Had to get this off my chest. A friend of mine on FB suggested that I “render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and stop whining about the government stealing your money.” This was my reply (I feel better now…):

I don’t think George Washington would have called it whining. The Founding Fathers went to war over a tax that was a tiny fraction of the 40-some % the average American is paying now. The difference between free men and socialists is the understanding that ALL MONEY DOES NOT BELONG TO THE GOVERNMENT. America is a republic and the government works for the people in a republic, not vice versa. Without economic freedom, all other freedom is meaningless. The government has today so overstepped its constitutional authority that between taxation and regulation, it has made it nearly impossible to run a business. I know, because I’ve run several. And if you are successful—if you render a service the public wants and create jobs for working people in the process—they punish you for doing so by charging you more in taxes. In 2008, the top 1% of income earners paid 38% of all income taxes. And the top 10% of earners paid 70%! The bottom 50% of earners paid only 3% of income taxes, and 49% of Americans paid no income taxes at all. Is that fair? Class warfare says yes—the rich have more, so they should pay more. That’s Marxism undiluted. It buys lots of votes, but it forgets the little detail that people get rich by being successful in business: i.e., providing a product or service that others need (that’s called serving others) and creating jobs for other working people. If you really think the rich are evil, try asking a poor person for a job next time you’re unemployed. Enjoy working gratis for the government from January to April next year friends, because that’s what your tax burden amounts to. Or, if you don’t want to continue living as a tax serf, stand up on your hind legs like patriots and free men and vote the Democrats and other socialists O.U.T.