Part Two: Small Property Versus Big Government

I finished the book that I began reviewing here.  It is well worth finishing, for a few more points:

1.  If you lead a tax resistance movement, the minions in the cities will destroy your business.  In one poignant scene, the author is interviewing a tax resistor from way back, who was living in trailer park.  Once he resisted taxes, he could not longer get permits to build on the property he owned.  They broke him.  We've seen this more recently in Washington State with a fellow by the name of Tim Eyman, and of course anyone who tried to remodel in the last ten years experienced the crushing weight of government regulation and taxes.

2. Growth management acts were introduced as a way to destroy local ordinance power... if there was a state wide regulation, then there could be no victories in local elections.

3.  Small Businesses were the back bone of the anti-tax movement, that inadequate in themselves apartment owners and citizens could ally.  I have long wondered what was the salient reason for government to destroy small business in regulation and tax, and from this book it is clear.  We are the people who get things done in the community.  Government cannot have competition and alternative.  it is us or them, a fight to the death, from their point of view.

4. These tax protests started in the 1950's, and success came in 1980.  So it took 30 years.  Every single tactic we see government using today to frustrate citizens, this book demonstrates they used 50 years ago.  How come?  Because it works.  So 30 years after political "success" nothing has improved.  Prop 13 was supposed to be the end of abusive government (and the end of the world according to big government, big labor and big business, which dod not happen either.)  So the bad guys blew past this roadblock or prop 13, and proceeded to raise fees on everything and tax other things.  They did not miss a dime of government growth.  My favorite government stalling tactic is if they find a law requires a reduction, the government will reduce what critical function upon which they have a monopoly, say fire services, and keep paying from something not critical, like featherbedded staff, bogus travel, etc.

5. One city in California was particularly active in escaping rising taxes and then leading protests when they did rise.    They had good politicians.  That city was Bell, California.  Apparently, this is an example of where "good government" leads.  The author should do a follow up book.

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