Abstract
When one reflects on the sorry condition of America’s finances one has to wonder why there is such resistance to fiscal discipline. Is it merely because there is an obstreperous group in the US Congress who cannot abide any tax? Has the public been subtly lobbied into believing that American taxes are high, pointless and intolerable or is there some gene in the America’s body politic that has always been there that expresses itself from time to time in a pernicious cheapness? Perhaps all those things are true, or perhaps none. Nevertheless, a glance backward at Colonial days can stimulate a sense of déjà-vu. This article explores the history of America’s relationship to taxes prior to the American Revolution.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2012
5-8-2012
Repository Citation
Richard A. Westin, Americans' Unwillingness to Pay Taxes Before the American Revolution: An Uncomfortable Legacy, 13 J. Jurisprudence 11 (2012).
Notes/Citation Information
The Journal Jurisprudence, Vol. 13 (March 2012), pp. 11-25