading it.

My thread got locked when I tried to discuss this guy's place on the political continuum. He was being called a Teabagger here. But when I read his essay, I saw it could have been a post on DU.

The Insane Manifesto Of Austin Texas Crash Pilot Joseph Andrew Stack
http://www.businessinsider.com/joseph-andrew-stacks-ins...

"Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies
, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies. Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”. It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in."

Can we not discuss this without becoming so hyper-defensive? Hell, when I'm that defensive it's because I don't want to face some truth about myself. So what does that say here?

And a Democrat who doesn't feel the need to hurt myself or others.

I would say he is way out of my camp.

For sure he needed mental help.

I agree, this was all about him and his battle with the IRS over the years. I also think the guy was pretty intelligent. I've seen his client list on a business blog. In order for him to get those clients he would have to do a significant amount of salesmanship, networking, and develop a pretty great reputation for what he was skilled at.

He does have a point, as other posters point out. People who choose to disengage from the normal pay check and employment relationship do have a much harder time with the IRS, and they are generally targets because there is more to audit. Bigger businesses have the resources of lots of lawyers on staff and on retention.

All the big 4 accounting firms have been hit and really not that penalized heavily for their role in massive tax evasion over the course of the entire 2000s and 1990s for major corporate clients and wealth individuals.

The IRS can audit me, I do a standard deduction every year and have generally one W-2, a student loan, and a bank account, they can complete it in 5 minutes and generally if I screwed up it was a data entry error or something the software screwed up.

Someone like Joe will have every expense looked at with a fine tooth comb, and they aren't leaving till they find something.

Does this justify at all what he did, no. I also think this guy was smart enough to write the letter cryptically enough ideologically, that neither side right or left, would know where he stood ideologically in the traditional spectrum.

The only part of the letter that was clear, is he disagreed with the way his income was taxed in comparison to other.

.... that all of us are idealogues.

Some of us are just looking around and noticing what is going on. While it is impossible to assess whether he was trying to game the IRS or they were gaming him based on the letter, it is possible to understand that many of his criticisms are absolutely correct.

but doesn't want to pay taxes. :eyes:

Free healthcare for all! And no taxes!

the IRS and then flying a plane into the IRS building. Dude is focused and obviously psychotic.

exemptions and loopholes that the wealthy have been using since the beginning of the system. I don't think political affiliation had anything to do with it. But after losing job security, retirement savings and having to virtually start over, how many times? He waged a personal vendetta against the IRS. He didn't have the money to pay them. They probably threatened or were in the process of seizing all of his assets or what was left of his assets and the man lost it. He was pushed over the edge, imo.

he might have missed out on some nurturing..........

not an excuse, but an explanation.

I didn't realize there were actual orphanages in the United States that could have produced a man of his age.

Heard it on a news show.

It appears there are still orphanages in the United States, but the function more like large foster homes than the orphanages of 19th and early 20th century. For example, one in Florida houses the children 8 to a cottage with "cottage parents".

They're making a comeback, too. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703510304574626080835477074.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs_comments%3D%26articleTabs%3Darticle

The old style existed through the 1960's so it is possible.

I learned something I didn't know before.

Sorry, watched Black Dynamite a few days back and haven't laughed so hard in a long time so that was fresh on my mind. :)

.

...they keep deserving it. :thumbsup:

Edit: thumb problem fixed.

in a dishonest way. which is to say, he prolly wasn't conscious he was being dishonest about it...that's the nature of delusion.

If it wasn't taxes, he'd be obsessed with some other entity trying to "get" him.

It could be printed out of the same random rant generator the LaRouchers, the Paultards, and the Teabaggers use.

where a plurality of people think both political parties are corrupt beyond repair. Imagine that.

... and I didn't believe it until this president took office and instead of reining the bankers in, opened the taxpayer money spigot for them.

That single act took the last bit of hope and optimism for our country ever getting back on track and tossed it aside.

Now, I expect nothing but corruption, double dealing and the fleecing of the taxpayer and I'm rewarded daily with confirmation.

GLASS-STEGALL SHOULD ALREADY BE BACK. WHY ISN'T IT?

It's because our government is now completely owned by business interests.

And look out, they are coming after your 401K and IRA funds next.

"He had a history of not paying his taxes and blaming it on accountants and the IRS. It was all about him."

Absolutely right. It is possible; however, his delusions and persecution complex was reinforced by tax protest schemers and propagandists. These folks are more crank right wing than anything else. Digby has a good post on a possible connection.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/scams-by-digby-tv-is-obsessed-with-anti.html

From his online rant:
"Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doin...."

from: http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/TPM.asp?xpicked=4&item=21

"Tax protesters usually evade taxes and sometimes commit acts of violence, but a number of people involved in the tax protest movement have also engaged in a variety of scams and frauds designed to capitalize on the beliefs of other tax protesters and the greed of ordinary citizens. Though they generally believe in the anti-tax rhetoric they preach, a variety of groups and individuals have worked actively to defraud others through the marketing of bogus trusts, "untax" kits or other devices that would ostensibly allow people to avoid paying income taxes."

More will come out about this guy. I bet there's some really bad tax avoidance advice in his past -- probably some he paid for -- probably from one of the West coast tax protest scam groups in the 80s and 90s.

It is no fun to be fully self-employed or have alternate income streams you have to pay taxes on. Still, lots of people do it and it doesn't drive then to crash and burn their lives and others. This guy had a bigger axe to grind than he just didn't like the tax code or the IRS. Part of that is his own mental problems, but he was fed an ideology that said he just shouldn't have to pay taxes.

Read that ADL link and decide whether he was more tea-baggy or just a dude with an IRS beef. To me, he sounds like any garden variety "patriot" movement tax avoider with an added dose of crazy. His ranting about The Catholics Church, Corporations, Big Bro, IRS etc, all fall right in with the paranoid persecution complex of the extreme right fringe.