Friday, August 8, 2008

A New Tea Party

"No Taxation Without Representation!" patriots yelled, as they dumped valuable imported tea into the harbor to protest paying taxes to an elitist government that ceased to represent them.

In my mind, the idea of a New Tea Party has resonance today: we are once again at a point in our history where the divide between rich and poor has grown, and our government no longer represents us.

Our taxes are supposed to earn us a seat at the table. Our taxes are also the lifeblood of our economy, in that they sustain the infrastructure we use to make money. Our roads, our schools, our military, our colleges, our communities themselves are the means we use to earn wealth and achieve the American Dream.

The justification for Fair Taxes for rich and poor alike is simple: the more you use the resources of our country to earn your wealth, the more you pay to use those resources: things like roads, staff, buildings, ports, etc...

Republican talking heads say Fair Taxes somehow hurt our economy and run against free markets, but isn't it a simple law of economics that you can't get something for nothing? Would you buy a membership to a country club, and not expect to have some of it go toward maintaining the pool you use?

At this period in time, The American Dream is an impossibility for most of us. A small cabal of the wealthiest people in this country have effectively purchased our government right out from under us. The economic foundation of our unique American Promise is eroding. We are rapidly becoming colonists in a land we no longer own, and under a government that no longer represents us.

So when someone tells you Democrats are going to raise your taxes, you can always tell them this: It's time for the rest to pay their Fair Share.

If they don't, we have a proud tradition in this country of throwing off tyranny. We've done it before and we'll do it again. This time, it will be a Tea Party for the new Millennium, as we re-evaluate our citizen status and our role in a global community: not as colonists, but as full participants.

Best,
D. Tree

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