Sun Apr 18, 2010
(Politics)
Comments
[An e-mail to my sister A.]
This reminded me of your story about your townhouse association meeting, where people complained their monthly fee was funding "more things than I use." (The bold text is my emphasis.)
"The System Is Broken" : More From a Poll of Tea Party Backers
Richard Harris, 61, a truck driver and an independent, of St. Petersburg, Fla.
"I just feel that taxation without representation is not a good idea, and that's what's happening. I'm an extreme conservative. Government should do the military
and the roads and just about nothing else. They foul everything up if they do."
Kind of like your neighbors' argument that they should only pay for snow removal from their part of the sidewalk.
[My sister A responds.]
I don’t understand why these people say "taxation without representation" like it applies to them. It doesn’t. They are citizens and voters. They
have representation. Taxation without representation referred to English colonists living in America who did not have a voice in their government, because it was a
monarchy. But this is not a reasonable conversation to have with a tea-party member.
You're exactly right, Erik, by the way. I don't want to pay to repair the retention pond because I don't live anywhere near it. I don’t get any benefits from it. Ahem...yes you do. Your streets or your basement aren't flooded because there is a
communal place for the water to collect and drain. People!