Today We Celebrate the Birth of a Real Patriot

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Irwin Schiff, one of our nation’s most influential activists for free markets and limited government. Irwin was a proud, freedom-loving American who died a political prisoner in a Texas federal prison. Neither the irony of his passing nor his convictions escaped the millions of people Irwin inspired to become activists. He helped them understand the destructive consequences of an over-reaching and over-regulatory government.

Since 9/11, the word “patriot” has been so over-used it seems to have lost some of original meaning. Irwin was as much a patriot as anyone when it came to following his convictions, even after it got him a 14-year sentence.

A staunch advocate against what he saw as unfair and illegal over-taxation by the Federal government, Irwin helped others avoid paying them by writing his 1982 book entitled “How Anyone Can Stop Paying Income Taxes,” It became a New York Times best seller and inspired and empowered many Americans to oppose over-taxation.

Irwin’s ideas continue to resonate within Libertarian circles and constitutional literalists like Ron Paul.
 

 
Robert L. Schulz, chairman of the We the People Foundation for Constitutional Education, had this to say:

“He acted on his beliefs and stood for tax honesty … In a society where there is so much fear of government, and in particular of the I.R.S., he was probably the most influential educator regarding the illegal and unconstitutional operation and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code.”

But it wasn’t just taxes Irwin questioned. Another of his favorite targets for scrutiny was inflation, which he coined the government’s “silent partner” in his book “The Biggest Con: How the Government is Fleecing You”. Irwin saw how the Federal government and the Fed use inflation to “bestow increased ‘benefits’” to frustrated taxpayers in the form of cost of living wage hikes. The Fed doesn’t really “fight” inflation as much as it uses it to fill its own coffers. Inflation is good for the government because it’s a hidden tax increase that works by raising income brackets.

In total, Irwin self-published six different books, selling more than 250,000 copies, leaving us a body of work that continues to help educate and motivate people around the world. Of course, he also left us Peter Schiff, who continues to fight government overreach and corruption that threatens American financial independence and social freedom. Peter’s own words are fitting to describe his father’s legacy:

“He held his convictions so sincerely and so passionately that he continued to espouse them until his dying breath.  Like William Wallace in the final scene of Braveheart, an oppressive government may have succeeded in killing him, but they did not break his spirit. And that spirit will live on in his books, his videos, and in his children and grandchildren.  Hopefully his legacy will one day help restore the lost freedoms he died trying to protect, finally allowing him to rest in peace.

You can buy any of Irwin Schiff’s books at schiffbooks.com