The British, those that that existed circa 1776, were merely competent “administrators”. The America of 2023 certainly puts them to shame. The proto-Americans of 1776, on the other hand, were not as complacent as we are today. Here what the Declaration of Independence had to say about the their bureaucrats and King:
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
In other words, the British had imposed a tax and regulatory framework that interfered with the proto-Americans ability to earn a living and even communicate.
The “Stamp Act”, was the most inflammatory of the “Acts”, but there were others.
Let’s make it even more concrete by doing some back of envelope calculations on the Stamp Act. According to the Bank of England, adjusting for inflation, £10, in 1775, would be roughly £1300 today. As I write this, that would translate into about US $1600.00. Let’s say you wanted to draw up a will, a business agreement or any other legal document, whatever your attorney charges, now add $1600 per page.
For more common things imagine a tax of one Shilling/US $65 tax (there are 20 Shillings in a Pound apparently) on a pack of cards.
To put in modern terms, imagine a “Internet Tax” on every click made, ever networked game played, every email sent costing, some sort of micro payment.
That would make most folks angry, I’d imagine.
Today, the US Congress has abdicated its role as an overseer of the Federal bureaucracy.
The bureaucracy is a defacto taxing authority. Let’s take one area that impacts early ever adult American, cars.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s there was a wide assortment of body styles. Walk through an suburban parking lot. Good luck distinguishing your jelly bean from anyone else’s, except maybe by color.
In 1967 a Ford F150 cost, inflation adjusted dollars about $26,000. In 2023, a low end F150 costs US $43,000. Nearly double.
Is the Ford F150 an apples to apples comparison? No it isn’t.
Let’s examine governmental drivers for costs in automobiles:
I’d pay money for safety. Fuel efficiency is still a cost/benefit vs. safety issue (inexpensive automobiles ten to have less metal around them, and as a consequence they are less safe). Emissions are frankly the only place government has a place, regulating the commons, in this case the atmosphere.
But in short, you paid, conservatively a $10,000 federal tax on that vehicle for mandatory features, again using back of the envelop calculations. The Federals regulate not just cars, but nearly every manufactured good you might purchase, a 25% tax on everything is my guess.
When you hit the checkout line, the state whacks you again with sales tax (unless you live in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, Oregon or Vermont). You can add 5-8% extra in other locations, so roughly another $3000 in direct taxes on that Ford F150.
If you are able to afford a new or newish car, have you walked around a parking lot and tried to distinguish one jelly bean shaped car from another? The cost of the automobile is not even a consideration, expensive cars and almost indistinguishable from economy cars. Go back and look at the variety of body styles in the 1950s and 1950s.
Now ask yourself, what would happen, if the party least favorable to the regulatory environment where to control Congress and the Presidency? What would happen?
O wait, that happened in 2016. What permanently changed?
In fairness the Trump did make it difficult for the bureaucracy. He did it with all executive orders. Within a week of Biden ascending, it was all rolled back, like nothing had happened.
Because nothing had.