The silliness and waste of the modern "Tea Party" protests

Fifteen days ago, in the midst of many Americans talking about mailing tea bags and beatifying Rick Santelli, my friend Billy Beck wrote:

"The tea-bag protest is a fabulous thing,..."

It's rubbish. I guarantee you: everybody talking about this is going to make sure the monster is fed next April 15th and they cannot wait to get in line and vote again.

And he is correct. As if to prove it, Bryan Pick at QandO wrote about Brad Warbiany's idea to minimize automatic withholding, in an effort to "starve the beast."

Brad has been a friend for several years, but certain things must be said here. I left a comment in reply to Bryan that is also for Brad and anyone else who thinks this "protest" will work -- who thinks this "protest" is anything like the Boston Tea Party.

Bryan, don't take too much offense here, but I'll ask bluntly: are you, or are you not, still going to "catch up" by April 15th on what the feds say you "owe"?

If you are, then your "protest" amounts to nothing. Just what do you think you'll accomplish by "postponing" anything? Lack of tax revenue has never stopped the federal government from its real spending. The several so-called "shutdowns" were about budget disagreements on how much to tax and how much to borrow, not an actual lack of revenue.

Regardless of which party controls what branch, the Fed will simply create more money and buy as many U.S. Treasury securities as needed for the feds to keep spending. This means we all will pay via inflation, on top of taxpayers still catching up at the end. So your efforts amount to little children trying to hold their breath at the dinner table. (Not to say the feds are our rightful parents or guardians, but my point is about the efficacy of your method.) You can "protest" until your faces turn blue, but you'll still be all paid up by April 15th.

What difference does it make if your Uncle Sam molests you at 11 p.m. or 4 a.m.? He's patient. He knows you'll eventually submit, and he knows that every applicable November, your siblings will always agree with your parents that Uncle Sam can keep coming over with the specific intent of molesting you (if you follow the analogy, I'm saying Americans just keep voting for the representatives and their bureaucrats who will keep taxing us and spending our money).

Grimshaw is correct. If you want a real protest, then millions indeed must start withholding. This requires a wee bit more resistance than most people are willing to put forth, but that's what it's going to take to change the system.

"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." The few, like Wesley Snipes and Richard Hatch, are easily taken out.

I also made a quick followup:

Let me put it this way, saying nothing more.

Was the Boston Tea Party at all about postponing buying the tea? How did it get the attention desired?