QUESTION:
Sir,
I enjoy reading your writings and find them extremely thought provoking, and ultimately very common sense to me. I have to say though Iam not sure about your assertion that governments will tax and tax. I believe they are trying, and will continue to do so, but take a look at the upheaval in France at the moment. This is starting to qualify as a full scale tax revolt. Iam also reminded of the poll tax protests here in the UK in the 1990s. I believe they will quickly hit the wall with taxation and either have to print to fund obligations or let those obligations go. I hope they let them go.
As you will see by my name I also am from Scottish stock. It looks highly unlikely barring a sea change that Scotland will vote to split with the UK. In any case, the SNP are hardly credible as leaders. An independent Scotland run to the philosophy of Adam Smith would thrive, but run by the SNP to the prescripts of socialism it would not look good.
Once again many thanks for your honest BS free articles.
Kind Regards, RB.
ANSWER: The trend has been these people will tax and tax and then tax again until society revolts historically. You are precisely correct that at some point a tax revolt emerges. That was even the core reason behind the American and French Revolutions. Sometimes those in power will get it. Ironically, republics (fake democracies) always turn into oligarchies and are actually the worse form of government you can create. There are really no checks and balances and as we see today, politicians go out of their way to prevent the people from actually voting on any specific issue as is the case in Europe and the USA. You vote for a party/person who lies anyway and then they do as they please
The best form of government is actually a benevolent dictatorship for they simply do what is right for the country and do not have to answer to anyone else. It is strange indeed, Hadrian (117-138AD) faced a tax revolt from previous emperors that had accumulated. In 119AD, he declared a tax amnesty and issued a Sesterius depicting him burning the tax records. The only Republic that did not transform into an oligarchy was that of Genoa. There the richest families ruled, but each rotated as the Doge for one year. Thus, they never became Draconian for the feared retaliation next year and they would be subject to their own laws. Career politicians are always exempt. Genoa did not fall into a rich v poor, it was business always but that benefited the entire city for it perpetually competed against Florence and Venice. You simply cannot have career politicians – NO EXCEPTIONS!
Look at the reforms being taken in China. They are actually for the benefit of the country rather than a political party. In our pretend Democracies, each party will fight to prevent the other from getting credit for anything. They would rather hurt the country than let the other party gain a victory. Take the shutdown. Obama had all the government websites turned off when it fact it cost more money to do that than just leave them alone. He sent in barriers to prevent people from walking in federal parks when there were no employees at such parks to begin with as in Virginia. All of this to make the shutdown as draconian as possible to blame the Republicans. The same takes place in Europe and Britain is no exception.
In my younger days when I believed I could make a difference, I participated in trying to get tax reform in place and to save social security. I was behind the movement for a consumption tax eliminating the income tax and to privatize social security by placing the funds with fund managers (not myself) to actually invest the money. The Dow was trading in the 5,000 area and we were project 12,000 by 2000 (we stopped at 11900).
I even debated Steve Forbes and Governor Jim Florio taking the middle ground between the Flat Tax and Tax’em Till They Drop policies of the Democrats back in 1997. I testified before Congress on Tax Reform. I made every effort to try to prevent what we now face today.
We produced studies that were being circulated around everywhere. I found myself on Capital Hill shuttling back and forth between Dick Army who was championing the Flat Tax and Bill Archer who was Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee championing the Consumption Tax. Both were Republicans and both were from Texas. But they would not sit down with each other for that somehow would have led to unfounded rumors. So I became the go between. I sat in Dick’s office with his boots on the desk as he smoked and filled the room. He looked at me and said: Marty, I cannot agree with the Consumption Tax unless there is a Constitutional Amendment eliminating the income tax for when the Democrats got back in power, we would then have both. It was at that moment I knew meaningful tax reform was doomed.
So today I am more practical. I seek to inform people of what is really going on Behind the Curtain for I have been where others cannot even imagine in a fictional dream. Dick Army had the same practical view of politics that Margaret Thatcher had – it was cyclical and only a matter of time before the other side grabs power for their turn.
So they will raise taxes until the people get mad as hell and refuse to take it any more. The first tax revolt in England was that of Wat Tyler in 1381. The first interval of 309 years was 1690 when because of taxes and a shortage of money in America, on February 3rd, 1690, the very first paper money was issued by the colony of Massachusetts and on December 10th that same year, they became the first American colonial government to borrow money starting national debts. Add another 309 years and you get the birth of the Euro, and the start of this cycle for that was the 19 year low also in gold. This cycle was another reason we called for the all time low in gold would be 1999 and the birth of a new cycle, which should culminate by 2025 in the significant demise of Western political systems..
