| There arose a principle, in 1773; when the colonists of the eastern sea board were facing a growing tax burden. That principle is simple.. "Taxation without representation is tyranny." The colonists had a growing minority of defiant resistors. They were not angry with King George. No, it was the cowardly attempt of an out-of-touch parliament which decided they could attempt to impose an unprecedented tax on the colonies, to pay for their own irresponsible spending in other parts of the world. Parliament had made public-private partnerships with corporate providers. Those corporations had grown so large that the empire could not comfortably survive without the crony capitalists who had purchased influence in the parliament. Lobbyists had purchased the seats of parliament using tax dollars appropriated via govt. contracts. Parliament created corporate monsters which demanded to be fed. And their appetites were insatiable. Oklahoma state govt. is very much like the British parliament of 1773. And tax policy ultimately led to the American Revolution, bloodshed, and liberty. We need not repeat the mistakes of an arrogant British parliament. |  |
Oklahoma arrived at our distrust of the legislature because of decades of growing arrogance. In 1991, the liberal Speaker of the House collaborated with a corrupt governor and a powerful Senate Pro Tem. They pushed through over $500 million in new taxes, on a simple majority vote. The voters were outraged and began an effort to put constitutional safeguards in place. SQ 640 passed in 1992. It virtually required a direct vote of the people, for any new revenue increases. This includes tax rate hikes, dissolving exemptions, assessing flat fee mandates, or any effort to acquire more revenue by the state.
Today, our legislative leaders are playing a strategy of stupidity. They insist that any increase in revenue was completely unintended. They insult our intelligence by insisting on their own stupidity. Our mamas didn't raise idiots.
