11 quotes
I didn’t think Communists should be allowed to hold office for the same reason that I don’t think you should give Al Capone the key to your safe-deposit box.
I’m Mad As Hell: The Exclusive Story of the Tax Revolt and its Leader (1979)
Tax shelters are a coffin for money.
I’m Mad As Hell: The Exclusive Story of the Tax Revolt and its Leader (1979)
The people who wrote the constitution ... didn't say life, liberty and welfare or life, liberty and food stamps.
I guess nobody chose me to lead the parade. I guess I chose myself. If I hadn't done it, I don't think anybody else in California would have done it. Nobody.
I’m Mad As Hell: The Exclusive Story of the Tax Revolt and its Leader (1979)
The most important thing in this country is not the school system, nor the police department nor the fire department. The right to have property in this country, the right to have a home in this country, that’s important.
Over the years one of the main ploys by our politicians has been to make government so complicated that people can’t understand it. What the people can’t understand, they’re afraid of and walk away from. That leaves the politicians with a free hand.
I’m Mad As Hell: The Exclusive Story of the Tax Revolt and its Leader (1979)
In Los Angeles County alone, 400,000 people did not pay their property tax this year because they didn’t have the money. They run the risk of being forced out of their homes, which I personally believe is un-American, indecent, and criminal. There is nothing more sacred than the place where a man lives.
I’m Mad As Hell: The Exclusive Story of the Tax Revolt and its Leader (1979)
An oppressive legislature could drive the people to refuse to pay their taxes and to revolt with guns. We didn’t want that, so we were trying to create a revolution with fountain pens, rather than with rifles, clubs, or a confrontation between the people and the government.
I’m Mad As Hell: The Exclusive Story of the Tax Revolt and its Leader (1979)
I think the fact that so many people are forced to live in apartments is bad for the country. The solution is more building, but the politicians have made it impossible to build. People don’t have as much interest in keeping an eye on government and politicians when they rent, instead of owning their own home.
I’m Mad As Hell: The Exclusive Story of the Tax Revolt and its Leader (1979)
The people in the United States—or at least some of the states—have two basic rights, the right to vote and the right to legally petition. I think the right to petition is more important than the right to vote because the right to petition means that the people can group together to stand up to the politicians and the bureaucrats.
I’m Mad As Hell: The Exclusive Story of the Tax Revolt and its Leader (1979)
Also, I want to reduce the capital gains tax from its current level of up to 40% to a flat 15%. This would free investment capital and result in increased productivity and a decline in unemployment… Japan and Germany, for instance, have virtually no capital gains tax at all, and they have two of the strongest economies in the Western world.
I’m Mad As Hell: The Exclusive Story of the Tax Revolt and its Leader (1979)