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Survey: U.S. Thirty Times More Civilized

A recent survey by the Tax Foundation estimated that Americans "will spend more per capita in 1999 on taxes ($10,298) than on food ($2,693), clothing ($1,404), and shelter ($5,833) combined."

In 1904, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. made his famous statement that "taxes are what we pay for a civilized society." The Tax Foundation points out that we must be awfully civilized by now - taxes are fully 30 times greater (in 1999 dollars) than when Holmes spoke.

(Sources: Tax Foundation, as reported in "CEI UpDate," Competitive Enterprise Institute)