America has a $36 trillion national debt because of the policies President Donald Trump is working to correct.

Since the 1980s national leaders have followed a globalism plan that allowed other countries to take advantage of America’s good nature and, dare I say sheer naiveté.

I am inclined to think that those who criticize Trump’s tariffs efforts may be invested in stocks of companies who have their products made overseas in places like China, for instance.

Continuing down the same road would be devastating – possibly deadly – for the United States.

The attacks against Trump for his attacks on Washington’s inside game are treated like all the others “live with it; this is what I’m going to do.”

He was elected president with his bluntness and determination to end spending and programs that are unnecessary and wasteful. Hopefully, we can refer to them in the past tense for many years in the future as a return to sensibility takes hold in Washington, D.C.

The regulation tax costs trillions

The Heritage Foundation – the place I count on to provide the real story on the nation’s situation – recently carried an article in its publication, The Daily Signal, written by Senior Editor Tyler O’Neal reporting that the average American family pays thousands in hidden taxes each year.

The column declares these hidden taxes make the case for DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), founded by President Trump and headed by successful businessman Elon Musk, even stronger.

Naturally, the Deep State denizens oppose DOGE because it reduces their gravy train.

O’Neil explains: The government doesn’t just directly charge Americans in taxes—it also imposes a hidden tax that makes everything more expensive, according to a new report.

The federal government doesn’t just pass laws in Congress. Each year, many of the 438 federal agencies— nominally under the president’s control through the executive branch—publish tens of thousands of pages in regulations, red tape that increases the costs of business, transportation, and many other factors Americans often don’t consider.

This imposes a kind of hidden tax that makes everything more expensive.

It also justifies the work of DOGE and other efforts to streamline the federal government, according to Clyde Wayne Crews, a fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and author of the annual report, “Ten Thousand Commandments.” Crews recently released the 2025 version of the report.

The report “directly and indirectly makes the case that DOGE or a successor entity—but especially Congress itself through legislation—should be more aggressive on deregulation,” Crews told The Daily Signal.

According to the report, federal regulation costs Americans at least $2.155 trillion every year—a cost of $16,016 annually per household. This sum constitutes 16% of the average household’s pre-tax income, and 21% of household expenses. Most American families spend less than that on health care, food, transportation, entertainment, apparel, services, and savings. Only the cost of housing, an average annual household expenditure of $25,436, exceeds the costs of regulation.

The National Association of Manufacturers ran a similar analysis in October 2023, concluding that regulatory compliance costs the economy $3.079 trillion each year.

While the Constitution places the authority to make laws in the hands of Congress, federal agencies issue far more regulations than Congress passes laws, O’Neil said. During 2024, for example, agencies issued 3,248 final rules, compared with Congress passing 175 bills. That means for every one law passed by Congress and signed by the president, unelected bureaucrats finalized 19 regulations.

O’Neil concluded: “President Donald Trump has been terminating some agencies and departments—by directing that the U.S. Agency for International Development merge back into the State Department and by directing the ultimate closure of the Department of Education.

“These changes save Americans money directly but as the Trump administration decreases the size and scope of the federal government, that may also save American households money in decreased regulatory burdens.”

A battle to save America is under way with leftwing judges, obviously backed by leftist politicians, opposing every step of the Trump plan.

Lawfare continues as the Left’s main line of defense against Trump’s sensible policies.

Citizens need to back the Trump efforts. O’Neil comments: “Trump is right—the American people elected him to root fraud, waste, and abuse out of the federal government. They voted for change after four years of woke elites calling the shots in Washington. This battle represents the bureaucracy fighting back against democracy.

“How perverse that judges would favor unelected bureaucrats over the people’s will.”