“It was a classic bait and switch. The bait was “tax the rich”; the switch was “tax us all.””
Posted by M. C. on April 12, 2025
Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania
On this day, April 8, 1895, the Supreme Court struck down an unapportioned income tax in Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust, ruling it unconstitutional. The 1894 tax was sold as a levy on the ultra-wealthy—2% on incomes above $4,000—and promised to spare the rest. The 16th Amendment in 1913 reversed this, opening the floodgates to a tax now hitting nearly every American, funding a government that spends over $6 trillion annually on everything from wars to waste.
It was a classic bait and switch. The bait was “tax the rich”; the switch was “tax us all.”
The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania decries this betrayal. Income taxes should be minimal or nonexistent—not a blank check for bloated bureaucracy. Pollock’s spirit deserves a comeback.
Be seeing you
MCViewPoint 
Leave a comment