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Sales Tax By Mississippi Sheiks

Stop And Listen

1934 | Blues

Spotify | Amazon

"The governments rule? -- Well, there's a-lotsa things sold that the government knows anything about."

Trivia

  • The group were a country-blues group from the Mississippi delta in the 1930's comprised mainly of members of the Chatmon family.
  • Leader Carter Chatmon was known for his sexually suggestive lyrics.
  • Their last recording under the name was in 1936.
  • Their single Sitting On Top Of The World is in the Grammy Hall Of Fame.

THE HOT TAKES

Luke Tatum

Can you imagine being around for the advent of the Sales Tax? The shock, the disgust that must have swept over the nation? How I pine for those days to come back. Can't a guy get a little outrage once in a while? Where's the rising up? The resistance? Back then they were looking at a tiny 3% sales tax, and they still wrote a song to express their frustration. Today we have people genuinely asking for larger taxes, despite the myriad examples all around us--all through history and during the present day--that bloated welfare and warfare states lead to a wretched end. What I love about this song most of all is the attitude. These guys are appalled, and rightly so. They're being stolen from. Taxation is theft! It was in 1934 when this song was written, and it is today. Let's get upset about it again, and start stopping the process.

Sherry Voluntary

Can you imagine being around for the advent of the Sales Tax? The shock, the disgust that must have swept over the nation? How I pine for those days to come back. Can't a guy get a little outrage once in a while? Where's the rising up? The resistance? Back then they were looking at a tiny 3% sales tax, and they still wrote a song to express their frustration. Today we have people genuinely asking for larger taxes, despite the myriad examples all around us--all through history and during the present day--that bloated welfare and warfare states lead to a wretched end. What I love about this song most of all is the attitude. These guys are apalled, and rightly so. They're being stolen from. Taxation is theft! It was in 1934 when this song was written, and it is today. Let's get upset about it again, and start stopping the process. "I’ve been delighted at the range of decades covered by the songs in our series on taxes. This fiddle heavy country blues song is from way back in the 1930’s. It’s good for those of us in the America of today, where most of the population have just accepted taxes as not only a fact of life, but a necessary evil, to hear the perspective of those who were around at the advent of these taxes. The shock that the government would be involved in a transaction between seller and buyer is evident. I love the joke about there being sales tax on womens “stuff at home,” it’s cute and seems ridiculous, but really isn’t that far off when you remember in recent years the licensing and “fees” proposed in different states in order to watch pornography. All of this points to the fact that not only does the government think it has a right to interject itself into every financial interaction you have, even more, it reveals their belief that they own you and are entitled to benefit from everything you do. This is not the point of view of a benevolent entity that just wishes for our wellbeing, or one protecting freedom. It is the point of view of a predator that realized it could profit longer on us by convincing us that it had the right to enslave us and convinced us to go along with it. No, taxes are not just a nuisance, they are an indication of the evil position of collectivism.

Nicky P

I love listening to all these classic songs from way back when all these taxes were new. We bitch a lot about the income tax and think about the shift that brought it to us. We don't spend as much time thinking about the taxes that came before it. This song focusing on how the government wants into every human exchange is ridiculous. Whats amusing is that even way back then they pointed out how ludicrous it is that the government could see every transaction. Technology has made them watching us considerably easier and given us more reason to be on edge. Think black and grey markets as much as you can folks.

Created By
Nicky P
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