Someone in
The Wall Street Journal, natch, rhapsodizes about the good old days of 1776, when everyone owned a gun and was willing to shoot it out with the tax collectors. Is there something missing from the discussion about how all those rich old landowners and merchants made their pile? [Clue: "America in 1776 was also a diverse nation. The first census, taken in 1790, revealed that only about 60% of the people came from England. The rest were German, Irish, Dutch, Scottish, Swedish and African."]
Fleming: What Life Was Like in 1776Americans had the highest per capita income in the civilized world, paid the lowest taxes—and were determined to keep it that way.