Boston Tea Party: A Case Study

Before our founders contrived our Constitution, civilians have always distrusted those in higher powers with their money. As early as the Boston Tea Party in 1773, civilians wanted to implement a system to where their opinions were considered. Therefore, according to Shafritz, Russell, and Borick, they stated that, “Taxation and public spending must be voted for; they must have, in effect, the stamp of democratic approval” (2013, p. 473) However, in present day, this is not the way our government operates. Kettl states, “The Constitution explicitly requires that all tax measures originate in the House of Representatives, the body that the founders believed would be the “people’s house,” to make sure that citizens had a voice in their own

However, as Kettl discussed, “While Congress has tried, especially since the mid-1970’s, to regain its earlier preeminence in the budgetary process, the president has held the upper hand over most of the years since” (2015, p. 305). Our founding fathers had dealt with situations to where they were not consulted on how their money was spent in the year of 1773, at the Boston Tea Party, and designed a solution to explicitly include the public in how our funds should be spent. I agree wholeheartedly with our founding fathers design approach and what it was trying to accomplish; therefore, I do not feel comfortable knowing that there is a black budget, or that Congress has lost its preeminence in the budgetary process. The Constitution explicitly made it our right to have a voice in our taxation, but we clearly have been stripped of this right through these top secret budgets. I want to make sure my country is spending my money appropriately and in something I believe in. If the country is taking part in situations they are afraid for the public to be made aware of, it only makes me question if what they are doing is moral and just, and if it is, then why is it not public