Henry Knox Quotes
That taxes may be the ostensible cause is true, but that they are the true cause is as far remote from truth as light from darkness.
Knox, Henry. "To George Washington from Henry Knox, 23 October 1786." The Papers of George Washington: Confederation Series, Vol. 4, 2 April 1786 - 31 January 1787, edited by W. W. Abbot, University Press of Virginia, 1995, pp. 300-304.
This is an oratorical extension of the famous quotation of Oliver Wendell Homes Jr. See {603708}
This is the most articulate historical statement of the modern conservative mantra regarding taxes. However, one change has taken place. The words “necessarily” and “often” tend to be left out of the more modern ideological statements. Mellon’s original statement has never really had any politicians or economists who disagreed. Politicians of all economic persuasions have generally accepted the Mellon statement but the extreme conservatives’ creed is that a lowering of taxes always produces more revenue and a tax increase will inevitably lead to greater tax revenue—a position which Mellon never took. Mellon however was very solicitous of the wealthy, felt the welfare of the nation depended on their prosperity, and was a strong advocate of what was later called ‘trickle down’ economics {628592}.
Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, who also served as the first United States Secretary of War from 1789 to 1794.
