They Fought a Revolution Over Pennies – Now We Let Them Take So Much More

The Founding Fathers risked death for liberty. Now we just file for an extension.

When Thomas Jefferson finished writing the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers knew it meant war. As he and the other Founding Fathers sat huddled in the second-floor suite of the Graff House, they understood there was a high likelihood that each man had just signed their death warrants.

Yet, they felt the British government’s treatment of the colonists was so egregious that it warranted bloodshed — and a lot of it. The revolutionaries believed their cause was worth fighting — and dying — for.

But what they did not expect was that after the bodies were buried and the British ships sent packing, they would build a government that eventually made the Crown’s governance look like the prototype for a free society.

Of the myriad of grievances the colonists had with England, its taxation policies were one of the most pressing. As Jefferson wrote, Americans took issue with the Crown “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.”

The issue wasn’t the level of taxation—it was the fact that they could not object. They held no seats in Parliament and were not allowed to have a say in how they were governed. The phrase “No taxation without representation” was more than a slogan — it was a war cry.

The problems arose when, after years of “salutary neglect,” the British asserted their right to tax the colonies directly. First came the Sugar and Stamp Acts. Later, the Townshend duties materialized.

Before Great Britain got greedy, the colonists taxed themselves through their own assemblies. But now, Parliament declared this localized approach “foreign to our constitution” and dissolved these assemblies.

So, what were these taxes like? The Stamp Act of 1765 required paid stamps on legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and even playing cards. That’s right, if you wanted to play a game of poker, you had to give King George his cut.

Yes, I’m aware poker didn’t exist back then. Sue me.

Townshend’s Revenue Act of 1767 imposed import duties on paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea. Guess who the colonists typically had to buy these goods from? That’s right, good ol’ Great Britain.

Still, all in all, American colonists paid about one to three percent of their income in taxes to the Crown. Yet this, along with other grievances, was enough to prompt the colonists to start shooting those damned redcoats.

One would think that after defeating the British, those who established the new government might take a lesson.

At first, they did.

After winning its independence, America established the Articles of Confederation to govern the loose gathering of states. At the time, Congress couldn’t impose taxes at all. This wouldn’t happen until the Articles of Confederation were scrapped and the new Constitution was drafted in 1787. The new system allowed Congress to levy taxes, but it relied primarily on tariffs and excise taxes applied to specific goods.

Fast forward to 1913, and we now have the 16th Amendment, which empowered Congress to impose a permanent federal income tax.

But it didn’t stop there.

With the New Deal and World War II came another mass tax for Social Security. This is when the federal government began swiping a chunk of our paychecks for its own use. This mass theft operation scaled up after the war with the addition of Medicare and Medicaid.

As the 20th century progressed, income taxes became the main pillars propping up the state. Local and state governments joined in, snatching their share of our paychecks. They also enacted sales and property taxes, which effectively gave state governments ownership of people’s homes.

Now, today’s tax rates are orders of magnitude beyond the Founding era. Federal tax revenue has hovered near 16 to 17 percent of GDP. The federal government taxes about 14 to 15 percent of the average American’s income. But when you add in payroll, state, and local taxes, this number rises to between 20 to 30 percent for middle-income households.

And King George is in his grave thinking, “Damn, and they thought I was a tyrant!”

America’s approach to revenue generation has flipped. Now, income taxes supply the largest federal share of revenue, along with payroll taxes. Excises and tariffs are now minor contributors to our government’s coffers — even with President Donald Trump in office.

I know what you’re thinking: “But Jeff, it’s true that we are taxed into oblivion, but wasn’t the main issue for Jefferson and company the fact that they had no representation?”

Yes, dear reader, it was. But is it truly all that different today?

On paper, federal, state, and local taxes come from elected officials whom we choose to place in power. In reality, taxation policy, as well as other types of policies, are created by bureaucratic agents full of people who did not have to win a single vote.

Vast portions of the tax code are shaped and authored by committees, regulatory agencies, and the courts. It is so lengthy and convoluted that it would put Fyodor Dostoevsky to shame. This is true of almost all other policies.

Moreover, how often do voters have to hold their nose to vote for a candidate? All too often, we are voting for what we perceive as the “lesser of two evils,” and not for candidates that we can actually get behind. With all the money cascading into politics, the truth is that the wealthy decide who are candidates are far more than we, the people.

If you’re a Republican voter, I have a question for you: How often have you voted for a GOP candidate who promises to shrink the size of government only to vote like a Diet Democrat once he takes office? The same can be said of Democratic voters on the issues they deem most important.

Can we truly say our government represents us?

I don’t think so — at least not at the federal level.

The truth is that our government has become something far more nefarious than the Founders could have ever envisioned. The question is: How did we get here?