With today being the 4th of July, I want to talk a little about American history. Specifically, the quote “no taxation without representation.” This was, according to congress.gov, “a rallying cry of many American colonists during the period of British rule in the 1760s and early 1770s.” The phrase refers to the unhappiness of the American people for being taxed by a government in which they had no say.
Which really makes me think about today's government. While we do vote, the decisions are made via electoral college, and many if not all politicians are in the palms of the lobbyists running rampant. These lobbyists are funded by large corporations, billionaires, etc. Due to this legal bribery, politicians are much more likely to vote in favor of these figures.
So my question is this: who represents the working class? Who represents the minorities? The women? The gender fluid? The immigrants? The native population? If the government is funded by the billionaires of the nation, who do they represent outside of the billionaires?
To quote American revolutionary James Otis, “taxation without representation is tyranny.” So if government officials want to continue to pocket their sports cars and fancy dinners and new yachts from these companies, then I hope the millionaires and billionaires can fund the entire country, because it is time for the average US citizen to stop paying taxes until they are adequately represented by the government that claims to have their best interests at heart.
Happy American Revolution Day