Even if spring has announced itself in all of its glory, this time of year in the United States can be more than a little annoying.
Just thinking about the amount of money you have paid to the federal government is enough to mar a beautiful day.
As this spring blooms, however, the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have begun to expose the true horrors of what the federal government has been doing with our hard-earned money for decades on end.
Everyone has heard of fake news, but DOGE -- among other things -- has uncovered "fake people" who have been the beneficiaries of taxpayer largesse.
As the New York Post reported on April 10, DOGE announced that millions of taxpayer dollars in unemployment claims went to individuals who have not yet been born and in one spectacular case to a person with a birth year of 2154. Fake Future Baby claimed $41,000 in benefits.
Elon Musk himself summed it up on X: “Your tax dollars were going to pay fraudulent unemployment claims for fake people born in the future!”
That's not all, of course. It's just some of what DOGE has revealed. President Trump ran down some of the more interesting discoveries in his inimitable fashion a few weeks ago:
So the president and Elon have things covered, right? Well...
"It is not in the interest of a legislator to vote against a particular appropriations bill if that vote would create strong enemies while a vote in its favor would alienate few supporters. That is why simply electing the right people is not a solution."
So wrote Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman in The Atlantic all the way back in February 1983.
Did a majority of the American people finally elect "the right people" in 2024? Perhaps. But it is wise to remember the transient nature of politics, particularly at tax time.
Even as the administration exposes the profligate spending and is doing something about it, activist judges are overturning lawful executive orders, members of Congress who are well past their sell-by date are stamping their feet about attempts to practice fiscal responsibility, and a future president can undo any and all progress made by the administration in a matter of days.
There is still a sizable part of those in government -- in every branch -- that want Americans to fund their sloth and self-enrichment in perpetuity. They believe they are entitled to it.
Taxpaying citizens should not be subject to the whims and executive orders of one administration to the next. But Congress has for decades demonstrated an unwillingness to spend responsibly and ease the tax burden for those they claim to represent.
As Friedman wrote, electing the "right" people to office isn't enough. How can taxpayers circumvent members of Congress and rogue judges who attempt to thwart the will of the people?
There is only one way to permanently establish and reinforce the necessary limitations on taxation, and that is by giving the states the opportunity to debate and propose amendments that will do so at a limited-purpose Article V convention.
Imagine the creative and innovative discussions and ideas that such a gathering would generate. Would a flat taxation rate of 15 percent on all income, as proposed by COS endorser Mark Levin in his book The Liberty Amendments, find favor? How about replacing the income tax altogether with a national sales tax? Or perhaps a balanced budget amendment once and for all?
The possibilities are intriguing and could be truly transformational.
If you truly want to usher in a Golden Age of fiscal responsibility and a federal government that is constrained to the limitations envisioned by our Founders, you have a golden opportunity to do something about it. Get started by signing the petition below.
