The seeds of the modern bureaucratic or administrative state go back to the Progressive Era of American history in the early 20th century. But progressive regulation morphed into the hyper-control of our present federal government during the New Deal. Modern students, whose history education has been directed by teachers who “accept” the reality of a federal leviathan, are often unaware of the fact that before 1916 there was no income tax in the United States, and that federal revenues were primarily through import duties. The income tax was justified by the need to support the ever-expanding regulatory environment being promoted by Democrats, with a small amount of crossover by Republicans. Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats were far more drawn to the big government idea and ideal than their Republican confreres. Under Wilson, the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was replaced with the more powerful antitrust tool, the Clayton Antitrust Act. The Federal Reserve came into...(Read Full Article)