The tax protests sure were clever spectacle. But, like the war in Iraq, and like skepticism about global warming, the protests were a sham, organized for the benefit of the rich and the powerful.

Protesting against taxes is rather like protesting against death. After all, there are bills to pay. The previous, Republican administration left $11 trillion in debt, two mismanaged wars, unprecedented corruption and waste, and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Economists agree that massive governmental spending and bailouts (which started last year) are needed to avert an even worse disaster.

Moreover, both concentration of wealth and public debt have increased dramatically, while tax rates on the wealthiest Americans have fallen far below historic averages. In 1955 the 400 richest Americans paid over 51 percent of their income in taxes; in 2006 they paid a mere 17 percent, despite earning 20 times as much. (Source: The Nation, April 27)

The Republicans would like to blame it all on the Dems, drown government in a bathtub, and turn America into a lawless state like Somalia, where everyone carries guns, government provides no services, and the poor, the weak and the elderly are abandoned.

Donald A. Smith, Bellevue