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Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church

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with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and

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faith. And today, continuing in our series, what are 12 things that America has given the world

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that were never seen in their fullness in history anywhere else. Now, as we approach

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the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation, declaring ourselves an independent nation from

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England, there are countless good things we have given to the world, but some of them are of such

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a unique character that we can say that prior to our being here on earth, the world has not seen

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them in their fullness as they have until after we got here. Over the last few weeks, we have documented

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six out of the 12. Number one was a Republican constitution founded on an idea rather than a

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tribe or race. Number two, a written constitution composed in a brief period of time rather than

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traditions developed over centuries. Number three, a system whereby power is transferred in an orderly,

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peaceable fashion. Number four, our founding fathers succinctly, explicitly acknowledged our rights

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derived from God and not government. Oh, I love that one. Number five was the United States of America,

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America as a nation which self-consciously ended slavery. Very pertinent for today. And number six

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was while Christianity was and is intended to be the religion of the people, there was no established

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state church. What a gift that was. Well, let's move on now. We hope to articulate three more of those

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good gifts that America has given to humanity over her history. Do that today, and you will not find

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anything like them previously, but hopefully you will see them replicated and improved in the course of

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future history. This is especially important in a day when we see the resurgence of socialism and

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Marxism in America. Well, that seventh good gift that America has given to the world, not previously seen

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in its fullness anywhere else in history. Number seven, the patent. You may be surprised at this,

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but it's true. The patent guaranteed to inventors and authors and creators of all kinds,

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the right to the fruits of their labors. Yes, the patent guaranteed to inventors, authors and

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creators of all kinds, the right to the fruits of their labors. There is a provision in the Constitution

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of the United States of America, which may appear innocuous and incidental at first glance,

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but as American history has rolled on, it has proven to be one of the most productive

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and encouraging provisions in the entire Constitution. It is found in Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 8,

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and it reads, the Congress shall have power to promote the progress of science and useful arts

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by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective

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writings and discoveries, unquote. Now, that may seem boring and unimportant. Until you invent

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something, the world flocks to buy and to use, and when that happens, the money will start rolling in.

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But to whom? That's the catch. Throughout history, it's always been the rich and powerful

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who have benefited from the genius and labor of inventors and laymen who tinker and experiment

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and create. For example, the creators of gunpowder in China serve as exhibit A of this phenomenon.

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They were a group of alchemists who worked together and produced the first successful products for use

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by the emperor during the Tang Dynasty of the 9th century. In fact, Emperor Zhuanzong used gunpowder

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with several primitive applications in his army, and there was no recognition, remuneration,

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or advancement that accrued to any of his alchemists. And despite historians' best efforts

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at discovering who these diligent inventors were by name, records are not extant, despite the Chinese obsession

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with keeping careful records. These assiduous creators perished in obscurity, and there were rumors

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that the emperor had them killed, so that the formula for gunpowder would not be shared with any other warlords.

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That's gratitude for you. And a close competitor for exhibit A of the systematic abuse and neglect

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of the artist and creator is none other than Leonardo da Vinci. Yeah, da Vinci lived in Venice

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from 1452 to 1519, and he was endlessly creative and inventive. He gave the world many practical creations

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in the fields of civil engineering and chemistry, geology, geometry, hydrodynamics, and countless

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other things. For example, da Vinci created a system for removing liquid waste from the city.

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That system brought water from higher elevations through Venice into cover channels in the city streets

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that brought it into the broader ocean. It was an early version, if you will, of the modern sewer

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removal system. It was clean, efficient, and far more sanitary than the unplanned, unsanitary system

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previous. Now, the Doge of Venice eagerly adopted da Vinci's ideas, but did nothing to see that he was

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remunerated for his design. In fact, he did everything he could to ignore da Vinci and his

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comprehensive plan. He pretended that it was his own vision. Now, this can be said for countless

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inventions of da Vinci. These are just two examples from the long history of human invention. We know

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from American history that there was an explosion of creativity during the second industrial revolution

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in the 19th century. Everything from the cotton gin to the steam engine to the mechanized loom to the

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light bulb were invented by creative, ambitious people in America. What fueled this sort of activity,

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dear listener, why were men lining up to get their inventions in the hands of the American people?

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Well, in short, it was because they were getting paid. Finally, after centuries of government and

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monarchs and thieves robbing the original inventor of an idea and profiting from it, a creator could

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file with the patent office and have exclusive rights to his invention or authorship or book or song,

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whatever it might be, for a specified period of time. And there were early precedents for this idea.

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Oddly enough, it was in Venice in the 15th century that a patent law was finally passed for inventors,

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perhaps because of da Vinci's experience. And then in England in 1624, they passed a statute of monopolies,

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as it was called, regulating the granting of exclusive rights to the king's favorites. That was an attempt to

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put a rein on the king, as a matter of fact. But both of these and others were early very limited

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efforts, though, at patent law. It wasn't until the United States Constitution made its provision

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for a patent office to be created that patents reached warp speed levels. For example, Thomas Edison

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was awarded 1,093 U.S. patents across a wide variety of technologies. The website thomasedison.org

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puts it this way. From his office library at West Orange, the great inventor managed 30 companies

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under the umbrella of Thomas A. Edison Industries, employing over 10,000 workers in the design, prototyping,

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and commercialization of many new patents and products to be sold around the world. Unquote.

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The reason Edison could do this was because he held exclusive rights to those things he

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and his companies invented. And so it has been with inventors and creators ever since. Whether it be in

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the fields of science and industry or arts and music, why do rock stars get so fabulously rich from

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their compositions? It's because they have exclusive rights to them, unlike fellow troubadours from the

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past. Elon Musk has some 25 patents personally related to vehicle design and autonomous technology,

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but his corporation Tesla holds thousands of patents. Patents are one of the reasons Musk is the

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world's first trillionaire. And the drug companies also, the notorious drug companies, hold multiple

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thousands of patents, Pfizer alone, holding 66,947 patents, at this stage anyway, for various

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medicines. Now, some critics rightly point to the abuse of the patent process that deprives the public

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of much-needed technology and products in order that corporations can maximize profits at the expense

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of the public good. While much of this is true, the patent has been a great blessing, actually,

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in the economic growth and flourishing of the American economy over the first 250 years of our

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existence. May it continue to bless us. Number eight, the eighth good gift that the United States

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of America has given to the world is the United States of America thrived for 124 years with no tax

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on personal income and property. Oh, 124 years. What a blessing. No tax on personal income. The history of

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personal income tax is as old as the history of mankind. Tyrants have perpetually sought the hard-earned

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personal wealth of those over whom they rule. The income tax originated in Egypt, where pharaohs seized

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the personal property of subjects to finance lavish construction projects like the pyramids.

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Subjects were expected to contribute a measure of physical labor, too, to the state, as well as a

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proportion of their crops. This was all done by an early version of the IRS called Grand Viziers,

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who were the middlemen who did all the dirty work of actually collecting the taxes and by force if

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necessary. Greece and Rome continued these well-worn practices. The New Testament bears witness to it time

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and time again, doesn't it? In fact, the reason Jesus was born in Bethlehem is related to the

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personal income tax. Luke tells us, in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the

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world should be registered, from Luke chapter 2, verse 1. This was in order that the emperor could

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better tax his subjects, ensuring that a proper headcount was made so that no one was left out.

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Therefore, Joseph had to trek to Bethlehem in order to be registered in the town of his birth so he

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could be properly taxed. The New Testament regularly refers contemptuously to ha-talonis, ha-talonis,

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that is the tax collector, a hated personage in Israel at this time for their predatory practices.

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The Roman procurators and governors would appoint certain men to go among the common citizens of their

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colonies, like Israel, and they would charge what they saw fit, according to a general standard

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that wasn't always adhered to, though, by the ha-talonis. In fact, as long as Rome got her cut,

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the tax collector could charge over and above that amount for services rendered, quote-unquote.

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They were known for their corruption and greed. If the common citizen objected, then the tax collector

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had the force of Roman legions to back him up. Well, during the Middle Ages, the rulers of Europe

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imposed various forms of the personal income tax on their subjects. There was the gable, a tax on goods

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and services and wages. There was the dargana, a tax on salt. There was the castato, an income tax

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introduced in Florence that was widely copied throughout Europe. Well, the major point in all

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of this is that the personal income tax was a regular feature of life prior to the American

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experiment and liberty. And as you might expect, it was a hated feature of everyday life. And it kept

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the common man impoverished and frightened and controlled, just like today. This is precisely why

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the Founding Fathers made provision against, excuse me, the direct personal income tax on citizens

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and their property, except in certain circumstances. Article 1, Section 9, Paragraph 4 of the Constitution

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reads, no capitation of other direct tax should be laid unless in proportion to the census or

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enumeration herein before directed to be taken. Yeah, no capitation of a direct tax shall be laid.

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That is a direct personal income tax. Any direct tax on the people had to be levied on an unbiased

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objective basis across the board nationally based upon most recent censuses, since I, excuse me.

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It was so sweeping, this measure, that it was never implemented. And besides, the people would never

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have stood for it. They had just fought a revolution, in part, to be free from the oppressive

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taxation of King George in Parliament. The Federalist Papers thoroughly discuss the new powers of the

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federal government to lay and collect taxes. It was one of the chief reasons the Constitutional

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Convention was convened, as a matter of fact. The federal government, under the Articles of

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Confederation, had no power to collect taxes, and the states were chronically behind in financing the

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federal system. So, it is worth highlighting and amplifying, dear listener, that despite this expansion

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of powers for the federal government under the new Constitution, no founding father insisted that there be

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a direct tax on the personal incomes and property of the American citizen. No graduated income tax. No

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systematic income tax paid annually by individual citizens. No tax seized based upon a person's individual

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income or property. What liberty, what freedom, what prosperity there was. James Madison puts it succinctly, and he

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said, a national revenue must be obtained, but the system must be such a one that, while it secures the object of

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revenue, it shall not be oppressive to our constituents, unquote. Amen, James Madison. The founders understood the

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oppressive history of taxation. They consciously, deliberately included a provision in our founding document against the

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tyranny of a personal income tax. And from 1789 to 1913, that's 124 years, the United States of America

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prospered with no individual income tax. What changed? What changed, dear listener? Oh, it is the perennial

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plague of potentates. We don't have enough money. Oh, in the early 20th century, Congress complained that they did not have

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enough resources to cope with a growing, burgeoning nation. We were expanding westward and adding new states, and we

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needed more money to finance this growth that was not being provided by the traditional methods of tariffs and imposts and

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other indirect taxes. The advocates of a direct personal income tax that the founders hated, the advocates of a direct

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personal income tax, said the Constitution was antiquated and obsolete. Does that sound familiar? What was needed was a

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constitutional amendment that allowed for taking from the personal incomes of everyday citizens. And so there

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was born the 16th amendment, and it reads, the Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes from

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whatever source derived without apportionment among the several states and without regard to any census or

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enumeration, unquote. Ah, there it is. There it went. And it all began innocently enough. In the early years of the IRS,

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the federal government took only one to three percent of income and only from the wealthiest of American

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citizens. No tax was collected from most American people early on. What is it now, dear listener?

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As of 2024, the average American citizen pays up to 37 percent of their annual income in federal income tax per

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year. Oh, and it might even be more for you. Who knows? Additionally, the IRS has the power to seize your

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property, your bank account, and garnish your wages if they determine you're not paying enough. And at the

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end of the day, they can put you in prison. If a tax court judges that you have tried to defraud the

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federal government or cheat on your taxes, the founding generation made a revolution over a three to four

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percent tax on T in commerce, what would they say about us who patiently bear with a system of tyranny?

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It is obvious to anyone who thinks for a moment about our situation that our tax system, as it is

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currently structured, is not meant to raise money to run the federal government. No, the money raised by

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the IRS from the personal income of the American public amounts to about five point three trillion

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dollars. That's gross as of 2025. And that's sufficient to pay the interest on the national

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debt and a little bit more. But most revenue raised by the federal government has gotten through

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borrowing. Yes, borrowing. And the tab is still ours. Yes, the American taxpayer for generations to come

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will be paying off this borrowed debt. And this is the real way that government spends, however.

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They don't have to cull it from John and Jane Doe's payroll deductions and 1040 filing.

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No, all they have to do is call up the Federal Reserve. And with a few keystrokes, they don't

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even have to bother to print currency anymore. A few keystrokes and voila, billions, trillions of

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dollars are now available to Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Chuck Schumer and the thieves in

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D.C., that is the District of Criminals. The real purpose for the personal income tax and the crushing

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oppression of the American system is an old one. And that is to keep the common man impoverished,

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frightened and yes, controlled. How many people do you know precisely like this who are impoverished

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and frightened and controlled by the IRS, by the federal system, maybe even yourself? Can you

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appreciate what our founding fathers did for us in the Constitution? The gift that they gave us.

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The founders understood the oppressive history of taxation. They consciously, deliberately included

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in the Constitution a provision against the tyranny of a personal income tax. From 1789 to 1913,

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124 years, the United States of America prospered with no individual income tax. What liberty,

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what freedom, what prosperity. Might it not be time to repeal the 16th Amendment and return to

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constitutional principle? Always remember the good gift the founders gave us. Well, the ninth good gift

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that the founders gave us is, number nine, a nation in which the supreme command of the military forces

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is vested in a civilian executive, a president. Yeah, the commander-in-chief is a civilian executive,

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a president. This is a foundational aspect of our republic. The rationale of the founding fathers

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was that the supreme commander of the armed forces would be an elected official, a president who was

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accountable to the people, accountable to the people, the supreme commander of the armed forces.

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He would be our representative when the dogs of war would be unleashed. He would not wage war for

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war's sake. He would not unnecessarily jeopardize the peace and safety of the American people. He would look

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out for our interests, not those of a class of powerful military elites. The founders had a deep and

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abiding suspicion of standing armies with a permanent officer corps. Such situations had been the fertile

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seedbed for oppression and tyranny from the earliest mists of time. After all, Americans were still

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smarting from the chains of the mightiest army in the world at that time, that is, the British redcoats

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enforcing the dictates of the British empire. The ancients knew no compartmentalization between

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civilian and military. No. The Greek city-states, for example, were ruled by kings who led armies

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composed of conscripts directly marshaled from the city's population. We still recognize such

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discipline societies as Spartan, don't we? After the Greek city-state Sparta, perhaps because the most

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martial culture in Western history. And the Roman Republic tried to mitigate this tendency by having

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the Roman army, which was a militia in its early days. Did you know that? The Roman army was a militia

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early on during the days of the Republic. And that militia was led by two consuls elected by the

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Senate. Those elected consuls would share the responsibilities for the militia. In times of war,

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one consul would take command of Rome as dictator. Yes, that's where we get our word dictator. That is,

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he was a general with absolute power for a brief period of time, usually two years. He would then

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return power to the Senate. Wow. This system worked well in the Roman Republic as long as it was manned by

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honorable men with the best interest of Rome at heart. But of course, as Lord Acton aptly put it,

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power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So, as men like Julius Caesar developed

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a taste for power, that two-year period extended longer and longer until the absolute rule of Roman

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kings took their very title from Julius's example as Caesar's. Voila. The Roman Republic morphed into the

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Roman Empire as the distinction between civilian command and military command disappeared. Well,

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other examples abound from history. The term military coup, for example, is instantly recognizable to us.

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El Salvador, Chile, Egypt, as well as others, experienced an overthrow of an elected government

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by a military junta, as it's called. Well, the temptation for this forcible grasp after power

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is overwhelming, dear listener. History bears this out, and it must be kept in mind in our

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experiment with the republic. Has human nature changed, dear listener? No, it hasn't. And no system

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is sacrosanct that is coming with a guarantee of liberty just because of the system per se. No,

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a republican form of government is no guarantee of liberty and freedom. A free republic is only as

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good as the people who compose it. So, we as Americans must be vigilant, not negligent. Vigilant,

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not negligent. One of our greatest generals and presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower, has already warned

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us of what he called the military-industrial complex, which was already centralizing more and more power

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in the federal system when he gave that farewell speech in 1959. Yes, or 1960, excuse me. We must be

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vigilant and not negligent. Now, Eisenhower's military-industrial complex, we have come to call

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the deep state. Yes. And even that really has mushroomed into what I call the federal department

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of demons. That describes it, I think, a little more accurately. Deep state is kind of amorphous and

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mysterious, isn't it? No, I call it the federal department of demons. And as we work to defeat

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this tyranny that we are under, yes, dear listener, let us always remember the good gifts given us by our

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constitution. Never seen before in history quite like this, that is, a commander-in-chief who is a

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civilian executive, that is, a president elected by the people and accountable to the people as well,

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dear listener. Oh, and so, with that in mind, let us not forget our end of the constitutional bargain,

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and that is, this, as John Adams put it, he put it so well, he said, this constitution is fit only for a moral

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and ethical people. It is entirely unsuited to any other. Yeah, hey, indeed, a republic is only as good as

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the people who compose that republic. And that moral and ethical framework that John Adams spoke of is a

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Christian framework. So, as we contemplate the 12 good gifts given us by our constitution and the

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founding fathers, we've articulated nine of them now. We'll do the next, the last three in our last

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broadcast on this series. But as then we contemplate and appreciate the 12 good gifts given us by our

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constitution and the founding fathers, never seen before on the stage of history, let us pray and work

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for a renewal of faith in our country, that is, in the United States of America, a renewal of faith in God

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extant. Now, let us pray for it in the United States of America, that we might become worthy, once again, of

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those good gifts given us by our republic. This has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox

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Presbyterian Church. We meet for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and

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Boulevard. And we do appreciate those good gifts given us. We worship in liberty and in freedom in

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part because of those good gifts. Once again, we worship on Sundays. Come and join us. You'll find a

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warm welcome. We worship at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and

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Boulevard. And you can call us for more information or give us some feedback at area code 208-523-0196.

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208-523-0196.