How they keep you poor.

Hello there, Anticitizen.

What do 19th-century corn taxes have to do with life becoming more expensive today? It’s all about making the rich richer, and you much poorer.

Read how in today’s letter →

📖 ESTIMATED READ TIME: 4 min 55 seconds

Corn for the rich.

In the early 19th century, a dark shadow that would reward the rich and punish the poor cast itself over the verdant green lands of England. Unexpectedly, this three-decade-long economic curse was brought forth by something as simple and essential as corn.

At the time, land ownership was nearly exclusive to the nation’s ruling class. Centuries of restrictive laws and traditions meant that only the titled elite who passed down land to descendants via inheritance were generally able to hold this most treasured of assets.

With land, one could profit from the growing of essential crops of life. A venture that became infinitely more lucrative with the implementation of the Corn Laws in 1815.

Sold to the people as a benefit to the kingdom, the reforms promised that local grain farmers’ products would be protected, safeguarding English production and keeping more of the population employed. In turn, foreign produce would be heavily penalised with suffocating tariffs and restrictions, stifling the import of grain coming from France and the Kingdom of Holland, among others.

Unfortunately for England’s common folk, the reality was much more cruel.

The Corn Laws were a fortuitous windfall for wealthy landowners. High tariffs on imported grain meant foreign competitors could not undercut domestic rates, resulting in skyrocketing local grain costs. Agreements between the landed gentry also kept prices high, as they secretly colluded to control the market for profit.

This devastated the peasantry; a heavy yoke that crushed what remained of their meagre prosperity into dust.

The price of bread, porridge, and other staple foods leapt upwards. As a significant portion of the average peasant’s income went to feeding themselves, high prices led to a substantial decrease in overall purchasing power and quality of life for much of the population. Widespread malnutrition, poverty, and the stunting of child growth quickly followed.

To the rich, however, this was merely an easily ignored side effect of the harvesting of more riches. Wealth flowed upwards from the masses to the ruling class as steadily as smoke rising from a chimney.

The Corn Laws, and the negative impacts they levied on the English people, subsisted for 31 years until they were finally repealed in 1846. Only dying after decades of pushback from the people, and heavy political pressure.

Voting for poverty.

Right now, national and regional elections are a subject on almost everyone’s lips.

From recent voting in France and the UK, to the 2024 European Union elections, and the current US election cycle, you can’t look anywhere without someone slapping you across the face with their political opinion.

But here’s one thing most people won’t mention: regardless of who wins any of this year’s elections, it will almost certainly result in making you poorer.

You already likely know that we live in the highest-taxed time in history. Whereas medieval peasants rioted over a 1.5% tax increase, and American colonists went to war against the British for independence partially over a 2% income tax, many of us pay 30%, 40%, 50%, or even 60%+ in taxes each year like it’s normal.

But it’s been far from normal for most of human existence.

Hypothetically, income taxes should affect all citizens equally, as they’re levied as a percentage of total income. However, lower income earners in society are disproportionately hammered by them.

That’s because our leaders have made sure they’ve taken a huge dump on lower- and middle-class citizens over the last few decades, as a result of the laws and levies that hit them hardest.

Here are just a few of examples of this:

• Carbon taxes disproportionately affect people in lower-income households, as they spend larger portions of their income on energy and transportation.

• Increasing VAT rates and sales taxes are becoming more regressive, as they take a larger percentage of low-income earners compared to high-income earners.

• In the UK, USA, Australia, and much of Europe, increasing amounts of government spending is going towards supporting non-citizens or economic migrants who aren’t legitimately claiming asylum on grounds of persecution. In Germany it’s so bad that an estimated 60% of all people on welfare today aren’t German citizens, costing taxpayers over half a trillion dollars per year.

• Large corporations are favoured when it comes to mandated business licensing and permits, creating a more unaffordable barrier to entry for independent business owners in competing.

• Subsidies on agricultural production favour massive agribusinesses more than independent farmers, and tend to create higher prices for consumers.

• Government-created inflation robs employed people of value via their paycheck and savings, while also transferring wealth upwards by making the rich’s investments worth more over time.

None of these taxes or subsidies are going away. In fact, the average developed nation implements dozens of similar new policies each year.

The simple truth is this:

Laws and regulations like this are always created via some narrative that they’re good for society. However, they always come with the added consequence of making most people poorer.

This isn’t an accident. It’s by design.

Each of the measures described above results in the poor becoming poorer, while benefitting the wealthy. Or at the very least, not affecting them in the same way.

And who are the people who are usually responsible for narratives and measures that create this ongoing inequality?

→ Politicians who create inflation get paid sometimes ten times higher than the average income of the people they represent, therefore not suffering the same financially damaging consequences of their policies.

→ Most who tell us we must lower our carbon footprint fly around the world on private jets (like Gates), or own personal yachts (like DiCaprio and Zuck.) These are the people who also most influence government environment policy that costs you money.

→ Companies that talk about their “ethical” business practices are often heavily offshored so that they can legally pay as little tax as possible to the countries they do business in. Leaving the common folk like us to pick up the rest of their tab with higher income taxes.

With all this in mind, let me ask you this:

Should you feel guilty about legally reducing the amount of tax you pay?

Some of you will say yes.

Let me ask you in a different way:

Do you think politicians, multinational corporations, and the ultra-rich feel guilty when they benefit from robbing you of your wealth each year?

I promise they’re not losing any sleep over it.

You shouldn’t either.

So this election season, don’t get caught up in left vs right, Democrat vs Republican, socialist vs capitalist, or whatever the dividing lines are in your country.

Instead, look at the big picture: No matter who gets in, you’ll be voting for more poverty either way.

Don’t expend your energy arguing with people online about which leader is going to be best for the future of you, or your nation.

Instead, use your energy more wisely.

Get your finances in order. Increase your earning power. Structure your life to pay the minimum amount of tax. Or even move out of your country for good to somewhere life is better.

The alternative?

Like the people of the time of the Corn Laws, you’ll be left living off whatever meagre scraps your overlords decide you’re allowed.

Written by Leon Hill.
Founder, Anticitizen.

Escape the system. Join the Bunker: the private membership by Anticitizen is launching soon. Learn how to live remotely as a nomad, get a second passport, and (legally) lower your tax: possibly to zero.

This newsletter is for educational purposes, and is not financial advice. Please do your own research, and consider risks involved with investing or purchasing any asset.