What’s Going to Save America From a Recession? Former White House Advisor: Tax Could Be Replaced by Resources and Tariffs

Plan would eliminate IRS, fund government with strategic minerals, and cut China out of U.S. supply chains

/EIN News/ -- WASHINGTON, May 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The United States may be preparing to execute one of the most dramatic financial pivots in its history. According to former White House and Pentagon Insider Jim Rickards, the plan doesn’t involve raising taxes or issuing new debt—but dismantling the IRS and funding the government with tariffs instead.

From Taxpayer Burden to Resource Leverage

Under the new proposal, federal income tax would be eliminated for most working Americans—particularly those earning less than $150,000 annually. Wages, tips, and Social Security payments would be exempt from taxation.

Instead, the U.S. would return to an earlier system—generating revenue through tariffs.

“Presidents’ goal is very simple,” said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “To abolish the Internal Revenue Service and let all the outsiders pay.”

But Rickards believes that, for the first time, the US could activate a $150 trillion reserve of strategic minerals held on federal land to help generate revenue as well.

Rickards explains that this model mirrors the approach taken by global resource powers like Saudi Arabia and Norway—both of which have used commodity-backed sovereign wealth funds to grow their economies while lowering the burden on citizens.

Chevron Is Gone. The Vault Is Open.

A major obstacle to this approach was removed in 2024 when the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron Doctrine, which had allowed unelected federal agencies to stall or block access to domestic mineral projects.

Rickards calls this ruling “the legal key” to unlocking America’s resource vault, which includes:

• $3.1 trillion in Nome, Alaska
• $7.35 trillion in Midland, Texas
• $516 billion in California’s Salton Sea region
  

“These assets have been sealed off for decades—not because they weren’t valuable, but because we were legally blocked from accessing them,” Rickards says. “Now, the lock is gone.”

The End of Chinese Leverage?

This strategy also carries major geopolitical weight. Rickards notes that China currently controls most of the global supply for critical minerals—resources that power everything from AI chips to electric vehicles to advanced weapons systems.

“If America activates its own reserves and builds revenue on top of them, it’s not just about taxes anymore,” he says. “It’s about ending our economic dependence and reshaping the global balance of power.”

About Jim Rickards

Jim Rickards is a former legal and strategic advisor to the CIA, Federal Reserve, and U.S. Treasury. He has counseled presidential administrations on financial warfare, systemic risk, and global resource policy. He is now editor of Strategic Intelligence, a monthly briefing on global economic and political disruption.

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