Taxation Without Representation

An important principle for us to keep in mind on Independence Day is the idea of taxation without representation.  It was an important reason for the American Revolution.  It is the reason the franchise was expanded to include more than male property owners

Many citizens of the United States today are taxed without representation, but that is at least partly their own fault.  Less than half of the eligible voters in Ohio showed up at the polls to narrowly elect the now unpopular governor, John Kasich.  The government of Minnesota is now shut down because the governor and the legislature cannot agree on a budget.  The Democratic governor wants to raise taxes on state residents with the highest two percent of income, and the Republicans in the legislature refuse to agree to this.  It looks as though the same thing may happen to our national government.

The people who represent us in our state and national governments do not represent all of us.  They certainly represent the wealthiest among us, because the wealthiest among us vote.  They also have the means to fund election campaigns to influence how the rest of us vote.  If the wealthiest among us have a disproportionate share of power, it is because we gave it to them through our apathy. 

This problem goes back many generations.  Many people are apathetic about voting because they do not understand the importance of voting.  They did not adequately learn about civics in school because their parents did not vote for adequate funding for the public schools.  Those parents did not vote for money for the schools because they did not understand that their children must have an adequate education to participate in government effectively.  As a result, we have a population that believes that their votes do not count.  Many of those who do vote are manipulated by politicians who tell them what they want to hear.

If you are a poor working stiff, your incompetent brother-in-law sleeps on your couch.  If you are well-to-do, your incompetent brother-in-law works in your tax shelter business.  If you are wealthy and powerful, your incompetent brother-in-law holds public office so that you can get government contracts and subsidies and so that the tax structure favors your business interests.

We can reverse this situation simply by voting.  This means all of us.  If we simply bothered to learn about the issues and vote for candidates who truly represent our interests, we might be able to choose from more than two parties, and we might be able to field candidates who know something about the United States Constitution and the law.  We might not have to put up with campaign ads that insult our intelligence.  We might be able to keep our government in operation.