Thatcher replaced property tax with a poll tax. You were taxed on how many people lived in the same apartment/house/castle. A family of 4 crammed into a run down row house in Colchester, and another 4 living in luxury off Hyde Park, taxed the same when she passed that law. Riots followed, 1/4 million in London, other cities too. She wouldn't back down, the landed gentry were ever so thrilled.
Surly the American Republicans will pick that trick up.
To her credit, she did say in 1990 at a speech on climate in Switzerland “The danger of global warning is as yet unseen, but real enough for us to make changes and sacrifices, so that we do not live at the expense of future generations,”
You've got reports of the GOP legislature in one state wanting to tax the parents more if their kids register to vote from their college address in an attempt to suppress the youth vote. Sounds poll tax-y to me.
ReplyDeleteThe right's obsession with all things Reagan has rubbed off on Thatcher's image over here, as well. She's not universally beloved at home, that's for sure, and it would be sweet if Americans were allowed to see the dark, slimy side of St. Ronnie from time to time, instead of believing him to be a combination of Lincoln, Washington, and Teddy Roosevelt.
The Reagan Adoration Society makes me nauseous.