When I was a reporter, a poultry magnate from East Texas came to the Capitol in Austin and started handing out $10,000 donations to state senators. I was in a knot of reporters interviewing one of the senators when Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim of Pilgrim’s Pride stopped by.
That was near the end of the session in 1989, and the Capitol was packed with reporters, advocates and lobbyists. It didn’t occur to Pilgrim that people would question the actions of any fellow who had cash and wanted some consideration in return. That was just business.
A lot of people saw it that way, and you’d be wrong if you thought that the prudes of the press were the only people who were offended. The people who were enraged were the lobbyists who had offered lesser sums and saw the threat of inflation.
I got to thinking about the Good Old Days when I read The New York Times story about the contractor building Trump’s new ballroom. The Times reported that the company got a secret, no-bid contract from the National Park Service to repair two ornamental fountains. The Biden Administration estimated the cost at $3.3 million in 2022.
The Times said the company doing the work for Trump would get $11.9 million for the job. Project creep would bring the total to $17.4 million.
The secret contract without bids was justified on the grounds of urgency. Those old decorative fountains are almost a matter of national security.
The story reminded me why a 20-something version of me wanted to be a reporter. I’m too old to do that work, but I would like to offer my services to any organization that is interested in clarifying the rights of taxpayers.
I would like to withhold a tiny portion of my taxes, just so the courts could clarify our rights. I’m willing to pay taxes to repair the ornamental fountains. What I want to know is whether I have a right to decline to pay taxes on things that are defined as illegal — graft and corruption, for example.
Because I grew up in Texas, I understand the form of government we’re now under as a nation. I think I’d be a good representative litigant.
I’m interested in the accounting. I know that the difference between $17.4 million and $3.3 million is not all questionable. I’m just interested in what’s legal — that is, what I’m legally and morally responsible for. Is that not also a religious question, protected under the First Amendment?
The case would not be significant in terms of money. But it might set a precedent. If the organization won this case, other taxpayers might challenge other deals. Alert taxpayers might file so many suits that it might take the profit motive out of this form of government.
I don’t think we’ll get anywhere talking about the difference between democracy and kleptocracy. But if you cut certain sources of revenue by 20 percent, you might get a different kind of people in government.
You might get the hogs out of the trough.
• Source: David A. Fahrenthold, Luke Broadwater and Andrea Fuller, “Firm Building Trump’s Ballroom Got a Secret No-Bid Contract for a Nearby Job”; The New York Times, April 25, 2026. It’s here:
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