1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I am writing to express unequivocal opposition to any proposal to eliminate the federal income tax. While such a proposal may be marketed as bold reform, it is, in practice, a reckless dismantling of the fiscal foundation of the United States. The federal income tax is not an ideological accessory; it is the primary mechanism through which we fund national defense, infrastructure, Social Security, Medicare, veterans’ benefits, disaster response, and the basic continuity of government. To remove it without a mathematically coherent and ethically defensible replacement is not reform; it is abdication. If the intended substitute is a national consumption tax or a tariff-heavy revenue model, the burden will not disappear. It will shift downward. Working families, who spend a higher percentage of their income on necessities, will shoulder proportionally more. High earners whose wealth derives largely from capital appreciation will not. That is not populism. It is regression disguised as simplification. Serious fiscal policy demands seriousness. Eliminating the income tax would either detonate the deficit, eviscerate essential programs, or both. Those outcomes are not partisan projections. It is simply an arithmetic inevitability. As a Kansas City metro resident, I will respond rationally to regressive tax restructuring. If consumption taxes rise in Missouri as part of this experiment, I will conduct all purchases across the state line in Kansas. Many of us can and will. That is not a threat. It is responsible economic behavior. Policies that ignore cross-border incentives will erode Missouri’s own tax base while claiming to defend its citizens. Missourians deserve leadership grounded in empirical reality rather than applause lines. Reform should close loopholes, simplify compliance, and ensure proportional contribution, not demolish the revenue architecture of the federal government for ideological theater. Responsible governance requires more than provocation. It requires stewardship.