Marjorie Taylor Green is again calling for a “national divorce.” Her comment suggests blue states are abusing red states against the interests of most Americans. And she is in part correct. But the abusive spouses here are not blue states. These are just enforcers for the abusive spouse behind the curtain: the feds.
Blue state progressive policies don’t come out of thin air. They are handed down from Washington, D.C., international organizations such as the WHO and the United Nations, think tanks, nonprofits and universities – all of which rely on a steady flow of federal dollars in grants and giveaways.
And who pays for all of it? You do. The IRS takes your money and the federal government kicks it back to its pet projects, keeping the deep state gravy train running – all on the credit of the American taxpayer. And the private Federal Reserve is all too happy to lend more and get some of those sweet, sweet interest payments.
As Rep. Chip Roy has noted, the best way to defeat an enemy is to thump his wallet. Most people don’t care about red or blue if it affects their green. Federal money – whether borrowed or levied through taxes – fuels progressive insanity. If states do not cooperate, the feds yank the money (e.g. with Common Core). If Congress needs more money to ensure its cronies are satisfied, the debt ceiling gets raised. And Americans get the inflation tax.
This is why these unpopular radical policies are pushed in red and blue states alike. No one outside of a small fringe wants porn in schools, unlimited Ukraine aid or a parasitic administrative state that takes everything and delivers souped-up viruses, never-ending wars, and services for illegal immigrants. Yet the easy availability to federal dollars combined with lobbying incentivizes this behavior.
America did not have an income tax before 1913. In fact it was ruled unconstitutional in 1895 and the country did just fine. After the IRS was created alongside the 16th Amendment and the Federal Reserve, suddenly government spending shot up, the welfare-warfare state appeared and the dollar’s value steadily began to erode. Meanwhile, the American taxpayer became Uncle Sam’s limitless Platinum American Express Credit Card.
So politicians who truly care about America, regardless of party, need to start thinking big when it comes to solutions – and preferably not a simplistic red-blue one (at least not yet). Instead, states and Congress would be best served in the long term by nuking the IRS and the 16th Amendment, through an Article V convention if necessary.
This idea is already being floated around Congress. But Americans have grown far too comfortable with their current situation and too ignorant of their history to understand that crushing the IRS isn’t something unprecedented. Too many people assume the IRS has always been here, whereas in reality, this country was never intended to have individual income taxes. It’s right there in the Constitution’s Article I, Sec. 9. So Americans must educate themselves in order to back our representatives who are willing to take the plunge on this matter.
As long as Washington has tax money, legislation to fund or defund pet projects can always be reversed. Without it, however, Washington has to rely on receipts from constitutionally delegated powers (import-export taxes, for instance). Say goodbye to forever wars abroad, limitless foreign aid, limitless borrowing for social programs that don’t go anywhere, the security state and fringe progressivism. There wouldn’t be a way to pay for them.
Americans are asking themselves if it is worth staying together when there seem to be two separate countries developing along ideological lines. As we fight each other, our rulers laugh. So instead of talking about red-blue separation, let’s try uniting on this: We all hate the IRS, taxes and the free money spigot that funds progressivism. So why not get rid of them – dare I say, divorce them?
You will be surprised how quickly we will win the culture wars once progressivism no longer has the taxpayer money to keep itself alive. Maybe then we can try to reforge One Nation under God out of the current mess the last 60 years of progressive policies have inflicted on us. And if it turns out I’m wrong, then we can start talking about secession.
Michele Gama Sosa is an opinion editor for the Daily Caller and a historian by training.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.