She said one client hasn’t made a payment on her student debt since last year because she can’t afford her $200 monthly bill.

“She’s making $45,000 and living in New York City,” Rodriguez said. “Every month, she’s in the red.”

Are you at risk of collection activity because you’re behind on your student loans? If you’re willing to share your experience for an upcoming story, please email me at annie.nova@nbcuni.com

• The U.S. Department of Education will resume collecting on defaulted student loans on Monday.
• More than 5 million borrowers are currently in default, and that total could swell to roughly 10 million borrowers within a few months, according to the Trump administration.
• The federal government has extraordinary collection powers on its student loans and it can seize borrowers’ tax refunds, paychecks, and Social Security retirement and disability benefits.
• The U.S. Department of Education is set to restart collection efforts on defaulted student loans on Monday — putting millions of borrowers at risk of wage garnishment and other consequences.
  The federal government has extraordinary collection powers on its student loans and it can seize borrowers’ tax refunds, paychecks, and Social Security retirement and disability benefits.
• More than 42 million Americans hold student loans, and collectively, outstanding federal education debt exceeds $1.6 trillion. More than 5 million borrowers are currently in default, and that total could swell to roughly 10 million borrowers within a few months, according to the Trump administration.
  The Trump administration has been critical of former President Joe Biden’s student loan relief efforts, questioning the logic of directing financial resources at those who’ve benefited from a college degree.
  “American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a statement.
• Borrowers face plan changes, long waits for help
  Collection activity on federal student loans has mostly been paused for half a decade. During that period, there have been sweeping changes and disruptions to the lending system.
  Millions of borrowers who signed up for the Biden administration’s new repayment plan, known as SAVE, were caught in limbo after GOP-led lawsuits managed to get the plan blocked in the summer of last year. Many of those borrowers will now have to switch out of a Biden-era payment pause and into another repayment plan that will spike their monthly bill.
  In recent months, the Trump administration has eliminated the forgiveness provision from some student loan repayment plans.
• Restarting collections while the federal student loan system is facing so much uncertainty “will further fan the flames of economic chaos for working families across this country,” said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center.
  In addition to garnished paychecks and benefits, the millions of borrowers who are already late on their payments may see their credit scores tank by as much as 129 points as the Education Department ramps up collection activity, VantageScore recently wrote.
  Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve predicted in March that some people with a delinquency could see their scores fall by as much as 171 points. Credit scores typically range from 300 to 850, with around 670 and higher considered good.
  Lower credit scores can lead to higher borrowing costs on consumer loans such as mortgages, car loans and credit cards.
• We’ve been seeing clients with delinquent accounts who reached out after noticing a drop in their credit scores,” said Carolina Rodriguez, director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York.
  She said one client hasn’t made a payment on her student debt since last year because she can’t afford her $200 monthly bill.
  “She’s making $45,000 and living in New York City,” Rodriguez said. “Every month, she’s in the red.”
  
• Are you at risk of collection activity because you’re behind on your student loans? If you’re willing to share your experience for an upcoming story, please email me at annie.nova@nbcuni.com

The Trump Administration secured a massive legal victory with far-reaching implications on Saturday, when the D.C. Court of Appeals issued a ruling that could grant the administration relief in several ongoing cases.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Saturday granted a stay on a lower court’s order that had mandated the reinstatement of over 1,000 Voice of America (VOA) employees who had been let go by the Trump Administration, which has moved to largely gut United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM). A lower court judge had previously ordered the reinstatement of all employees and a full return to previous VOA operating standards.

“This is a huge victory for President Trump and his Article II powers granted in the United States Constitution. It’s also a victory for US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and VOA,” Kari Lake, who has been serving as a senior advisor to the USAGM for the Trump Administration, told Fox News after Saturday’s ruling was handed down.

The decision will allow the administration to continue its planned cuts and restructuring to the USAGM, including its subsidiaries like the VOA and Radio Free Europe.

“We are eager to accomplish President Trump’s America First agenda which has always been to modernize and make our government efficient while cutting waste, fraud, and abuse,” Lake said. “Now that we have a favorable ruling in the appeals court, we look forward to accomplishing the plan we’ve always had; to bring VOA into the 21st century.”

The court’s 2-1 ruling could have far-reaching implications for the dozens of legal challenges to the president’s authority launched by low-level federal judges across the country, as the majority emphasized the judiciary’s deference to executive authority in matters concerning federal employment and contractual decisions.

The court noted that the lower court likely lacked jurisdiction to interfere with the executive branch’s personnel and funding decisions, particularly regarding grant agreements with non-federal entities such as Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

Saturday’s ruling follows Trump’s March 14 executive order, which aimed to greatly scale back USAGM operations. “Voice of America has been out of step with America for years. It serves as the Voice for Radical America and has pushed divisive propaganda for years now,” a senior White House official told Fox News at the time.

The move led to the termination of 1,300 VOA employees, as well as a revocation of numerous contracts, effectively grinding the outlet’s work to a halt. Judge Royce Lambert, a Reagan appointee, soon issued a ruling attempting to mandate the Trump Administration to allow said employees to return to work.

“Unfortunately, the frivolous litigation actually stalled the ability to streamline archaic practices and redundant programs at VOA,” Lake said. “The use of lawfare hurt the agency and its employees more than it helped.”

The VOA case encompasses the core issue at the heart of the Trump Administration’s with activist judges, many of whom have issued rulings that directly contradict the president’s authority. Saturday’s ruling paved the way for a potentially definitive ruling from the Supreme Court on lower courts’ ability to dictate personnel and funding policy to the executive branch.

“Majority rules lower court had no jurisdiction, which means grantees must go to different court to litigate a contract dispute and employees must use the administrative personnel dispute process to fight about being fired,” Judicial Watch founder Tom Fitton posted on X after the ruling was handed down. “If upheld, this push back on judicial activism could largely destroy the Left’s judicial coup against Trump’s effort to restore political control of the administrative state.”

Cullen McCue, Trending Politics

Just months into Donald Trump‘s second term, a new round of polling has delivered a jolt to Democrats, revealing that Trump is more trusted than them in Congress.

Why It Matters

Recent polls have shown Trump’s approval ratings declining and his popularity at an all-time low. Despite this, polls still seem to show that Trump is commanding more trust than his main opposition party.

This dynamic not only strengthens Trump’s hand as he advances his second-term agenda but also signals a daunting challenge for Democrats heading into the 2026 midterms—one that could further erode their influence at both state and federal levels.

What To Know

In January, Donald Trump appeared to be riding a wave of political momentum—his approval ratings had climbed into positive territory for the first time in his career, and polls suggested he was more popular than ever.

But recent polls suggest that Trump now holds the distinction of being the least popular president at the 100-day mark of a second term, surpassing even the historically low ratings he received during his first presidency.

A CNN/SSRS survey conducted April 17—24 among 1,678 adults found that only 41 percent approve of his job performance, while 59 percent disapprove—a 4-point drop since March and 7 points lower than in late February. This marks the lowest 100-day approval rating for any president since modern polling began under Eisenhower and is even worse than Trump’s own first-term numbers.

A Fox News poll from April 18—21 of 1,104 registered voters showed a net approval of -10 points, with 44 percent approving and 55 percent disapproving—down 8 points from the previous month.

In comparison to past presidents at the same point in office, Trump is far behind: Joe Biden had a 54 percent approval rating, Barack Obama 62 percent, and George W. Bush 63 percent. Trump’s rating has fallen to just 39 percent in an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted April 18—22 among 2,464 adults—down 6 points since February.

The NPR/PBS/Marist Poll, conducted April 21—23, revealed perhaps the sharpest criticism, with 46 percent of registered voters assigning Trump an “F” grade for his performance—the worst 100-day grade ever recorded for a U.S. president.

But despite the negative polls for Trump, some suggest he is still more popular than the Democrats.

The CNN/SSRS poll showed that when respondents were asked who would be doing a better job as president, 45 percent chose Trump, while 43 percent chose Kamala Harris. “This looks a lot like the election result,” CNN pollster Harry Enten noted. The 2024 election saw Trump beat Harris in the popular vote by two points, with around 50 percent of the vote. That would suggest that voters’ support for Trump has not shifted all that much since November.

An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, conducted between April 18 to 22 among 3,634 respondents, brought more bad news for the Democrats, showing that when respondents were asked who they trusted more to deal with the U.S.’s main problems, 40 percent chose Trump, compared to just 32 percent who chose Democrats in Congress.

And in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted between April 25-27 among 1,029 adults, the Republicans held a significant advantage over Democrats on two of the most pressing issues for voters: immigration and the economy.

When asked which party has the better plan to address immigration, respondents favored the GOP by a wide 19-point margin. On the economy, Republicans also lead by 9 points. That is despite recent polls showing Trump deep underwater on both issues over the past few weeks after he announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs and became embroiled in a dispute with the Supreme Court over the mistaken deportation of Maryland resident Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia.

Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist and former adviser to Kamala Harris, told Newsweek that recent polling reflects lingering dissatisfaction with Joe Biden’s presidency, which he said has damaged the Democratic brand. “People were pretty unhappy,” Nellis said, and Democrats now need to “earn people’s trust back” rather than rely on Trump’s unpopularity.

He urged the party to elevate “a new generation of Democratic leaders” who can connect with voters on core issues like economic security and immigration, where he said messaging has fallen short. Despite Trump’s failures, Nellis warned that Americans are frustrated with both parties, adding, “We have 18 months to win people over.”

CNN pollster Harry Enten echoed that warning, calling the numbers “a major wake-up call” for Democrats and cautioning, “those eggs have not cracked at this particular moment.”

It comes at a time when polls have shown that following their 2024 election loss, the Democrats are more unpopular than ever.

According to an NBC News poll from March 7-11, 55 percent of respondents said they had a negative view of the Democratic Party, while 27 percent said they had a positive perception. That is the lowest level recorded since NBC News began asking the question in 1990.

There was also evidence of dissatisfaction with the party from its base, with 20 percent of Democratic voters viewing it negatively, twice as high as the figure for Republicans who had a negative view of their party.

The survey suggested that this may be because Democratic voters want their party to take a tougher position in Congress. Among Democratic voters, 65 percent said they wanted their congressional representatives to “stick to their positions even if that means not being able to get things done in Washington,” while 32 percent said they should “make compromises with Trump to gain consensus on legislation.”

The poll largely reflects the debates occurring in the Democratic party right now in light of their 2024 defeat.

Some feel that in order to get back on track and win back the House in the 2026 midterms, the party should take a more bipartisan approach to politics, and work with Trump to pass legislation, while others feel that doing so will alienate Democratic voters who see Trump as a toxic figure.

This dispute played out this week when Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined Trump at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, which provoked backlash from progressives.

A Reddit post from political group 50501 accused her of “destructive enabling behavior” and legitimizing a president they believe should face impeachment. Tara Setmayer, co-founder of The Seneca Project, said on X that Whitmer is “disqualifying herself” because of her actions.

However, some defended Whitmer, including Travis Akers, a veterans and gun reform advocate and a naval intelligence officer, who said on X: “It’s ridiculous that Democrats are upset with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for joining President Trump at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.”

Nellis, in a post on X, added: “You won’t catch me complaining about Gretchen Whitmer saving tens of thousands of jobs or bringing in federal relief for people without power in Michigan. That’s the damn job.”

Whitmer’s appearance followed her disastrous meeting in the Oval Office last week. The Michigan governor had gone to see the president for what she described as a private meeting. But the meeting led to an awkward moment, when Whitmer was left standing in front of cameras as Trump signed an executive order targeting a critic and repeating his debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

A New York Times photographer captured her at one point shielding her face with folders.

In a statement, Whitmer’s office said the governor was brought into the Oval Office in front of the press “without any notice” and emphasized that her presence was not an “endorsement of the actions taken or statements” made at that event.

But Whitmer received much backlash, some Democrats accusing her of “appeasement.”

However, Whitmer appeared to dismiss these claims, writing on X: “I’ll work with anyone who’s serious about getting things done. But I’ll never compromise on what I believe. In Michigan, we know how to get things done—and that means working together.”

She added: “Bipartisanship isn’t about sacrificing our values. It’s about standing strong and finding common ground to get things done. It’s about putting people first, every single time.”

Newsweek/Update 5/3/25, 05:36 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Mike Nellis.

Passengers with flights to or from Newark Liberty International Airport encountered long delays and cancellations Saturday due to an air traffic controller shortage, a nationwide problem the Trump administration has pledged to fix.

The busy airport outside New York City experienced disruptions all week. Faulting the Federal Aviation Administration’s alleged failure to address “long-simmering” challenges related to the air-traffic control system, United Airlines cut 35 daily flights from its Newark schedule starting Saturday.

United CEO Scott Kirby said the technology used to manage planes at the New Jersey airport failed more than once in recent days. The flight delays, cancellations and diversions the equipment problems caused were compounded when more than one-fifth of Newark’s traffic controllers “walked off the job,” he said.

This particular air traffic control facility has been chronically understaffed for years and without these controllers, it’s now clear — and the FAA tells us — that Newark airport cannot handle the number of planes that are scheduled to operate there in the weeks and months ahead,” Kirby wrote in a letter to customers.

Airport status reports from the FAA said staffing issues were causing average delays of nearly two hours and ones as long as five hours for flights scheduled to arrive at Newark on Saturday morning. Departures were delayed by an average of 45 minutes. , and average delays of 45 minutes for departures on Saturday morning, according to the status reports.

By late afternoon, arriving flights were running more than three hours behind schedule, while the delay for departing flights had shortened to a half-hour on average. The “misery map” maintained by flight tracking company FlightAware showed the ripple effect on airports in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Dallas and other cities.

United Airlines operates the most flights out of Newark by far, and 35 flights represents about 10% of the round-trip domestic schedule operated by the carrier and its regional United Express network, according to information on the company’s website.

Newark Liberty International Airport pointed to both staffing issues and “construction” when it warned travelers about delays on Thursday.

The Trump administration says it’s been trying to “supercharge” the air traffic controller workforce and make moves to address the nation’s shortage of controllers. The U.S. transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, on Thursday announced a program to recruit new controllers and give existing ones incentives not to retire.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a workers’ union, said at the time that those moves could help address staffing shortages, but it also said the system is “ long overdue for technology and infrastructure upgrades.”

On Friday that he visited with “our hard working air traffic controllers as we work to fix these equipment outages caused by outdated technology.”

United’s decision to pare back its flight schedule in Newark come at an already uncertain time for U.S. airlines. Potential customers across the industry are reconsidering whether to fly for work or for vacation given all the unknowns about what President Donald Trump’s trade war will do to the economy.

Uncertainty is so high that United recently made the unusual move to offer two separate forecasts for how it could perform financially this year: one if there were a recession, and one if not.

From Newark, United flies to 76 U.S. cities and 81 international destinations.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

The state of Maine has dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding trans athletes in women’s sports, in exchange for the restoration of federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.” [Fox News 5-3-25]

Nobody — NOBODY — cares about money more than the socialists and Communists who call themselves Democrats and progressives. They can be bought, sold and controlled by money. Not that there’s anything bad about money, when honestly earned. Trade and production are, in fact, two of mankind’s noblest activities. But Democrats don’t agree. They want wealth, private property, capitalism and prosperity outlawed — for everyone except themselves. Their twisted audacity seems somehow more sinister than simple hypocrisy. It’s not really money that Democrats seek; it’s plunder.

Follow Dr. Hurd on Facebook. Search under “Michael Hurd” (Charleston SC). Get up-to-the-minute postings, recommended articles and links, and engage in back-and-forth discussion with Dr. Hurd on topics of interest. Also follow Dr. Hurd on X at @MichaelJHurd1, drmichaelhurd on Instagram, @DrHurd on TruthSocial. Dr. Hurd is also now a Newsmax Insider!

Ukraine has signed a deal with the United States, giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare minerals as it continues to work with the Trump administration in an effort to end its three-year war with Russia.

Ukrainian Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko flew to Washington, D.C., Wednesday to help finalize the deal.

“On behalf of the Government of Ukraine, I signed the Agreement on the Establishment of a United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country,” she wrote on X.

Upon taking office, President Donald Trump said he wanted Ukraine’s rare earth materials as a condition for continued U.S. support in the war. He described it as reimbursement for the billions of dollars of U.S. military assistance given to Ukraine.

The agreement will establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to help accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Bessent said in a statement. “President Trump envisioned this partnership between the American people and the Ukrainian people to show both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine. And, to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The U.S. is seeking access to more than 20 raw materials considered strategically critical to its interests, including some non-minerals such as oil and natural gas. Among them are Ukraine’s deposits of titanium, which is used for making aircraft wings and other aerospace manufacturing, and uranium, which is used for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons. 

Ukraine also has lithium, graphite and manganese, which are used in electric vehicle batteries.

Louis Casiano, FoxNews

Pope Donald Trump?

An artificial intelligence-generated photograph of the president was posted on his Truth Social page Friday night, appearing days before cardinals head to their conclave in Rome to select a successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21, one day after Easter. 

The photograph, appearing just shy of a week after the Pope’s funeral — which Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended — was posted without further explanation but sparked backlash, praise, and jokes on social media. 

It shows him in a white cassock and pointed miter, or bishop’s hat, and wearing a large crucifix. The New York State Catholic Conference, representing the state’s bishops, condemned the post, reports MSNBC.

“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us,” the conference posted on X.

Days after returning from the Pope’s funeral, Trump joked to reporters outside the White House that his becoming the pope would be his “number one choice” when asked whom he preferred to be picked, but followed up by saying he has “no preference” over who is ultimately selected.

“I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York, who’s very good,” Trump said of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York since 2009.

Pope Francis died from complications related to a stroke and heart failure. Earlier this year, he had been hospitalized in critical condition for several weeks.  

Media reports in Italy and Spain criticized the post, calling it offensive as the period of official mourning for Pope Francis is continuing. 

But the reaction has also been mixed, Newsweek reported Saturday.

Pope Trump… Lol our President just posted this,” comedian Terrance K. Williams posted on X Friday. “He’s trolling because he knows the media is going to flip out. Love it Actually I love the sound of King Trump, the first of his name.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, while talking about the next pope, said, “You don’t have to be a priest. People don’t know that. Any unmarried Catholic male can be pope. But I got married and I’m happily married, so I guess I’ll miss out on that one.”

That would also eliminate Trump from the running, as he has been married three times and is not a Catholic. 

Vice President JD Vance also joked about Rubio being the pope, posting on X, “I think he could take on a bit more. If only there was a job opening for a devout Catholic…”

Vance, a Catholic, was one of the last foreign officials to meet with Pope Francis before his death.

Earlier this week, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joked about Trump being “open to the idea of being the next Pope.”

“This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility! The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!,” he posted on X. 

But the Republicans Against Trump account on X called the president’s papal post “full-on lunacy at this point.”

The MAGA Voice account, though, praised the photo, stating that “Donald Trump would be one of the BEST Popes to ever live,” followed by an emoji of praying hands.

Sandy Fitzgerald ✉

Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressional Democrats sounded an alarm Friday, warning that cutting funding for state-sponsored propaganda programs would lead to fascism.

In a swift executive action, President Donald Trump ended government funding of both PBS and NPR over concerns of reporting bias and leftist propaganda, which Democrats say will undoubtedly cause fascist ideologies to spread unimpeded across the nation.

“In Normandy, brave men and men identifying as women invaded German-occupied France to preserve our way of life,” said Senator Chuck Schumer in a passionate speech on Capitol Hill. “Now President Trump has carelessly thrown away everything they died for by ending the funding of propaganda programs, thus facilitating the return of the Nazi Party.”

“This is classic fascism,” he continued. “Only a Nazi would prevent the government from spreading false information as a means to manipulate the people it pretends to serve.”

According to sources, Republicans strongly disagreed with Schumer’s remarks, even going so far as to say he is “the one being a real fascist.” But this claim is false, said fact-checkers.

“If I can’t control the means of information so that people will believe the lies I tell them, America is lost,” said official fact checker Benji Woolcrest, a registered Democrat. “What could be fascist about that?”

At publishing time, Capitol insiders said Democrats were concerned that eliminating state-sponsored media could set the dangerous precedent of people being told the truth and being able to form their own opinions. The USA undeniably trumps our neighbors to the north.

The Babylon Bee

The Income Tax: Root of All Evil is a book written by American libertarian and member of the Old Right, Frank Chodorov, in 1954.Income Tax: Root of All EvilAuthorFrank ChodorovPublisherThe Devin-Adair Company

The book argues that the 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the Federal Income Tax which it enabled, are together the worst of economic disincentives to human flourishing and productivity. Additionally, the book makes the moral case for why the Federal Income tax is the greatest infringement on human happiness and wellbeing.

Contents

he book opens with a foreword from United States governor from Utah J. Bracken Lee who says, “…the principal argument for the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment is that only in that way can freedom from an interventionist government be restored to the American people.”^[1]

Chodorov continues with an opening argument section written from Washington, D.C. in February 1954 stating:

When you examine any species of government intervention you find that it is made possible by revenues. A government is as strong as its income. Contrariwise, the independence of the people is in direct proportion to the amount of their wealth they can enjoy. We cannot restore traditional American freedom unless we limit the government’s power to tax. No tinkering with this, that, or the other law will stop the trend toward socialism. We must repeal the Sixteenth Amendment.

The book is organized into the following chapters:

1. Solomon’s Yoke – This chapter explores the ancient origins of “income tax” and its evils^[1]
2. Politically speaking, what is evil? – This chapter explores how if income tax is “evil”, there must be an opposite “good”, Chodorov explains in this chapter how that “good” is natural rights, and income tax is the greatest violation of natural rights.^[1]
3. Yours is not your own – Chodorov explains the difference between direct and indirect taxes in this chapter and further outlines how direct taxes are unavoidable, unlike indirect taxes. As a result, they are compulsory and therefore have intrinsic violence embedded in their origin. The “evil root.^[1]
4. How it came upon us – This chapter opens with the line, “The Constitution of 1789 barred the income tax. The [Founding] Fathers could not have put it in, even if they had a mind to, and there is no evidence that they had. A century later, when Americans were flirting with this invasion of property rights, legal minds tried to twist the language of the Constitution to their support. Whatever crumbs of comfort they got out of word juggling, the fact is that the Americans of 1789 would have none of this income tax. They were not that kind of people.”^[1]
5. The revolution of 1913 – Chodorov explains how it was clearly unconstitutional to impose an income tax during the Civil War, but that due to war conditions people ignored this fact. However, it became increasingly difficult to torture the meaning of words after the war, and so the tax died, until 1913 with the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment and the end of the income tax free era which allowed for America to become the wealthiest and freest country in the world.^[1]
6. Soak the poor – This chapter has Chodorov explaining that the left-wing, socialist, and populist elements that called for an income tax only ever felt that it would “soak the rich”, and that it would not ever really apply to the “poor”, Chodorov states in this chapter, “To be sure, the original Populists, and the aping Democrats and Republicans, to say nothing of the conscious Socialists, little thought that their income-tax gadget would ever be used to ‘soak the poor.’ It was an instrument, they thought, that could lend itself to no other purpose than to expropriate the rich in favor of the poor. How the poor would benefit from the expropriation, they did not explain; their intense hatred of the rich conveniently filled this vacuum in their argument. Their passion blinded them to the fact that this ‘soak the rich’ law would enable the government to filch the pay envelope [of the working class].”^[1]
7. Corruption and corruption – This chapter opens with a quote from January 26, 1894, spoken by Representative Robert Adams, ” The imposition of the [income] tax will corrupt the people. It will bring in its train the spy and the informer. It will necessitate a swarm of officials with inquisitorial powers. It will be a step toward centralization…. It breaks another canon of taxation in that it is expensive in its collection and cannot be fairly imposed; … and, finally, it is contrary to the traditions and principles of republican government.”^[1]
8. A possible way out – This chapter opens with the line, “The American brand of socialism known as the New Deal was made possible by the income tax. But with the advent of income taxation, socialism was unavoidable.” And then continues to emphasize this point later in the chapter, “If it had not been Mr. Roosevelt and his horde of self-seeking visionaries, it would have been somebody else. The New Deal, or something like it, was planted when the Sixteenth Amendment was put into the Constitution.” The chapter continues to have a bleak outlook for America with the rise of socialism in its many institutions post-New Deal, except then in the end of the chapter Chodorov states, “It so happens that when this country was organized, the Founding Fathers, either by design or as a matter of necessity, effected an arrangement that is a road block to complete socialization. That is the division of authority between the several states and the federal government. This separation gave rise to the doctrine of States’ Rights… Of course, the doctrine will have to be implemented with a will to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment; but that will can be generated, simply because it is to the interests of the forty-eight political establishments that this Amendment be repealed.”^[1]
9. Competition in government – This chapter argues that the dual loyalties inherent in the American system is key to independence and the strength of individualism in combatting collectivist encroachment. Chodorov writes, “No political authority ever achieved absolutism until the people were deprived of a choice of loyalties. It was because the early Christians put God above Caesar that they were persecuted, even though they paid homage and taxes to the established political establishment. Stalin’s liquidation of the religious and fraternal orders followed from his basic premise that the Soviet was the only deity. Mussolini was always bothered by the hold the Catholic Church had on the people, and Stalin would never have been Stalin if he had not brought the orthodox church to foot. And so, if the Californian thinks of himself as a Californian as well as an American, and has two flags to support his contention, the central authority rests on shifting ground. In no country where centralism got going did the regime have to contend with divided authority such as our Constitution provides.”^[1]
10. Union forever – With a mention of secession and nullification being effectively eliminated by force during the American Civil War, Chodorov then mentions how the major changes resulting from the Sixteenth Amendment post-1913.^[1] Chodorov also writes, “Repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment would amount to secession of the forty-eight states from Washington—and restoration of the Union.”^[1] Chodorov also demonstrates in this chapter that as of 1951 each and every state paid more in federal income tax receipts than it received back from the federal government in benefits, subsidies, or other payments or goods or services in kind.^[1]

After 1913, however, and without either a war or a change in the law of the land, the states were gradually and almost imperceptibly rid of their sovereign position and reduced in importance to dependent subdivisions of the nation. It was done by the subtle arts of bribery and blackmail, made possible by the Sixteenth Amendment.

Frank Chodorov, Chapter 10, p. 92, The Income Tax: Root of All Evil

1. For freedom’s sake – The final chapter of the book opens with the following, “Repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment would not be a reform; it would be a revolution. A reform is a procedural change, an alteration in the legal ritual that does not affect the center of political power. A revolution, on the other hand, whether it is effected by violence or in an orderly fashion, is a transference of power from one group to another. An election is in effect a revolution… The American Revolution was unique in history, not because it kicked out a foreign rulership, which had been done before, but because it made possible the establishment of a government based on a new and untried principle, namely, that the government has no power except what the governed have granted it. That was a shift in power that had never occurred before.”^[1] But then Chodorov changes tone from optimistic to dour, “A new American revolution was initiated in 1913, when the government was invested with the power to confiscate private property. The Amendment was not heralded as a revolution, and very few recognized it as such, but the fact is, as events have shown, that this power over the economy of the country put into the hands of the American government a means of liquidating the sovereignty of the citizenry.”^[1] Chodorov closes the book out by saying that a lack of leadership is what is keeping the Sixteenth Amendment in place, and that only with a courageous and heroic capitalist leader, could such a task [of repealing the Sixteenth Amendment and ending the Federal Income tax in the United States] come about, “There is no accounting for the emergence of these superior men, these ‘sports of nature,’ who sporadically shape the course of mankind. They come, as it were, from nowhere, and nobody has yet conclusively explained their advent. But, they come. When in her own time and her own pleasure Nature deems America ready for and worthy of them, she will give us the men who will make the good fight.”^[1]
2. The book has served as an important and influential work among libertarians^[2][3][4] and Georgists^[5] in the United States, influencing key economic thinkers including Murray Rothbard.^[5]
   Forbes wrote about Chodorov’s lasting impact in an article from 2017 which quoted from the book as follows:
   Revenue-neutral tax reform implies that the government has a claim to a certain percentage of every American’s income. That is true even if tax reform actually includes the across-the-board lowering of tax rates. As Frank Chodorov explains in his book The Income Tax: Root of All Evil (1954), the income tax means that the state says to its citizens, “Your earnings are not exclusively your own; we have a claim on them, and our claim precedes yours; we will allow you to keep some of it, because we recognize your need, not your right; but whatever we grant you for yourself is for us to decide…. The amount of your earnings that you may retain for yourself is determined by the needs of government, and you have nothing to say about it.”^[6]
   February 25 is the day in 1913 that the Sixteenth Amendment took effect. As a result, some groups such as the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) have written about Chodorov’s book on that date.^[7]
   Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF) quoted heavily from the book in a post from 1990.^[8]
   Writing for Anchorage Daily News, Tim Shine wrote in 2019, “In his treatise ‘The income tax: Root of all evil,’ Libertarian intellectual Frank Chodorov laid out the case for why Alaskans should be proud to have shed the yoke of this insidious tax. By substituting resource taxes for the confiscated personal wealth of its citizens in the funding of services, Alaska’s state government chose a better path than the federal government. It is disturbing, therefore, to hear recent clamor for a return. The book is presently still printed on demand by the Mises Institute.

“Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS) refers to an unhinged hatred of Donald Trump and all things connected to him. To me, the fascinating question about TDS is not what those who succumb to it hate — but what they love. What they hate is obvious. But what do they love?

From my observation, people with TDS do not really love anything. What they suffer from is anxiety, of the deepest and most metaphysical kind. They must relieve their anxiety; and one thing — epitomized by MAGA — stands in their way. Their anxiety is a profound terror of reality. The reality they dread includes, but is not limited to, a world in which they must stand on their own two feet, think, judge and conclude for themselves. Donald Trump is like an oncoming Mack truck, set to collide with the nursery school delusion that one need not think in order to survive and flourish. At no time was this more evident than during the COVID era. It was THE defining moment which separated those with self-esteem from those without. Trump, especially his third run for President in 2024, became their touchstone of liberation from the ethically putrid, psychologically comatose universe represented by the competing dystopian universe of Fauci, Biden and the billionaire, state-connected totalitarians who pulled their strings.

Consider two facts about Donald Trump. One, he absolutely always speaks with confidence and certainty. Fifty years in the public limelight and he has never blinked. NEVER. Two, he’s nearly always right. In the end, if not always at the time, he wins. His business and political careers are stories for the ages; and something tells me we have not yet reached the climax of his story. In our current era of subjectivity, meandering uncertainty and toxic femininity (yes, I mean that), Donald Trump stands as the antithesis of everything we are all commanded to hold dear — and he overcomes it. Often with a single Tweet. It all gives Trump the nearly superhuman aura of a mythical figure capable of doing the one thing that nobody can truly do, and that actually isn’t even necessary: saving us from ourselves.

In the end, after all the dust settles on our intellectually and emotionally explosive era, Donald Trump’s greatest contribution will be: to have shown the experts were wrong. About everything: economics, politics, ethics, gender, philosophy, trade, climate change, the Federal Reserve, socialism, wokeism, everything. The Donald Trump era is “The Emporer Has No Clothes” fable on steroids, if not on crystal meth.

What do TDS types love? People who loathe Trump do not love Communism. Communism is destruction, and it’s impossible to love Communism any more than a person contemplating suicide loves his noose, his gun or his poison. Nor do they love freedom. That’s a lie they tell us, and many of them lie to themselves. What they detest more than they can express is the idea that someone can be free of the pack, in the deepest, widest sense of that term. In our era, Donald Trump is the utterly improbable white knight on horseback coming to rescue us from the falsehoods (woke, Pollyana, p.c., psychobabble, feminism, secular subjectivism, all of it) that have defined the last few generations, since the post-World War II era. Starting with the Baby Boomers right through the millennials and Gen Z. We were ALL exposed to the crap. Either we succumbed; or we voted for Donald Trump.

It’s the biggest sociological reboot in American history, or perhaps human history: For this, the conformists among us will never forgive Donald Trump. For the rest of us, it’s a liberation of far deeper and lasting significance than the merely political.

Michael J. Hurd, Daily Dose of Reason