http://jackkansas.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] jackkansas.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] caramida 2009-04-17 02:06 am (UTC)

I have a lot of contempt for right-wingers and libertarians who spout the taxation-is-theft bullshit when it comes to paying for social programs, but who are happy to have the government pick my pocket to pay for the military-industrial complex.

It's unfortunate that much of the additional revunue California hopes to gain comes from raising the sales tax and an across-the-board increase in the income tax, both of which are regressive. Also, these are sources of income that dry up in hard times, scarcely a responsible way to fund state expenditures.

That said, I found Garry Wills's account of the original Boston Tea Party (Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, Doubleday, 1978) to be fascinating. It was not simply a matter of a few individuals tossing small cannisters of tea into Boston Harbor — the tea chests weighed three hundred pounds apiece, and there were considerable logistical challenges to be overcome.

Post a comment in response:

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting