Do tea parties protest too much?

Anti-tax tea parties are taking place across the US, including here in the North Country.

The Glens Falls Post Star is encouraging readers to send political leaders virtual tea bags.

The Boston Tea Party in 1773 helped ignite a revolution and was the inspiration for similar citizen protests throughout history. This week, we’ve got a chance to ignite another one — a tax revolution.

From the start, I’ve found this metaphor a little flawed. The Boston tea party was a protest against taxation without representation. But our government is duly elected at all levels: local, state and Federal.

What’s more, Americans have a long history of punishing elected officials who cut government services. Without taxes, we can’t have those popular programs.

Here in the North Country, government is — by far — the top employer. We’ve been living on “stimulus money” for decades.

When you factor in non-profits, hospitals, and nursing homes that rely on government entitlement programs, government makes up the lion’s share of our regional economy.

So here’s my suggestion. When you mail in that tea bag, or turn up at a tea party rally, be sure to mention which government service you’re willing to give up.

Don’t name government “waste” or “pork” — those items make up only a tiny fraction of Federal spending.

To balance our budget we’ll eventually have to make deep cuts to government programs that most of us now take for granted. Things like Social Security, Medicaid, public education.

We’ll also have to forfeit hundreds, if not thousands, of government jobs here in the North Country — everything from school teachers to snowplow drivers to prison guards.

So before you shake your fist at the tax collector, take a look at your own purse or wallet. How many dollars in there came from the government?

And what will you sacrifice to make the government we all elected smaller?