This post A Secret Form to Opt Out of Government Handouts appeared first on Daily Reckoning.
In a recent story about some of Social Security’s stranger aspects, I promised to tell you how the Amish opted out of the system in a future article.
Well, grab some popcorn because here it is…
The Social Security Act — which marked the beginning of the system we know today — passed Congress in 1935.
But for the first 20 years, it didn’t cover farmers.
So it was only in the middle of the 1950s when most Amish first had to pay into Social Security — a prospect that created a real ethical dilemma for them.
Why?
Because even though the IRS characterized Social Security payments as a simple tax, Social Security also very clearly contains the name “Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.”
And to the Amish, insurance demonstrates a lack of faith in God’s plan.
You can see why they weren’t keen on paying into — or collecting from — Social Security.
This prompted the Amish to send a 14,000-name petition to Washington asking for an exemption from Social Security.
And when that went unanswered, they pretty much just stopped paying.
In retaliation, Uncle Sam decided to start seizing property.
Of course, it’s pretty hard to take stuff from people who don’t have bank accounts or much in the way of worldly possessions.
So the government had to get creative.
By 1959, an Amish man named Valentine Byler from western Pennsylvania had racked up $308.96 in back taxes and interest.
And like many others, Mr. Byler had explained to the IRS precisely why he couldn’t make the payments.
Undeterred, the IRS decided to take three of Mr. Byler’s six horses and auction them off.
Remember, these weren’t show horses or pets. They were Mr. Byler’s livelihood because he used them to plow his fields.
The implications of the seizure were clearly lost on the IRS, with the Pittsburgh region’s IRS Chief of Collections reportedly saying, “Plowing never occurred to me. I live in an apartment.”
Nor had Uncle Sam thought through the fact that auctioning off the horses in the largely Amish area would fall flat on its face.
In the end, yes, the government got its money. But media outlets all over the place picked up the story, and were largely supportive of Mr. Byler.
Meanwhile, the Amish put additional pressure on Washington through meetings, letters, and threats of legal action.
By 1965, their point had been made:
When the amendment to the Social Security Act establishing Medicare and Medicaid was passed that year, it contained a clause that exempted the Old Order Amish from paying into the system.
At the time the legislation passed, Lancaster Bishop David Fisher reportedly told House Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills:
“We take care of our own people and if we start paying in, the next generation will collect and we don’t want no government handouts.”
Of course, the story didn’t end there…
Another Social Security scuffle took place between the Amish and Washington in the early 1980s.
The battleground? Western Pennsylvania yet again.
The crux of the matter: …read more
Source:: Daily Reckoning feed
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