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On Mon, Sep 15, 2003 at 10:37:26AM -0500, Gerald Marisch wrote:
> A LITTLE OFF SUBJECT, BUT WORTH THE READ.....
Off-topic, yes. but at least it's financially related... :)
> Cigarette Tax
> Corporate Income Tax
> Court Fines (indirect taxes)
> Dog License Tax
Most taxes in those days were sales, excise or tariff related.
Corporations were a fairly new invention, and were pretty much
running the country, in the form of big railroads, whose
infrastructure had been financed mainly by the federal government.
Remember, in those days, senators weren't elected, but were
appointed, and each senator was nominally the representative of some
industry.
> Federal Income Tax
First introduced during the US civil war, and later repealed.
Back for good to finance WWI.
> Fishing License Tax
> Food License Tax
> Hunting License Tax
> Fuel permit tax
> Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
I'm sure John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil monopoly didn't pay much
tax, and in 1903 I understand gasoline was used mainly as cooking
fuel, but I bet the middle and lower classes paid plenty of fuel
excise tax, as well as taxes to hunt and fish.
> IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Popular since long before the Romans... :)
> Liquor Tax
The whiskey rebellion was one of the US government's first tests.
> Luxury Taxes
Only during rare post-boom/bust populist reform periods.
> Marriage License Tax
Wonder how much a marriage license cost on average in 1903... how
many days' pay for a typical working-class guy? One thing's for
sure, though: any form of birth-control was very much illegal once
the happy couple got to the honeymoon. Birth-control would remain
illegal for married couples in Connecticut until 1965.
> Medicare Tax
Ah, 1903 medicine. Despite the major gains made previously, during
the US civil war (all those bodies to work on), anesthesia was just
becoming a reality around this time, and the germ theory of disease
was still controversial.
> Property Tax
> Real Estate Tax
> Septic Permit Tax
Major sources of revenue back then. Well, maybe not the septics;
back then you just dumped it wherever was handy.
> Social Security Tax
Not until there was such a thing as Social Security, of course.
Now one of the favorite regressive taxes used to fund general
government operations.
> Road Usage Taxes (Truckers)
> Sales Taxes
> Recreational Vehicle Tax
> Road Toll Booth Taxes
> Toll Bridge Taxes
> Toll Tunnel Taxes
I believe most roads back in those days were toll roads. The fees
may have gone to a road-building syndicate rather than government,
but the traveler paid just the same for the privilege.
> Telephone federal excise tax
> Telephone federal universal service fee tax
> Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes
> Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
> Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax
> Telephone State and local tax
> Telephone usage charge tax
Not many telephones back then, but I'm sure they were well taxed
as soon as they did get installed.
> Workers Compensation Tax
No workers compensation back then, that's for sure. Workers were on
their own if they sliced off a foot working for Weyerhaeuser in the
woods, or got blown up in the mines or on a railroad crew. Those
uppity SOBs were agitating for a 48-hour week, and felt strongly
enough about it to get their heads smashed by Pinkerton guards.
> Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the
> most prosperous in the world,
Actually, most of those taxes existed in one form or another, except
the income tax. Most were targeted at the lower classes, as all
taxes have been historically. In 1903, England was arguably the most
prosperous nation, having inherited the mantle from the Dutch in the
previous century. The US was finishing up our "Gilded Age" as Mark
Twain called it, having made a handful of men fabulously wealthy by
building them railroads. England was in a race with Germany to build
battleships---"We want eight, and we won't wait!"---and was slipping
toward decline. But in 1903, she was still number one.
> had absolutely no national debt,
Yes, we'd paid off the first national debt that Hamilton incurred,
and others along the way. Ran up big ones in the great wars to follow.
Funny how we recently went from a surplus of 0.9 percent of GDP to
a deficit of 4 percent, and growing...
> had the largest middle class in the world
I don't think we got there until after WWII, when we officially took
over from England as the world's leading power, and began the longest
period in our history of income consolidation/middle-class expansion.
That's because our numbers are greater; if you want to see middle-
class expansion, look to England's efforts throughout the 20th century.
Talk about a post-boom backlash!
> and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
Mom wouldn't get the vote for some years after 1903. Then when she
did, we got prohibition, which led to the Mafia and ultimately the
War on Drugs. Thanks, Mom!
She was invited into the workplace during WWII, but was promptly sent
home when Dad returned. The middle-class expansion through the
post-WWII period allowed Americans to have single-income families.
That all ended, of course, with Vietnam and the subsequent
middle-class squeeze. In 1957 US income ratios were around 1:100, by
1977, 1:200, now 1:700. It's really great if you're in that top 1%,
or even 5%, but when those guys bid up the price of everything, it's
not so great for the rest of the rabble, and Mom has to take a job at
WalMart to make the rent.
> What the hell happened?
All great powers seem to go through phases of initial invention,
expansion, hubris and eventually reliance on finance into decline.
The Dutch invented the microscope and navigation instruments accurate
enough to spawn a naval empire. Many of their best engineers later
migrated to England, who went on to enjoy railroading, even better
navigation instruments and more empire. We in the US have had our fun
with autos and electronics, but now we're passing the torch to Asia,
and relying on finance as the basis of our economy.
Nothing ever changes... :)
Jim
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