Notes from our History Part 1: Engines of Wealth

"No taxation without representation!" This little gem from elementary school is a product of the sad reality that usually we overgeneralize history for the mass market to the point of inaccuracy. From this statement the logical conclusion is that the colonists were pissed off about the monetary ramifications of new taxes; which makes them look both greedy, and, since the taxes were not that high, unreasonable.

The colonists themselves used the term "Engines of Wealth" to describe how they thought the Crown was starting to view them. Since both Parliament and the King largely ignored their opinion and just passed new taxes they came to the conclusion that they were seen only as workers who needed to produce money for the Crown. The difference between a citizen and an engine of wealth is huge. One is served by the government and the other serves the government. One needs freedom and the other needs more taxes.

What this means for us today:
Where this starts to apply is when we consider the results when the Government over-commits to social programs and has to fight to stay in the black by desperately taxing everything that moves with a motion tax and everything that doesn't with a parking ticket. It's a known fact that the British National Healthcare System (NHS) is horribly broke and needs new sources of income. See the above two examples, they are a few of many.

Next time the long term consequences of the engine of wealth mentality.

Notes from our History, the mini-series.

America is undergoing a huge transformation. There is no denying this but what the end result will be remains unclear. I can't even say if its going to the right or to the left at this point. Clearly the Democrats in power have switched from the old American Democrat platform to the Social Democrat platform that dominates Europe today. The Social Democrat ideology is to bring sweeping social programs to the populace through legislative reform, (As opposed to its cousins Communism and National Socialism which seek to bring sweeping social change through violent revolution.) As a result we are seeing for the first time mass grassroots mobilization of the normally passive Conservative movement. In the coming years we may see a backlash against the (Social) Democrats so severe as to send America careening to the right. It's just too soon to tell.

In times of uncertainty I look back to history for guidance from a similar situation. While I am a very tiny cog in society (really more like a nanocog) and have no more ability to change the flow of history than a pine needle can alter the tides I want to share with you what I got from my field trip to the past.

From 1765-1775 America stood at a crossroads as well. The new changes didn't begin to solidify really until 1783-1789. Starting in 1765 the British government started reversing their long-stand policy of salutary neglect of the American Colonies by adding taxes and taking more control. Up until that fateful morning of April 19th 1775 all indicators were that the North American colonies (including Canada) were about to be brought under the firm control of the Crown. We all know this was reversed when the colonists started shooting but the lead up is the interesting part.

Next time: Notes from our History Part 1: Engines of Wealth