http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1748
Here are some one liners...
The Wooly Beginnings of the Industrial Age -- Someone has invented a machine that separates wool and cotton into fibers for processing into yarn and thread, but he's being paid the same as if he is doing it by hand! Shhhhh! It's a secret.
Elimination of the Income Tax... DENIED! -- The King of France PROMISED that once the war was over he would suspend the income tax... but just like one of Bill Clinton's promises, it's not going to happen.
The Wooly Beginnings of the Industrial Age
Great Britain has been cracking down on cheap imports from India in order to keep British subjects working, but the British textile industry keeps finding ways to cut labor costs and speed production! The labor intensive part of the industry is "carding" which is the separation of wool and cotton into workable fiber. Then laborers (usually unmarried women) use a drop-spindle to hand spin the fibers into thread and yarn. The equipment is simple and easy to learn, but only a knucklehead would do it this way in commercial quantities. Spinning wheels have existed for 500 years in the Middle East, but they aren't allowed into Europe because they believe that increased production-per-employee will mean lower profits and more unemployment. Apparently, creating a larger textile market through lower prices and greater demand hasn't occurred to them. Currently, raw wool and cotton are dropped off at homes and small factories and 2 weeks later the finished product is picked up. The workers earn a few shillings, but they have a secret. They have been using a mechanical carding machine. They turn a crank (or lead a donkey), the cylinder turns and the fibers SEPARATE AUTOMATICALLY! Even at the paltry sums they are receiving, a machine can be paid for in 4 years. Lewis Paul of Birmingham is the inventor and he patents his machine this year, but he has been using it in secret since 1742! [1] [2]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
The flying shuttle loom (which cuts labor costs in half) is just coming into use in commercial numbers. Just wait until the Spinning Wheel and the Spinning Jenny are introduced in the 1750s and 60s. British revenues from the production of wool and cotton products will jump from £200,000 pounds sterling annually (about $24 million in 2014 dollars) to £40 million pounds (or almost 5 billion dollars!) annually by the 1830s. I've provided a link to a video tutorial on how to produce yarn using a drop spindle. It is so simple, you will wonder why you aren't doing it yourself... that is... until you've done it by hand for a few hours. Then you will know why. It's for small jobs but once you see a drop spindle you will soon realize that you can make one yourself out of a hook, a dowel and a coffee can lid. Then all you need is a sheep to sit still for just two minutes! [3] [4] [5]
The flying shuttle loom (which cuts labor costs in half) is just coming into use in commercial numbers. Just wait until the Spinning Wheel and the Spinning Jenny are introduced in the 1750s and 60s. British revenues from the production of wool and cotton products will jump from £200,000 pounds sterling annually (about $24 million in 2014 dollars) to £40 million pounds (or almost 5 billion dollars!) annually by the 1830s. I've provided a link to a video tutorial on how to produce yarn using a drop spindle. It is so simple, you will wonder why you aren't doing it yourself... that is... until you've done it by hand for a few hours. Then you will know why. It's for small jobs but once you see a drop spindle you will soon realize that you can make one yourself out of a hook, a dowel and a coffee can lid. Then all you need is a sheep to sit still for just two minutes! [3] [4] [5]
Elimination of the Income Tax... DENIED!
King Louis the 15th of France has been piling up the bills so a few years ago he imposed an 10% income tax across the board. This is the 3rd time he has imposed such a tax and everyone hates it. He promised to eliminate the income tax entirely once the War of Austrian Succession was concluded. Well... with the signing of the treaty this year, that war is concluded, but the treasurer complains that the debt is too high. He calls for the King to continue the tax until the debt is paid down. Reluctantly the King agrees, but the complaints are so loud that he reduces the tax from 10% to 5% except for pensions and salaries for government offices. Next year, the treasurer will discover that the government can't do without this vital source of revenue and the income tax will become a permanent feature of French life. [6] [7] [8]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
I remember many of the promises Bill Clinton made when he was running for President. A few weeks after he took office, he came before the American people with his head hung low. He said he had never worked harder in his life to find a way to reduce taxes like he had promised but he just couldn't find a way. In fact, he actually RAISED taxes, and made it retroactive to the beginning of the year... BEFORE he took office! The radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, was counting the days of "America Held Hostage" when Bill Clinton took office on January 20, 1993 until a caller pointed out that the retroactive tax meant that America had been held hostage from January 1st... not January 20th. Rush changed the count, adding 20 days. It would have been hilarious if it wasn't so sad. [9]
I remember many of the promises Bill Clinton made when he was running for President. A few weeks after he took office, he came before the American people with his head hung low. He said he had never worked harder in his life to find a way to reduce taxes like he had promised but he just couldn't find a way. In fact, he actually RAISED taxes, and made it retroactive to the beginning of the year... BEFORE he took office! The radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, was counting the days of "America Held Hostage" when Bill Clinton took office on January 20, 1993 until a caller pointed out that the retroactive tax meant that America had been held hostage from January 1st... not January 20th. Rush changed the count, adding 20 days. It would have been hilarious if it wasn't so sad. [9]
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