In a few months, December 16th, we will observe the 237th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
Warning: This rant is VERY generalized, but realistic within reason to make a point
Back in the day there was a Tea Tax that the British had kept in place to assure they retained the legal right to tax the colonies. In short, if they dropped the tax there would be legal reasons to say they had no right to tax. In 1773, they pulled a move to increase the tax collection. They did not raise the taxes on tea, but they did make moves to stop the importation/smuggling of Dutch tea, and this move basically raised the merchants cost of the tea by about 35%. The reason for this was to raise money to bail out the East India Trading Company, which was losing money.
Today our government uses taxes to control us, and to raise money. In recent years we have watched them raise the cost of cigarettes by several hundred percent as an incentive to quit smoking, or to price it out of reach of most citizens. We go through cycles where there is talk of raising taxes on guns and ammunition, and even on accessories.
How much taxation is too much? I did a quick look at one item - Alcohol. The federal tax on spirits is $13.50 per proof gallon (1 gallon of 50% alcohol). This means that your average bottle of whiskey, bourbon, tequila, vodka, ... carries a tax of about $2.70 in federal tax. On a $15 bottle this equates to 18%. Now add state tax and sales tax, and where are you at?
At what point do we quit accepting this crap as a "sin tax" on optional luxury items? When do we quit pointing to this type of tax, which hits the poor who make poor choices, as a reason for raising taxes on "rich" people? When do we move beyond the truth that most of this tax money is fueling waste and corruption in the public sector?
When do we revolt over the government attempting to control us through confiscation of our cash and pricing items out of our financial reach?
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