Yesterday, in my post “Obama: Ask not what you can do for your country, but what your country can do to you,” I quoted PrestoPundit, who animadverted about Obama’s latest effort to bring us all up close and personal with the engine of the government by requiring high school and college students labor on behalf of various governmental “service programs” (”we’ll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources [for "resources" read "your tax dollars"] to offer new service opportunities,” etc. etc.). PrestoPundit suggested this was a step down the road towards good old-fashioned European serfdom, and I have to say I agree. But he also went on to make this Fourth-of-July point: “Barack Obama somehow believes that advocacy of a return to European style serfdom is a good way to celebrate the American Declaration of Independence from the oppression of English tyranny.” I’m as pleased as anyone that the American Revolution turned out the way it did. But for those of you salivating over the prospect of an Obama administration, I’d like to share a note I received from a canny English reader:
‘Oppression of British tyranny’?!
The colonies were taxed at 10 percent of British metropolitan rates and most of that was spent on protecting them from the French and Indians. Obama’s 56 percent marginal tax rate will put British ‘tyranny’ into better perspective for you …
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2 Comments
1. Bill Bradley:You may have zero comments because you are, not to put too fine a point on it, totally wrong …
Jul 7, 2008 - 9:04 am 2. Jill:Quote: ‘Oppression of British tyranny’?!
The colonies were taxed at 10 percent of British metropolitan rates and most of that was spent on protecting them from the French and Indians. Obama’s 56 percent marginal tax rate will put British ‘tyranny’ into better perspective for you …END Quote
Amen, Sister! Well, not all of it was for the protection of the English colonists. Some of it went to the English governors, who were stealing. And, of course, Great Britain didn’t allow colonies to free trade…In some ways, nothing has changed. Your English reader makes an excellent point.
Jul 17, 2008 - 9:34 am