The Tea Party phenomenon has been one of angry signs, chants of “We want our country back!” and carefully orchestrated bellowing rage during the debate over healthcare reform.

“We want our country back!” Oh? Who stole it from the white male protestants that are still the ruling class and the bulk of the Tea Party? Is it taxes? The top marginal tax rate today is lower than it has been since the dawn of the Great Depression. Federal government revenue as a percent of GDP is the lowest it has been in 60 years. US income taxes are among the lowest of all the industrialized nations on Earth. How low do our top tax rates need to go? Must we dismantle public education, leave the hungry to starve and the poor to die without any access to medical care just so we can coddle the most fortunate, wealthy among us? Is it massive, intrusive government? In 1950, 3% of the US population worked for federal, state and local governments. Now, with the advent of a nationwide superhighway system; air transportation system; nuclear power; environmental concerns such as acid rain, oil spills, rivers catching on fire and the threat of global climate change; space exploration; the war on terrorism; and troops deployed in every corner of the world the government has mushroomed to the point it employs 6% of the US population. Oh my Gosh, the socialism reeks! In contrast, 20.4% of the British population works for the public sector. Not such a vast surge in government size, given the growth in complexity that government needed to manage in 1950 versus today. Where’s the beef? What’s got these people so angry they froth at the mouth?

Topics: politics, government, anger, populism, disestablishmentarianism