Here's a timely article asking whether we would all be better without a Federal Reserve and an income tax.

Naturally, my instinct is to say yes.

But read the article and consider, above all, that even with this confiscatory income tax, the government is still drowning in debt.  It isn't a problem raising money, it's a problem spending it all and then everything you can borrow and print as well.  We will give the government 4.22 trillion - trillion - a year, and even that isn't nearly enough.

Also keep in mind that in addition to income taxes, we also pay these:

#1 Building Permit Taxes

#2 Capital Gains Taxes

#3 Cigarette Taxes

#4 Court Fines (indirect taxes)

#5 Dog License Taxes

#6 Drivers License Fees (another form of taxation)

#7 Federal Unemployment Taxes

#8 Fishing License Taxes

#9 Food License Taxes

#10 Gasoline Taxes

#11 Gift Taxes

#12 Hunting License Taxes

#13 Inheritance Taxes

#14 Inventory Taxes

#15 IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)

#16 IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)

#17 Liquor Taxes

#18 Luxury Taxes

#19 Marriage License Taxes

#20 Medicare Taxes

#21 Medicare Tax Surcharge On High Earning Americans Under Obamacare

#22 Obamacare Individual Mandate Excise Tax (if you don't buy "qualifying" health insurance under Obamacare you will have to pay an additional tax)

#23 Obamacare Surtax On Investment Income (a new 3.8% surtax on investment income that goes into effect next year)

#24 Property Taxes

#25 Recreational Vehicle Taxes

#26 Toll Booth Taxes

#27 Sales Taxes

#28 Self-Employment Taxes

#29 School Taxes

#30 Septic Permit Taxes

#31 Service Charge Taxes

#32 Social Security Taxes

#33 State Unemployment Taxes (SUTA)

#34 Tanning Tax (a new Obamacare tax on tanning services)

#35 Telephone Federal Excise Taxes

#36 Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Taxes

#37 Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Taxes

#38 Telephone State And Local Taxes

#39 Tire Taxes

#40 Tolls (another form of taxation)

#41 Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)

#42 Utility Taxes

#43 Vehicle Registration Taxes

#44 Workers Compensation Taxes

Yet still that isn't enough.  But it will never be enough, no matter what we pay, because the government isn't in the business of governing us as well as they can.

They are in fact in the business of paying off as many voting blocs as they can to get re elected.  They will borrow, cheat and steal to ensure enough people are reliant on them to ensure they get the votes.

The best possible course of action would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment, and then demand that government stop spending money they don't have, and live within the limits of the money they do have.

But that will never happen.  We do, however, need to learn these lessons so when the next time we organize a government for ourselves, we can do much better.