The U.S. is showing signs of becoming a “postage stamp republic,” a term I first learned as a boy from my stamp collection. Historically, “postage stamp republics” were weak, unstable nations, issuing new stamps frequently to raise money and signaling constant inflation through fluctuating postal rates. Today, the U.S. mirrors that pattern: new stamps appear constantly, often sold more to collectors than used, generating profit for the postal service, while postal rates jumped three times in 1981 alone from 15¢ to 18¢ to 20¢. Beyond stamps, these signs hint at broader issues political instability, inflation, and the gradual erosion of freedom. It’s a wake-up call that something more fundamental than postal rates needs fixing. #PostageStampRepublic #Inflation #PostalRates #EconomicStability #PoliticalInstability #Freedom #USPolitics #FiscalAwareness #GovernmentOversight #HistoryLessons

Sometimes it seems Washington’s planners compete to find the most absurd ways to spend our money. Take Baltimore’s “Block” of strip joints and adult shops: $338,000 is being spent to make the area more accessible with tree plantings and wheelchair cuts apparently ensuring the physically disabled can comfortably visit porno shops! While satire aside, one wonders if resources couldn’t go toward more practical projects like park benches for the homeless or a museum celebrating disappearing Americana like farm mules or outhouses. Bureaucratic priorities often feel out of touch with common sense, and while humor helps us tolerate the madness, the underlying question remains: are we running out of meaningful ways to invest public funds? #GovernmentSpending #Bureaucracy #WastefulSpending #PublicFunds #WashingtonDC #FiscalResponsibility #Satire #CommunityDevelopment #HUD #Priorities

Over-licensing and over-ticketing have become a modern assault on American initiative and freedom. A young entrepreneur with a camera and a pony, providing a wholesome service, faces fines and potential jail simply because he cannot secure 82 separate municipal licenses—licenses that serve the cities’ revenue more than the public good. Meanwhile, real criminals often receive lighter consequences than law-abiding citizens, highlighting a system that targets compliance rather than justice. Excessive licensing and petty ticketing erode trust in civil agencies, limit independence, and punish enterprise, turning ordinary citizens into revenue sources while stifling opportunity. True freedom and initiative are being curtailed under the guise of regulation. #OverLicensed #OverTicketed #CivilLiberty #Entrepreneurship #FreedomUnderThreat #Bureaucracy #AmericanEnterprise #OverRegulation #TaxShakedown #LibertyMatters"

A Christian View on the Menace of American StatismTaxation touches every aspect of our lives, from income and property to gasoline, entertainment, and even our estates, and yet the burden often feels arbitrary and excessive. While some taxes may be necessary, the scope of modern levies from birth to death reveals a system where the citizen is constantly treated as a revenue source rather than a free individual. The Sixteenth Amendment grants the federal government nearly unlimited authority to tax, and Congress exercises that authority with the consent of voters, making citizens partially responsible for their own over-taxation. As taxation grows alongside government spending, both personal and collective financial discipline become essential; without restraint, we jeopardize our freedom, prosperity, and even the stability of the nation. #Taxation #OverTaxed #IRS #GovernmentSpending #FiscalResponsibility #Liberty #IncomeTax #FinancialFreedom #CitizenResponsibility #EconomicAccountability

A striking reality in the U.S. is the vast land and wealth controlled by the federal government: Alaska 90%, Nevada 87%, Utah 65%, and so on, supposedly in trust for the people, yet private groups often manage these lands more effectively. Beyond land, civil governments claim 40–60% of our income through taxes, effectively owning a significant portion of our labor—modern slavery in all but name. While the 19th-century abolition ended private slavery, public ownership persists, making citizens “half free, half enslaved.” True emancipation requires action from the people, not Washington or the state. Until then, paychecks remind us that the modern state has grown from servant to master. Change begins within, as Paul declares, “[W]here the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17). #GovernmentControl #Taxation #ModernSlavery #FederalLand #Freedom #CivilLiberty #Emancipation #LibertyInChrist #BigBrother #TakeAction"

Not all law enforcement agencies serve the public good. The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, created in 1968 and defunded in 1982, spent nearly $8 billion on projects with little practical impact, like wristwatches to monitor officers’ vitals or studies on why convicts escape or people leave high-crime neighborhoods. Such programs highlight bureaucratic inefficiency and the ease with which taxpayer money can be wasted under noble-sounding titles. While some agencies claim to promote safety and justice, the reality is often self-serving: creating jobs, rewarding grants, and justifying budgets, rather than effectively reducing crime or serving communities. The closure of this agency was a rare win for taxpayers, and many more wasteful bureaus likely remain. #LawEnforcement #GovernmentWaste #Bureaucracy #TaxpayerMoney #Inefficiency #PublicFunds #Accountability #WashingtonSpending #BureaucraticRedTape #AgencyClosure"

Congress is supposed to serve the people, but in 1982 it voted itself enormous tax benefits and perks—including deductions for housing, food, servants, and utilities—while ordinary Americans faced rising unemployment and stagnant wages. These special privileges allowed members to shield tens of thousands of dollars from taxation, essentially giving themselves a hidden pay raise while discussing higher taxes for the public. Such actions undermine the constitutional principle of representation and weaken civil government, creating a situation where citizens must be protected from their own legislators. True representation requires Congress to be subject to the same laws as the people it serves, not to self-serving exemptions. #Congress #Representation #TaxFairness #GovernmentAccountability #NoSpecialPrivileges #PublicVsPoliticians #CivilGovernment #FairTaxes #WeThePeople #AccountableLeadership"

In this episode, R.J. Rushdoony critiques the modern obsession with wishful thinking and state control. From workshops that promise wealth through “positive wishing” to bloated licensing agencies that regulate everything but common sense, Rushdoony asks: Can foolishness be outlawed—or must freedom include the right to fail? Tune in to hear why real growth requires liberty, not legislation, and why state supervision is no substitute for character and responsibility.