The Democrats wanted to see Donald Trump’s tax returns. Now they have, and they’re sorry his 2005 tax returns ever came to light. Be careful what you wish for.

Rachel Maddow believed she had gotten a golden ring to expose Trump as a tax-dodging fraud until Trump beat her to the punch.

“President Trump may have pulled the most epic political trolling since, well since the last time he did something like this to a political opponent. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow was set to release a big scoop about Trump’s taxes Tuesday, when the White House went and released them right before her show began.” (The Blaze)

Trump paid $38 million (25%) in taxes on $150 million in income, a higher tax rate than Mitt Romney (15%), the Obamas (15%), Bernie Sanders (13%), Warren Buffet, and most likely many millionaire Democrats.

And something you almost never hear, the $38 million was on top of having to pay “tens of millions of dollars in other taxes such as sales and excise taxes and employment taxes.” Let’s not forget the employer’s side of Social Security and Medicare. Whatever you are paying in Social Security and Medicare, your employer is paying an equal amount for every employee.

No one should have to pay $38 million ($50 million in 2016 dollars) no matter how much they make. Please don’t tell me that everyone should pay his or her fair share and then claim that $38 million is fair.

While Trump paid $38 million, the Obamas spent more than $85 million on vacations. Let that sink in. Then there are the billions that are paid out to nations in foreign aid. It’s all stolen money. When constitutionalists say, “Taxation is theft,” this is what they’re talking about.

It’s not just Democrats. Republicans are also engaged in theft. Author L. Neil Smith lays it out for us:

“The first and most important thing to understand about politics is this: forget Right, Left, Center, socialism, fascism, or democracy. Every government that exists — or ever existed, or ever will exist — is a kleptocracy, meaning ‘rule by thieves.’ Competing ideologies merely provide different excuses to separate the Productive Class from what they produce. If the taxpayer/voters won’t willingly fork over to end poverty, then maybe they’ll cough up to fight drugs or terrorism. Conflicting ideologies, as presently constituted, are nothing more than a cover for what’s really going on, like the colors of competing gangs.” (Quoted in John Whitehead’s “Rule by Thieves: One Week in the Life of the American Kleptocracy.”

First, we should be thankful that many people get to pay just 15 percent on their income. This means that the money is not going to the government to be wasted and used to buy power that in the end makes our world less free.

Second, do we really believe that if people like Donald Trump pay more taxes that somehow that money will trickle down to us? It’s not going to happen, and if it did, it would be stealing for you or me to benefit by it.

Third, Trump is following the law on what he can deduct. He’s not doing anything illegal. No congressman should object since Congress established and passed laws on how income should be taxed.

It’s sad that someone like Rick Perry in 2012 used the South Carolina debate “to demand that Romney disclose his tax returns so voters can decide whether ‘we’ve got a flawed candidate or not.’” Flawed in what way? Because he makes a lot of money or because he cheats on his taxes? Must we hear class warfare rhetoric from conservatives, too?

Fourth, it’s time to go to a straight consumption tax. This would eliminate the IRS, rid us of spending hours and days preparing tax forms, and keep the government out of our lives. We would only pay taxes when we buy something. There also needs to be a drastic reduction on the spending side. Entire federal agencies should be shut down.

I don’t care how much money someone earns if that person earned it honestly. Making a profit is not dishonest gain. People who make money contribute to the economy far more than the government does. Liberals believe the economy is like a pie with only so many pieces. If one person has a big piece, this must mean that another person is left with a smaller piece. This is nonsense economics. If you want to see its results, go to Cuba or North Korea. Free market economics is not a zero-sum game.

People like Trump who have money to lose invest in companies that did not exist 10, 20, or 30 years ago, companies that were only ideas on paper. These once non-existent companies now employ millions of people and make our lives easier and more enjoyable.

Ultimately, it’s all about envy. Envy is a destroyer, “rottenness of the bones” (Prov. 14:30, KJV). “If I can’t have what he has, he shouldn’t have it either. So I’ll destroy what he has and that will make me feel better.” As a nation, we must flee from it before it destroys this nation.