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EDITORIAL: Tax increases and 'civilized society'.(Editorial)

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From: Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Florida) (viaKnight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)
Date: 20060112
Author:

Jan. 12--The Treasury Department's Web site prominently quotes Oliver Wendell Holmes' famous statement, "Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society." Expect to hear echoes of this sentiment as Emerald Coast officials consider raising taxes to pay for road work, new courthouses and such.

Let's examine Mr. Holmes' insight.

When Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in 1841, there was no income tax, no Social Security tax, no Medicare tax. The federal government survived on tariffs and excise taxes and land sales. The federal treasury consumed just 2 percent of the economy, ...

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