THE PRICE OF SURVIVAL

The Price of Survival: Why the Republic Depends on Progressive Taxation

A nation that cannot fund itself cannot govern itself. A republic that refuses to pay its bills is not a republic. It is a lie dressed up in patriotic rhetoric and budgetary deceit.

For decades now, the Republican Party has waged a war not just on government but on fiscal reality itself. Under the banner of “small government,” they have gutted revenue while ballooning spending, all while feeding the falsehood that America’s problems stem from social programs rather than tax avoidance by the wealthy and endless military adventurism.

The result? An economy distorted. A democracy in crisis. A republic on the brink.

Fiscal Irresponsibility Disguised as Conservatism

The GOP brands itself as the party of fiscal responsibility. But history tells another story.

• Since Ronald Reagan, Republicans have systematically slashed taxes on the wealthy and corporations, claiming it would stimulate growth. What it did was explode deficits and concentrate wealth at the top.
• Meanwhile, they poured trillions into military spending and reckless foreign interventions, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that cost over $6 trillion and achieved little but chaos.
• Domestic investments? Public infrastructure? Education? Housing? They said those were “too expensive” after handing billionaires another tax cut.

This is not conservatism. This is controlled demolition, an intentional effort to bankrupt the public sector, weaken democratic institutions, and privatize everything not nailed down.

The plan has worked.

When Progressive Taxation Worked

America didn’t always operate this way. In fact, for most of the 20th century, the U.S. ran on a genuinely progressive tax system that funded both victory in World War II and the golden age of the American middle class.

• Under FDR and Eisenhower, the top marginal income tax rate exceeded 90%.
• Corporate taxes provided a stable source of federal revenue.
• Wealth was taxed more heavily, and capital gains were treated closer to wage income.

This tax structure did not destroy growth. It built prosperity. It paid for highways, public schools, NASA, the GI Bill, and Medicare. It worked because it was fair and recognized that those who benefitted the most from the system owed the most back to it.

That changed with Reagan. From the 1980s forward, Republicans began what might be called the Great Tax Evacuation, pulling the wealthiest Americans out of the civic compact while inflating their political power through deregulation and campaign contributions.

Since then, they have repeatedly cut taxes, even when the economy was booming, while increasing spending, particularly for defense contractors, fossil fuel subsidies, and tax loopholes written by lobbyists.

It is a recipe for ruin.

The True Cost of Injustice

Today, the consequences are plain:

• The top 1% controls nearly half of all U.S. wealth.
• The top 10% control over 70%.
• Meanwhile, the bottom 50% own just 2.5%.

Yet the wealthy pay less effective taxes than ever, thanks to loopholes, preferential treatment of capital gains, offshore havens, and trust shelters. Billionaires now pay lower rates than their secretaries.

At the same time, the national debt exceeds $34 trillion. And the GOP’s solution? Cut Social Security. Cut Medicare. Cut everything except tax breaks and tanks.

This is not sustainable. It is not moral. And it is not American.

The Path Forward: Tax Justice as National Salvation

If the republic is to survive, we must return to a genuinely progressive tax system that reflects both the ability to pay and the duty to contribute.

This means:

• Restoring steep marginal tax rates on incomes above $1 million.
• Taxing capital gains like ordinary income.
• Implementing a wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million.
• Closing all corporate loopholes, banning offshore shelters, and enforcing accountability on multinational tax dodgers.
• Replacing regressive sales taxes where possible with equitable revenue streams that don’t punish the poor.

This is not radical. It is rescue.

It is the price of survival. If we fail to fix this system, the consequences will be terminal for social programs and the republic itself. A nation cannot provide for its people, defend its interests, or honor its Constitution when it is financially shackled by cowardice and corruption.

Taxes are not theft. They are the dues of democracy.

Paying them is not a burden. It is an act of patriotism.

The republic's future depends on our willingness to say so and act accordingly.

William James Spriggs