We keep hearing about investigation after investigation in Washington, but where are the charges? Where are the arrests? I’m not calling for people to be indicted without evidence, but it’s hard to ignore the pattern. When Democrats hold power, they investigate Republicans. When Republicans take over, they investigate Democrats. And while the two parties point fingers, trade accusations, and posture on cable news, nothing actually gets done for the American people.

Let’s be honest, this entire charade is a distraction. Both parties are playing the same game, and we, the American people, are the pawns. They don’t care about the middle class. They don’t care about the national debt, because if they did, they’d do something about it. Instead, we send billions to foreign countries, wealthy universities, illegal immigrants, and political pet projects, while hard-working Americans are left behind.

The Department of Government Efficiency has uncovered waste, fraud, and abuse, but even that is just a fraction of the theft happening in plain sight. And Congress refuses to make those cuts permanent. Call me skeptical, but it feels to me like Congress doesn’t want their piggy bank closed. I believe the real reason we don’t see arrests is because a significant number of politicians on both sides are on the take. Just look at the pattern: elected as middle-class citizens, they leave office with millions. That’s not public service; that’s profiteering.

I want to believe President Trump is trying to root out corruption, but I’ll believe it when I see real accountability, actual arrests and convictions, not just tough talk.

One of the greatest threats facing Americans today is our tax system. We don’t own anything anymore. Buy a home? You’ll pay property taxes for the rest of your life, and then your family will be taxed again when you die. Buy a car? Taxed. Drive on a road? Taxed. Buy gas? Taxed again. We aren’t homeowners; we’re renters from the government.

As a small business owner in Illinois, I can tell you firsthand: the tax burden is crushing. The government says most startups fail, well, no wonder. Between taxes, insurance, utilities, and endless fees, you’re barely serving your customers; you’re serving your government.

And what do we get for it? Broken infrastructure, bloated agencies, and politicians getting rich while average Americans get squeezed. If this is “taxation with representation,” then maybe the colonists had it better.

Even when politicians talk about clawing back funds from rich universities or bloated programs, nobody ever says, “Let’s give the money back to the taxpayers.” Instead, they just want to redirect it to their projects, their friends, and their voting base.

We need to get back to Constitutional spending, funding only what’s required: roads, schools, police, fire, emergency services. That’s it. The rest? Eliminate it or return the money to the people who earned it. Better yet, stop taking it in the first place.

Why not replace our broken tax system with a fair, simple consumption tax? Instead of taxing what people earn, we should tax what they spend. Under this system, everyone contributes, even those working in the black market, like drug dealers, gamblers, or anyone earning under the table. Right now, they don’t pay a dime. But with a consumption-based tax, no one gets a free ride. The more you spend, the more you pay. It’s simple, fair, and transparent.

Of course, I know that kind of reform is unlikely to happen. But if I could make just one change, it would be this: require every taxpayer to write a check for their taxes each payday. Ask most people what their biggest bill is, and they’ll say it’s their mortgage, car payment, or utility bills. Almost no one realizes it’s actually their taxes because the government takes that money before they even see it.

If people had to physically write a check every time they got paid, the outrage would be immediate and overwhelming. The Boston Tea Party would look like a marshmallow roast by comparison.

Even if that’s not the perfect solution, we must do something. Americans are being taxed to death while being sold the lie that either party is working for them.

The truth? They’re working for themselves. And we’re the ones footing the bill.