As most Americans know, the Internal Revenue Service’s deadline for filing 2023 federal income tax returns fell on April 15 this year. Millions of Americans probably waited until the last minute to file those returns, in part because nobody likes doing the paperwork (even if it’s done on a computer with expert assistance), and in part because they dreaded the possibility of having to cough up even more money instead of getting a refund.

As many Americans may not know, Tax Freedom Day fell on April 16. Tax Freedom Day is the day when, according to the Tax Foundation, the average American has earned enough to coughed up what the government is going to demand from him or her this year. After Tax Freedom Day, you’re theoretically earning money for yourself instead of for Uncle Sam.

As of 2020 (the last year I could find Tax Foundation information for), the average American forked over 13.6 cents of every dollar earned … and that’s just for federal income tax. It doesn’t include capital gains taxes, state income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, tariffs (you only see them as price increases, but you’re still paying them), gas taxes, “sin” taxes on booze and tobacco … the taxing just never stops.

The message of “tax day” and “Tax Freedom Day” is really the same: For nearly 1/3 of the year, the government considers itself entitled to everything YOU earn or produce, and demands that YOU do the work of documenting whether it took “enough.”

There’s a word for that kind of claim … but we supposedly ended slavery in 1865. I guess there are reasonable arguments for using weaker terms like “theft” or “extortion,” but there’s no honest way of making taxation sound moral.

The dishonest way is best exemplified by Oliver Wendell Holmes’s claim that “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society,” or Barney Frank’s definition of “government” as “simply the name we give to the things we choose to do together.”

Paying taxes is not something we “choose to do together.” It’s something we do because  government threatens to steal our stuff and/or lock us up if we don’t.

As for “civilized society,” I refrain from beating my neighbor senseless or burning down his house because I’m not a terrible person, not because he filled out a 1040 form. I’m inclined to doubt that my fellow citizens will suddenly descend into savagery if   government stops stealing a third of their wealth every year.

And even if the “civilized society” dodge made sense at all, I’d have to conclude, like Jimmy McMillan, that “the rent is too damn high.” A government that has enough money to build 750 military bases in other countries (not counting the ones in the US), and enough money to track me down and put me in a cage if I smoke the wrong plant, neither of which has anything to do with “society” being “civilized,” has WAY too much money.

If politicians need money, they should hold bake sales instead of holding guns to our heads.

Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.

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If you live in Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Texas,  Virginia, or Utah, you can’t visit Pornhub — one of the most popular “adult content” sites on the Internet.

In response to state laws requiring “adult content” sites to verify the ages of its users and prevent minors from seeing videos of naked people doing you know what, Pornhub told its servers to simply refuse connections originating in those states.

That’s the fantasy.

Here’s the reality:

Getting around the restriction is so easy that most minors can figure out how to do it in a few minutes.

They don’t need to buy fake IDs, or steal their parents’ drivers’ licenses, or anything like that.

All those minors — and adults just not wanting to divulge their personal information  — have to do is pick a free or cheap Virtual Private Network (VPN) service.

Voila! They’re no longer accessing the site from Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Texas,  Virginia, or Utah, they’re accessing it from the Netherlands, Switzerland, or Japan.

So, why are these laws getting passed? There’s no way they’re going to “work” in the sense of stopping your 12-year-old from watching porn if he or she wants to watch porn.

These laws are just a form of government “virtue signaling” by politicians.

Those politicians induce moral panic among parents — “what if my 12-year-old sees porn? OMG!” — then cater to that moral panic with legislation that changes nothing but conveys a political message to those parents. The message is “I want to protect your children … vote for ME.”

If you’re a parent, I’m going to assume you’re not a lazy or careless parent.

If that’s the case you SHOULD be insulted by the claim that you’re not competent to effectively supervise your child’s Internet use, and you SHOULD tell those politicians to mind their own business and let you run your household as you see fit.

But for any issue, there’s a voter demographic that’s predisposed to fall for moral panic rhetoric and gratefully vote for any politician who makes them feel “safer” with silly and ineffectual legislation.

If you’re a voter (I won’t judge you if you aren’t), I urge you to resist the temptation to join any of those voter demographics.

With respect to this particular issue, supervising your children’s Internet use is your job, not the government’s. And you’re still going to have to do that job, because these laws can’t.

Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.

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Former president Donald Trump disappointed many pro-life voters when, on April 8, he posted a video to  Truth Social discussing his position on abortion. “My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint,” he said. “The states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state.”

I don’t understand the disappointment, for three reasons.

The first reason is that he made a promise in 2016, then kept that promise. He promised to nominate Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade if he was elected. He was elected, he nominated those justices, and they overturned Roe.

That’s really a miracle in itself, if you think about it. While descending the escalator to announce his presidential campaign, he magically transformed himself from a life-long pro-choice “progressive Democrat” into a newly minted pro-life “conservative Republican” … and then, on that issue, actually acted like one and delivered the goods.  Mission accomplished.

The second reason is the result: Until Roe was overturned, pro-life activists had zero chance of getting their way via state legislatures. Now they do have that chance and in many cases have been able to make their dearest dreams come true on the issue of abortion.

What do you want, egg in your beer? He promised. He delivered. He owes you nothing.

And the third reason is one that’s been obvious for decades and goes back to the fable of the scorpion and the frog:

A scorpion asks a frog to transport him across a river. He promises the frog he won’t sting, as that would result in them both dying. But halfway across, he stings the frog. As they both drown, the frog asks the scorpion why. The answer: “It’s in my nature.”

In another version, a cobra bites the woman who rescued him from injury and nursed him back to health: “You knew I was a snake when you picked me up.”

In 2016, pro-life voters — including evangelical Christians — knew that Donald Trump was untrustworthy.

He couldn’t be trusted not to cheat on his wives.

He couldn’t be trusted not to screw over business partners who fell for and financed his scams.

He was — and remains — someone no sensible person would leave alone in a room with their wallet or teenage daughter.

Yet pro-life voters — including evangelical Christians — voted for him.

In large numbers.

Twice.

If you think he’s biting you by going “states’ rights” on the issue of abortion rather than supporting a federal ban, well … you knew he was a snake/scorpion when you chose him.

And you’ll probably do it again anyway.

Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.

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