Power will always take as much as it can. And the humiliation ritual is half the point. No worry, our citizenship is in heaven. They can take the dollar bills with them straight to hell.

Consumption taxes stifle consumption. And perhaps that's the best thing to stifle if you have to stifle something (as is necessary when you tax). I'm not convinced, though consumerism for its own sake is fine to see reduced. It does of course mean that the people who spend the most of their wealth...