Ashley Varner of the Freedom Foundation on the financial boon to the Democrats; Looking around today, do we see evidence that the government fears the people? Why should they?Remember when Lois Lerner targeted Tea Party freedom activists as head of the IRS? She retired with a full pension and never bore any consequences for weaponizing the agency she led against ideological opponents.More recently, the Biden administration was fearless enough to pass the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,” which included a provision for hiring 87,000 new IRS agents. To quote Jefferson again, in his complaints against the Crown, “He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.”They say the new agents will “mostly provide customer service,” and that we need to spend $80 billion in order to raise $200 billion in new revenue. Does anyone believe those claims?But there is another sinister feature of the move to bolster the most reviled of all bureaucracies. The IRS represents the single largest federal public sector union lobby, and 100% of its political contributions go to one party (guess which). Ashley Varner of the Freedom Foundation joins me this Sunday to discuss the perverse nature of public sector employee unions, which can lobby the government for direct pay raises – all at taxpayer expense. Varner will explain how the vicious cycle of political privilege is perpetuated by public sector unions and their boosters in government.The Freedom Foundation is a “Do Tank” based in Washington State that is leading a national movement of workers who are opting out of their union dues.We’ll also discuss the unresolved IRS scandal of 2013, and the broader problem of public sector union influence – including the teachers union and their figurehead, Randi Weingarten. Finally, I’ll talk about what the founders would have said about our current tax system, especially the Income Tax.
The Bob Zadek Show
Bob talks about the issues that affect our lives on a daily basis from a purely libertarian standpoint. He believes in small government, fewer taxes, and greater personal freedom.<br /><br />America has lost its way, but it cannot and does not need to be reinvented. Our founders were correct about their approach to government, as were John Locke, Adam Smith and the other great political philosophers who influenced them. The country’s first principles are economic and social freedom, republicanism, the rule of law, and liberty. Bob believes we must take the best of our founding principles and work from them because a country without principles is just a landmass.
Bob talks about the issues that affect our lives on a daily basis from a purely libertarian standpoint. He believes in small government, fewer taxes, and greater personal freedom.<br /><br />America has lost its way, but it cannot and does not need to be reinvented. Our founders were correct about their approach to government, as were John Locke, Adam Smith and the other great political philosophers who influenced them. The country’s first principles are economic and social freedom, republicanism, the rule of law, and liberty. Bob believes we must take the best of our founding principles and work from them because a country without principles is just a landmass.Listen on
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