The Taxman Cometh!

Our world has yet to outgrow its reliance on government to truly screw things up.

Great Britain suffered malaise after World War 2. The government had incurred huge debt defending the island against the Nazi aggressors. The British made the mistake of hyper taxing and micromanaging the economy. Doldrums ensued. Everything reached a breaking point when maximum taxation reached the 95% level, which shut down almost the entire British economy. People left the Island in large numbers. Saying you were from Britain was no distinction.

By the 1960s popular resentment of the government's anti-growth, hyper-tax, micromanagement policies grew to the point a popular song Taxman was published by the band The Beatles. Here are the lyrics

Let me tell you how it will be,
There's one for you, nineteen for me.
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman.

Should five percent appear too small,
Be thankful I don't take it all.
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman.

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street.
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat.
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman.

Don't ask me what I want it for,
If you don't want to pay some more.
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman.

And my advice to those who die.
Declare the pennies on your eyes.
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman.

And you're working for no one but me.

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George Harrison's sardonic lyrics eerily foreshadow the Obama administration's tax policy. Now we are set to relearn the lesson that mega-government is a threat, not a solution.