The Boston Tea Party started over a tax cut (What?!)

http://www.boston-tea-party.org/tea-act.html ^ | 04/10/2009 | BuckeyeTexan

[Atom Smasher]

I’ll be attending the Port Huron Michigan Tea Party and I can’t wait for some liberal to shove a mic in my face....

[combat_boots]

“In addition the government made a loan of £1.4 million to the East India Company which was to be allowed to ship tea directly and on its own account to America. The Company would pay the 3d duty on the tea’s entry into the colonies but was exempt from reimbursing the English customs for the 1/- English duty which would previously have fallen on it. The consequence was that tea would sell at 10/- per lb in America, not the £1 which it had fetched recently. This would increase its consumption and so the Company would be helped out of its financial difficulties. Furthermore, the Company aided the government by taking measures against smuggling now that it was delivering direct to America. The tea was consigned in known quantities and to authorized merchants acting as Company agents.”

[Kanzan]

Glad to see this. Big emails will be going out to all the press and lib groups denouncing the Tea Parties as not being exactly historically analogous to the original.

[FreeKeys]

“It is important to understand that the Tea Act actually placed no new tax on tea. Instead it simply gave a tax break to the East India Tea company.

“With the existing tax still on the books from the Townshend Duties, East India Tea company was losing money because its legitimately imported tea could not compete with the tea being illegally smuggled by the colonial merchants. Obviously the British government preferred to help the struggling East India Co. than to see colonial smugglers profiting and using their newly gained financial power to sponsor anti-British protests.

Boston Tea Party - Tea Act, 1773

“The new measure was also supposed to win the minds of tea consumers in America by driving down the market price of tea. But in the situation already aggravated by the previous heavy-handed tax measures, this obvious economic benefit was overlooked by the population and the new law was regarded at ‘Taxation without representation’.”

Anyway, what does “10/- per lb” mean?

[Bhoy]

Thanks for heads up. Will be part of my tea party handout.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Exactly. The Huffies and KosKiddies who are looking for volunteers to “infiltrate” the tea parties were presumed to be violent in nature. And they may well be, but that’s not their primary forcus. They intend to mislead and misdirect, while catching the shell-shocked and uninformed on camera.

[combat_boots]

Dunno.

[Atom Smasher]

...while catching the shell-shocked and uninformed on camera.

This is something we do need to watch out for. Thanks for the heads up. I’m going to make sure that everyone I talk to is aware of this.

I, like thousands of other people, feel very strongly about this and I would hate to see it falter by our own people.

[cripplecreek]

I suspect the ACORNs will try to play conservative and be wildly over the top as usual.

[George Smiley]

Tell ‘em it was CORPORATE WELFARE.

That ought to shut them up.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Bwahahaha! That’s funny right there - I don’t care who you are.

[Kimberly GG]

I do have a problem with some of the tax increases, like over a buck on a pack of cigarettes to pay health care for illegal aliens, but it’s not the tax part alone that I have a problem with, its the tax part AND not having any say in what happens to those tax dollars. We’re represented, it’s just NO ONE is listening to “we the people”.

Our voices will be heard, but we must be LISTENED to. We have not a moment to waste.

[xp38]

It stands for 10 shillings per pound

[FreeKeys]

Tell ‘em it was CORPORATE WELFARE.

Excellent idea.

So the Boston Tea Party started over tax MANIPULATION -- in this case a tax CUT for an English company favored by the crown -- to help drive "smuggler" (unlicensed, unconnected, non-aristocrat) American tea merchants out of business

[HighlyOpinionated]

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/north.html

"Ironically, the Tea Act had nothing to do with the American colonies but everything to do with rescuing the East India Company from bankruptcy: the result of the legislation was the loss of the American colonies."

Marjie Bloy Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, National University of Singapore

[xp38]

If you need to know what a shilling is I believe it was a coin equal to 12 pence.

[FreeKeys]

Thank you.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Ping. Don’t let the media trip you up in front of the camera on this issue. The left-wing blogs are ranting away about it this weekend in preparation for Wednesday.

[Future Snake Eater]

Ping to our resident historian.