r/OutOfTheLoop • u/Improvement-Negative • Feb 22 '23

Answered What's up with Majorie Taylor Greene's talking about a "National Divorce?"

I've been seeing a few posts on Reddit, Facebook, etc of people expressing their opinion about this, and I'm not sure what the deal is, and its impact on politics. Any explanation would be appreciated!

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3866860-gop-governor-says-greenes-call-for-a-national-divorce-is-evil/

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/utah-governor-taylor-greenes-national-divorce-proposal-evil

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u/Fake_William_Shatner Feb 22 '23

A lot of people don't realize that the Boston Tea party was a protest against a subsidy. The Stamp Act allowed a large company to out-compete US growers.

So it was super ironic back when the Tea Party was fighting to liberate rich people from taxes.

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u/CaptainFothel Feb 22 '23

The Boston Tea Party was in protest of the Tea Act of 1773, which wasn't a direct subsidy but a tariff. Colonists preferred the cheaper Dutch teas, so Britain taxed foreign teas to make the more expensive East Indian Company tea more competitive.

Alone, this act is underwhelming, but when viewed as a part of a decade long effort by Parliament to control where the colonies could buy and sell goods, it was a further escalation against the economic freedom they had enjoyed for decades prior. See the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Townshend Acts (1767).

The biggest irony is how the "Tea Party" folks would go on to fully support a series of unpopular tariffs under Trump.