As it continues to seep into the consciousness of the American people that their very own government — the U.S. government — has been the primary financial supporter of the Mubarak dictatorship for the past 30 years, the fact that April 15 is approaching provides a good opportunity for the American people to do some soul-searching.

While it is the U.S. government that has provided the billions of dollars in cash and military armaments that has enriched Mubarak and his cohorts and provided them the means to punish, torture, intimidate, imprison, and kill those who dissent, Americans should keep in mind where the money came from.

That's where the income tax comes into play. The federal income tax provides the revenue to the U.S. government that ends up in the hands of people like Mubarak and his henchmen.

As Americans scramble to file their federal income tax returns and pay their income taxes by April, they should keep in mind where their hard-earned money is going, especially if they're having trouble making ends meet, covering health care costs, and paying for children's education.

As the Egyptian people continue struggling to overcome the horrible tyranny and oppression under which they have been suffering for 30 years, Americans need to be asking themselves some fundamental questions:

1. Why did our American ancestors live without income taxation for more than 100 years?

2. Why shouldn't Americans be free to keep everything they earn and decide for themselves what to do with it?

3. To what extent is a citizen morally responsible for the evil things that are done by his own government with the monies extracted from him through the federal income tax, especially where the citizen is supporting the concepts of income taxation and foreign aid?

4. Why shouldn't the American people prohibit their government from distributing money and armaments to any foreign regime and, indeed, from interfering in the affairs of other nations?

5. Why did our American ancestors establish a system in which the federal government would not go abroad in search of monsters to support or monsters to destroy and in which the American private sector was free to travel and trade and interact with the people of the world?

Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.

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