Hamill: Tea parties, tax fights and the consent of the governed

The big news in the tax world is the specifics of new tax legislation. But this is the Fourth of July weekend, so perhaps other discussions merit more attention.

Let’s talk about government and then address some economic issues. Government, after all, was the focus of the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence.

We gather, or should gather, this weekend to celebrate the 249th anniversary of the Declaration.

Using the words of this great document, as well as the words of three great Americans — two fictional and one real — let’s talk about government.

The Declaration says, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Frank Costanza, a character in the sitcom “Seinfeld,” instituted his own holiday, Festivus, which included the Airing of Grievances.

Perhaps Frank borrowed that Festivus tradition from the Declaration, which was the airing of 27 grievances against King George.

Mark Twain said, “Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government when it deserves it.”

King George, who paid no heed to the consent of the governed, created a government that many colonists felt no loyalty to.

Why? To answer this essential question, let’s turn to the words of the fictional Josey Wales (to Comanche leader Ten Bears).

Josey understood the colonists well, saying, “With governments you don’t always get a fair word or a fair fight.”

There are disagreements about how many colonists were loyalists and how many supported the Revolution. Perhaps one-to-one, perhaps two-to-one supporters.

Loyalist numbers varied by colony, in many cases based on how they viewed their situation with and without King George’s support.

Such divisions became more pronounced less than a hundred years after the Declaration. We continue to be divided by state, and sometimes by region.

Hear someone say, “The War of Northern Aggression” rather than the Civil War, and you know where they come from.

Today, we see divisions play out as personal spats. President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are scratching at each other.

The president first threatened to take federal money from California. The governor then said he would withhold California tax remittances to the federal government.

A modern-day Boston Tea Party? No, this is more like the Mad Hatter’s tea party. Why is a raven like a writing desk? Ask the president and the governor.

California has the fourth-largest economy in the world, behind only the U.S., China and Germany. Ahead of Japan. Way ahead of Russia.

California is important to the U.S. economy. And it pays for a lot of what the rest of us receive from the federal government.

The colonists understood that government is the people. Elected representatives matter only if they have the consent of the governed. That remains our Fourth of July lesson.

It’s not about money. Our country has survived great adversity in spite of differences in economic condition that tax and spending policy often exacerbate.

Newsom’s threat to withhold California taxes was not serious. It was a tweak of a president who implied the federal government gives to California.

Newsom knew that California transfers $78 billion more annually to Washington than it receives back. This is second only to New York.

California basically funds Virginia, which receives $79 billion more back than it pays each year.

Our economic differences by state are more pronounced when viewed by person. Delaware pays $24,575 per person. West Virginia pays $4,867 per person.

If you’re interested, New Mexicans contribute $5,882 per person and receive $19,720 per person.

Massachusetts pays $21,747 per person. Mississippi pays $5,148 per person. Both “M” states, yet very different in economic contributions to Washington.

Massachusetts and Mississippi are quite different politically. Oddly, Massachusetts is seen as “bleeding-heart” liberals, and Mississippi as the staunch conservatives.

Is this odd? Not if it’s not about the money. But even so, how can Massachusetts and Mississippi be part of the same union 160 years after the Civil War?

To paraphrase the Grinch, “Maybe, the Declaration means a little bit more.” I’ll defer the column’s ending to better men, who wrote the last sentence of the Declaration.

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred honor.”

Let’s hope we still have some honor left.