Taxation isn't Theft. It's Robbery.

Till not a drop more can be extracted. That was a warning on taxation from Luther Martin. He predicted the federal government would be so hungry for your money to feed its power that it would squeeze you like the juice from an orange. So on this episode, it's Luther Martin's anti-federalist warnings about the taxing power, more than a century before the 16th Amendment and the income tax. But first of all, before getting to that welcome and thank you for joining me here on the path to liberty. My name is Michael Bowden with the 10th Amendment Center and this is the show for taxation is robbery day April 15th, 2026. And Luther Martin believed that the Constitution's taxing power, they were this is his argument in the debates over ratification. He felt that this was one of its most dangerous features and would lead to the dreaded consolidation, centralization of power and eventually economic oppression. He said it would be grasping in its all powerful hand, the citizens of the respective states. And he warned that these powers would push and already struggling people struggling financially further into economic ruin. He said it will by the imposition of the variety of taxes, imposts, stamps, ex sizes and other duties, squeeze from them the little money they may acquire, the hard earnings of their industry. And he was pretty vivid with his analogy, predicting that the federal government would take every last drop. He said as he would squeeze the juice from an orange, till not a drop more can be extracted. Martin saw this as a direct threat to both the states and the financial security of the people themselves. And mind you, this was just in reference to the general welfare clause, Article 1, Section 8, clause 1 of the Constitution. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and ex sizes, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States. But all duties, imposts and ex sizes shall be uniform throughout the United States. Now for example, he warned explicitly about the congressional power to tax imports. He said by the power to lay and collect imposts, they may impose duties on any or every article of commerce imported into these states to what amount they please. And he was particularly critical of the power to impose excise taxes, warning that they would reach into basically every area of our lives. He said the Congress may impose duties on every article of use or consumption. And think about this short list that he's got here. For him, this was alarming and dangerous. Today it's just another day at the office or people will say without these kind of taxing powers, who's going to build the roads? How will we be safe? Anyways, he said on the food that we eat, on the liquors we drink, on the clothes that we wear, the glass which enlightens our houses, or the hars necessary for our warmth and comfort. And building on these warnings, he predicted that these powers would be so expansive, they would eventually hit individuals themselves and property too. He said by the power to lay and collect taxes, they may proceed to direct taxation on every individual. Man, he called it. He didn't think of the way that they did it. So the method may have been different, but he certainly recognized that the hunger for this kind of power was absolutely going to be there. The power to lay taxes from that they may proceed to direct taxation on every individual, either by a capitation tax on their heads or an assessment on their property. Now as a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention in the summer of 1787, he was fighting an uphill battle against this taxing power. Here from those debates, August 21st, Martin said the power of taxation is most likely to be criticized by the public. He knew a lot of people were going to have problems with this. Direct taxation, he said, should not be used, but in case of absolute necessity. And then the states will be best judges of the mode. So we proposed keeping a version of the requisition system from the articles of Confederation. And here from Madison's notes in the convention, he therefore moved the following edition. And whenever the legislature of the United States shall find it necessary that revenue should be raised by direct taxation, having a portion the same according to the above rule on the several states, requisitions shall be made of the respective states to pay into the continental treasury, their respective quotas within a time in the said requisition specified. And in the case of any of the states failing to comply with such requisitions, then and then only to devise and pass acts directing the mode and authorizing the collection of the same. Now the requisition system and the articles of Confederation, that was article eight. Basically it's kind of like an invoice system. Congress had no power to tax zero at all. And if they needed to raise money, they would basically come up with these quotas for the states and give them an invoice. All right, pay up in this amount of time. And here it is article eight, all charges of war and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense or general welfare and allowed by the United States and Congress assembled. She'll be afraid out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several states. And here's the mode. The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several states within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress, assemble. Now Martin's proposal there in Philadelphia was actually a concession. He knew he was basically giving significant ground, but he was again, he was fighting an uphill battle. There were very few people on his side that did not want the federal government to have any taxing power at all. So he's like, well, why don't we keep the system that we have? And only in those cases where the system doesn't work at all will we allow the federal government a chance to be able to have this kind of power. And he knew that this was a big concession. But anyways, he said had this proposition been acceded to the dangerous and oppressive power in the general government of imposing direct taxes on the inhabitants, which it now enjoys in all cases would have been only vested in it in case of the noncompliance of a state as a punishment for its delinquency. And would have ceased the moment that the state complied with the requisition. And even with that pretty massive concession still allowing them the power, but at least cutting it back to the last resort. He still couldn't really find anybody to side with him. His own state of Maryland voted divided, only New Jersey voted yes on this. And Martin said it was because the majority of the framers, the people in Philadelphia actually just wanted to expand centralized power. So they were going to vote no on anything other than a federal power to tax directly. He said, but the proposition was rejected by a majority consistently with their aim and desire of increasing the power of the general government as far as possible and destroying the powers and influence of the states. So back to his discussion about the general welfare class, he also saw it having a slight of hand. And even though the taxes were supposed to be uniform, he warned that they wouldn't play out like that in practice. He said, and though there is a provision that all duties, impose and exercises shall be uniform, that is, to be laid to the same amount on the same articles in each state, yet this will not prevent Congress from having it in their power to cause them to fall very unequal and much heavier on some states than on others. And he also explained why and in this brief explanation, it's almost like he was prophetic for how the whiskey tax of 1791 was going to play out as well. He said, because these duties may be laid on articles, but little or not at all used in some states, and of absolute necessity for the use and consumption of others, in which case, the first would pay little or no part of the revenue arising there from, while the whole or nearly the whole of it would be paid by the last to wit, the states which use and consume the articles on which the impose and exercises are laid. And Martin's warnings also went beyond just the power to tax and into the enforcement of it, because he said it would lead to all kinds of invasive practices like warrantless searches, warrantless seizures and the like. He said it authorizes all the resources and resources that are available to the public. officers to go into your houses, your kitchens, your sellers, and to examine into your private concerns. Unsurprisingly, he was also pretty alarmed about centralized national enforcement totally cutting the states out of the process. He said all the officers for collecting these taxes, stamp duties, imposts and exercises are to be appointed by the general government under its directions, not accountable to the states. He said, "Nor is there even a security that they shall be citizens of the respective states in which they are to exercise their offices?" And then on top of it, for people who think they might be able to challenge something in court, well, he warned that the whole system was going to be a stacked deck and stacked in favor of the tax collectors, the federal government. He said, "At the same time, the construction of every law imposing any and all these taxes and duties and directing the collection of them and every question arising thereon. And on the conduct of the officers appointed to execute these laws and to collect these taxes and duties, so various in their kinds are taken away from the courts of justice of the different states and confined to the courts of the general government." And then just think about it. The person who's going to hear that case, you have a case in court, you versus the federal government. The person who's going to decide your fate is an employee of the federal government. He said there to be heard and determined by judges holding their offices under the appointment, not of the states, but of the general government. And tying this all together. And again, this is just about Article one section eight clause one, the general welfare clause. He warned they would come for everything. They tax everything you buy, everything you consume, everything you use, all of it, all the time. He said, "By this part of the section, therefore, the government has power to lay what duties they please on goods imported to lay what duties they please afterwards on whatever we use or consume to impose stamp duties to what amount they please and in whatever case they please." And then this is where he really dropped the hammer because even all this, he predicted it wouldn't be enough for a power hungry federal government. So after taxing anything and everything they could tax, they'd start to tax you individually and take every last drop. He said afterwards to impose on the people direct taxes to what amount they choose and thus to sluce them at every vein as long as they have a drop of blood without any control, limitation or restraint. All these predictions and warnings from Luther Martin are covered in the last chapter of our book, the Anti-Federalist for Right. You can pick up a copy over at 10th Amendment Center dot com slash Anti-Federalist. It's all spelled out 10th Amendment Center dot com slash Anti-Federalist. Now for Luther Martin, this kind of unchecked taxing power, it wasn't just bad policy, it was the gateway to tyranny. And even more prophetic, he was sounding the alarm more than a century before the 16th Amendment, before the income tax, before the IRS, before any of it, and before the rise of a massive national enforcement regime. And as Mike Meherry and I point out in the book, he was far from alone. There were other Anti-Federalists were making very similar warnings. Now, unfortunately, this is not the kind of thing that any of us are ever taught in the government run and government approved so-called education system. And that's a huge part of the reason why we work so hard every single day here at the TAC to reach and teach more and more people with these essential foundational principles from the founders, from the old revolutionaries, from the great thinkers they read and learn from. And if you want to help us get this job done, nothing does that more than the financial faith and support of our members. 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