We know that there were bad founding principles of the country. No doubt about that. Slavery was the worst. There were others, like violation of women's rights, land grants to the railroads, tariffs, canal building, and government-business partnerships or "crony capitalism."

But there were also some good founding principles, ones that made America into the most unusual society in history. Let's review them.

1. No income tax and no IRS. Imagine living in a society in which you are free to keep everything you earn. No taxation on your income at all. No withholding tax. No payroll tax. No FICA tax. Your gross salary — you keep it all. No income tax returns. No keeping track of deductions. No income tax preparers. No running to the Post Office on April 15. For some 125 years, Americans were free to keep everything they earned and decide for themselves what to do with their own money.

2. No Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education grants, public schooling, foreign aid, or other welfare-state programs. No welfare state whatsoever. No taxing of people and giving the money to other people. No governmental assistance to seniors or the poor. Charity was 100 percent voluntary.