3% Phone Tax To Pay For The Spanish-American War
USA Today reports that the 3% excise tax on your phone bill may be on way out, which is a good thing since it was imposed in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War (did they have phones in 1898?)
NOw, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I don't think we should be at war with the Spanish. THey've given us paella, sangria, and really cool architecture. So it doesnt seem fair that we'd go and have a war with them.
It is interesting to note this as another example of the absurdities that result from the mismatch in the incentives and longevity of humans as compared to human institutions.
Humans, who evolved in relatively small population communities -- perhaps 150 or so neighbors -- subordinate rules to the smooth functioning of the social system. Hard and fast rules erode over time as actual human behavior dates and ages concepts and usage.
Institutions, on the other hand, have no "common sense", no ability to be flexible as events change, except to the extent that that flexibility is imparted by its human agents -- and even then rarely. (For which see the Helium Reserve -- designed to keep our nation's military blimps in the air in the event of an attack.)
