Profile in Cowardice – Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
 
For years, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has highlighted a Profile in Courage (PIC) at the end of each month. This figure usually rises above the fray of partisan politics and works hard to make life better for taxpayers and consumers. Occasionally, though, a politician goes the other way and commits to terrible policies that fuel partisanship and would make everyone worse off. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is one such figure, showing disregard for taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars and waging war on families’ access to credit. For consistently letting the American people down and raising costs across the country, Sen. Durbin is a Profile in Cowardice.  Nowhere is this cowardice clearer than Sen. Durbin’s unapologetic embrace of earmarks. Despite policymakers railing against “pork-barrel spending” and ostensibly banning earmarks in 2011, earmarks continued to quietly be tucked into massive spending bills. During the congressional tug-of-war over allowing earmarks, Sen. Durbin disturbingly claimed, “There is full disclosure in my office of every single request for an appropriation. We then ask those who have made the requests to have a full disclaimer of their involvement in the appropriation, so it’s there for the public record. This kind of transparency is virtually unprecedented.” But, as former Cato Institute senior fellow Jim Harper pointed out at the time, “Senator Durbin puts his request disclosures out as scanned PDFs. Someone on his staff takes a letter and puts it on a scanner, making a PDF document of the image. Then the staffer posts that image on the senator’s web site. It’s totally useless if you want to use the data for anything. Notably, Senator Durbin doesn’t even include the addresses of his earmark recipients.” And now that earmarks are (officially) back and allowed again, Sen. Durbin has been having a field day on taxpayers’ dime. Since earmarks returned in 2021, Sen. Durbin stuffed the following goodies into spending bills: $10.2 million for unnecessary new military installations, $8.3 million for costly electric buses, and $800,000 for a “violence interruption” organization called the Metropolitan Peace Academy (despite no evidence showing its effectiveness). 
 
In addition to his troubling track record with earmarks, Sen. Durbin has made it his mission to compromise families’ access to debit and credit cards. The lawmaker inserted an amendment into the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that arbitrarily capped debit interchange fees—or charges paid by merchants to card-issuing banks for processing transactions. This led to an array of unintended consequences, ranging from rampant fraud to increases in the cost of everyday banking services. Meanwhile, the vast majority of merchants—who the “Durbin Amendment” was designed to help—did not report lower costs or debt. One might think this would have taught Sen. Durbin the folly of the government micromanaging the economy. One would be wrong.  Sen. Durbin continues to push for the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), which would mandate that card issuers to allow merchants to use more payment networks in processing credit card transactions. If enacted, this reckless proposal—which aims to reduce interchange fees paid by merchants—would be the end of credit card rewards for millions of Americans. As NerdWallet writers Sara Rathner and Kenley Young note, “If you’re a committed credit card rewards optimizer sitting on a pile of points and miles, the possibility that the Credit Card Competition Act would pass is likely making you sweat. A major concern is that with reduced income from [interchange] fees, credit card issuers will cut back on their rewards programs and partnerships with airline loyalty programs.” Currently, there are more than 31 million U.S. airline credit cardholders. An astounding 15 million domestic trips were awarded and earned through airline credit card points in 2024. The CCCA would make earning points (and free trips) a thing of the past, to the detriment of travelers across the country. The legislation would also mean fewer security features available to credit card consumers because issuers would have less of an incentive to invest in payment network infrastructure. Yet Sen. Durbin marches on, shamelessly trying to plug the CCCA into completely unrelated legislation. 
 
Lawmakers will never be right all the time. When they make a mistake, they should aim to learn from their failures and strive to do better. Unfortunately, Sen. Durbin has been all-too eager to tax and regulate households without an iota of hesitation or regret. For this profound failing, Sen, Durbin is a Profile in Cowardice. 
 
A Tale of Two States
 
From varied climates to quirky accents, there’s a world of difference across the 50 states. While many of these differences are accidents of history and geography, choices by politicians often make or break a state’s future. California, which has a top income tax rate of 13.3 percent, is one stark example of tax policy gone wrong. A proposed wealth tax would make the state an even higher cost locale, levying a one-time, 5 percent tax on the approximately 200 billionaires in the state. Meanwhile, Missouri appears poised to go in the opposite direction and phase out the state’s income tax. Policymakers in the Golden State should take a page or two from Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe (R) and give taxpayers a hard-earned break. Introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives, HJR 174 proposes a constitutional amendment for Missouri voters that, if passed, would phase out the income tax rate—which currently tops out at 4.7 percent on taxable income over $9,191. Missouri has already made critical strides in reforming its tax code. The top income tax rate has been lowered to 4.7 percent from 6 percent, and the state now allows individuals to deduct 100 percent of federal capital-gains taxes. These changes are laudable, but Missouri can do far more to give families a well-deserved break and bring businesses and opportunities into the state.
 
Repealing the state income tax would strengthen Missouri’s ability to attract and retain both individuals and businesses. States without income taxes consistently rank higher in measures of inbound migration, job growth, and business formation. A tax structure that does not penalize work, savings, or investment sends a clear signal that the state welcomes economic activity and long-term commitment. Most of Missouri’s eight neighboring states have taxes lower than the Show Me State, but an income tax phaseout can make the state more competitive as a more attractive destination for families and businesses. Compare this approach to California’s onerous tax policies, which have residents fleeing the state. As Fox News’ Amanda Macias notes, “Between 2012 and 2022, California recorded a net loss of more than 361,000 residents to Texas [which has no income tax], a shift that carried roughly $21 billion in taxable income with it.” Missouri can share in Texas’ migration gains, but only if it moves decisively to end its income tax.
 
Repeal would provide broad-based relief, particularly to middle- and lower-income households who feel the impact of income taxes most acutely. Allowing residents to keep more of what they earn supports family savings, consumer spending, and overall economic resilience. Hunter Hamberlin, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance’s Director of State Affairs, traveled to Jefferson City this week to testify in favor of HJR 174 and highlight tax reform’s many benefits for taxpayers in the Show Me State. Missouri should pursue a better approach to tax policy that doesn’t leave residents footing the bill for wasteful spending and failed promises.
 

Blogs:

Monday: New Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Amendment Would Break the Bank—and the Courts

Tuesday: Picking Losers: The Sorry Saga of Intel

Wednesday:  F-35’s Recent Success Does Not Overshadow Years of Failure

Thursday:  What You Should Be Reading: January 2026

Friday: Profile in Cowardice: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Il.)
 

Media:
 
January 23, 2026: Fox5 News (Washington, D.C.) interviewed David McGarry for their news segment on credit card interest rates.
January 23, 2026: NBC Pittsburgh interviewed David McGarry for their news segment on tax increases in the state of Pennsylvania.
January 23, 2026: The Well News ran TPA’s op-ed, “F-35’s Recent Success Does Not Overshadow Years of Failure."
January 24, 2026: The Daily Breeze (Hermosa Beach, Ca.) and 11 other sources mentioned TPA’s op-ed, "Letter: Golden State Fiber is no boondoggle."
January 26, 2026: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their news segment on Baltimore City officials cutting the Office of the Inspector General's access to information.
January 26, 2026: Issues & Insights ran TPA’s op-ed, "With Maduro Out, Venezuela’s Victims Deserve Justice.”
January 26, 2026: The Washington Times ran TPA’s op-ed, "Letter to the editor: The 340B program is out of control."
January 26, 2026: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, "Questions arise after Baltimore City cuts watchdog's access to some information."
January 27, 2026: I appeared on 55KRC-AM (Cincinnati, Oh.) to talk about the debanking crisis and the federal governments' competency in passing financial regulations.
January 27, 2026: WCBM-AM (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their news segment on Baltimore City officials cutting the Office of the Inspector General's access to information.
January 28, 2026: Christina Herrin appeared on KZIM (Cape Giradeau, Mo.) to talk about the U.S. withdrawing from the WHO.
January 29, 2026: Real Clear Markets ran TPA’s op-ed, "The Netflix Combination With WBD Is Good for Customers."
January 29, 2026: I appeared on WBOB-AM (Jacksonville, Fl.) to talk about debanking and financial regulations.
January 29, 2026: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA for their story on Baltimore City officials cutting the Office of the Inspector General's access to information.
January 29, 2026: I appeared on WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) to talk about the potential of building a Vegas-like sphere in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
January 29, 2026: The Well News ran TPA's op-ed, "Junk Science Costs Taxpayers and Consumers."