A number of recent candidates for president of the United States have announced that they would either abolish the Internal Revenue Service or implement a different taxation rate system that would simplify or introduce fairness into the current rate structure.

This certainly would help to assuage the anger of much of the citizenry.  It does not address the underlying objectives the current system of taxation supports and upon which the national debt situation in Congress relies.  These objectives are two: control of taxation and control of spending.  These objectives have so far been long-term achievements of the federal government.

Let's sum up the debt problem in these statements:

• The national debt is out of control due to spending by the federal government.
• Congress shows no indication of changing to correct this.
• Our representatives apparently have little influence or are part of the problem.
• States have little ability to influence how our tax dollars are spent.

The solution is to co-opt the first objective – change who controls the taxation.  The problem implicit in the second objective will be solved by the first solution.

In a perfect (conservative) world, a proposed solution could be summarized in the following points:

• Any federal taxes owed by each citizen or family of a state would be sent to the state, not to the IRS.
• The collected federal taxes would be placed in a state fund.
• By vote of the people of the state or by the state legislature, the federal government would receive only what money is determined to be necessary for the federal government to conduct business based on the original tenets of the Constitution of the United States and on any state laws.  Funds could be designated by the state for specific purposes.
• As determined by a vote of the people, the remaining federal tax dollars in the state fund would be used for state purposes as determined by the state legislature or returned to the citizens.

Simply put, if the states control what goes to the federal government, the federal government will be required to live within its means.

This constitutes a simple outline of how the states can take back control of the fiscal future of the union.  There are many components that would need to be put in place and many challenges to implementing such a plan.  However, if something similar is not attempted, there will be no chance of change.