Americans are revolting against various taxes. They should insist on capping the ‘life tax.’ - TEA

By Gary Abernathy

This November, sandwiched between high-profile state and congressional races, numerous ballot issues will ask voters in various states to decide whether to cut or roll back taxes, part of a growing anti-tax movement across the nation.

Property taxes lead the way. According to Newsweek, “These states—Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wyoming—are a few where efforts to reform property taxes succeeded in getting on the ballot, whereas similar proposals in other states—including Missouri and Nebraska—reached a dead end or were killed over the past year.”

In my state of Ohio, a property tax elimination effort was delayed but not abandoned. The Ohio Municipal League reported back in June, “Organizers of the proposed constitutional amendment to abolish property taxes in Ohio announced they will not seek placement on the November 2026 ballot and instead plan to continue gathering signatures for a potential appearance on the November 2027 ballot” due to falling short of the targeted signature goal.

Similar proposals abound on other forms of taxation. In Arizona, voters will decide whether to cap the ability to raise grocery taxes. In North Carolina, voters will determine whether to cap the state income tax rate at 3.5% and make it harder to raise the income tax rate above that cap. In the state of Washington, voters are being asked to repeal a new state income tax targeting people making over $1 million per year.

Such movements are understandable when you consider that taxes constantly creep upward while incomes are fixed or barely keeping pace, and the costs of other necessities continue climbing.

But what most Americans don’t think about is what could be considered the biggest, most oppressive tax in existence – the “life tax” embedded in high energy prices. When energy prices climb or spike, the hit to the average wallet is immense, far more than the relatively small percentages connected to most property, sales or income tax increases.

And it’s not a hidden tax; when it comes to fueling our cars and trucks, the prices are plastered all over signposts at every gas station. Energy spikes, whether at the pump or elsewhere, act like a tax across nearly all walks of life. Let us count just some of the ways.

Groceries. When Americans go to the grocery store, high energy costs are like a tax on all prices based on the cost it takes to grow, harvest, transport and refrigerate food, forcing many shoppers to decide which food items they must go without.
Transportation. Whether driving to work, taking a ride share or a bus, or ordering a Door Dash delivery, energy costs impact the total bill, like a tax-per-mile surcharge.
Housing. From heating and cooling to operating all our home electronics, higher energy bills are a tax that means less money to pay the house payment or rent, make important repairs or purchase other family necessities.
Business and manufacturing. The tax that comes when energy costs spike hits large and small businesses due to higher operating costs, along with manufacturers who face increased costs on steel, paper, plastic and other materials – costs that are passed along to the consumer.

In the U.S., the economy functions best when gas prices are below the $3 range. When they exceed that mark, the impact reaches across all other goods and services, creating a chain reaction that eventually topples the domino at the end of the line – the consumer.

The most insidious part of the energy life tax is that it’s a tax that absolutely no one voted for – not at the ballot box or in Congress or the state legislature.

But just like ballot box referendums, Americans have at their disposal the power to cap the energy life tax – by contacting their representatives in Congress and encouraging them to pass the Affordable, Reliable, Clean Energy Security act, introduced by Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH). ARC-ES would control energy costs and protect our national security from reliance on foreign sources of energy.

As described on a recently unveiled ARC-ES webpage, the proposed law is defined in three simple concepts:

“Affordable energy is a low-cost method of producing electricity, factoring in the full system cost of an energy source.”
“Reliable energy is energy readily available to meet demand 24/7 with minimal interruptions.”
“Clean energy is energy that meets our current national air quality standards.”

That first point is the key to low-cost energy, protecting Americans from politicians in thrall to “alternative energy” that survives only through subsidies and heavy-handed government dictates – edicts that shunt aside our most dependable energy sources.

Whether by legislative action or, at the very least, presidential executive order, we should embed the principles of ARC-ES into our national fabric. It is not hyperbole to suggest that the substance of ARC-ES should be considered the equal to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Why? Because equality, the pursuit of happiness and the American Dream can never be achieved if our citizens cannot live affordable lives thanks to the promise of low-cost reliable energy. True freedom starts there.

Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing opinion columnist for The Empowerment Alliance, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation.