Changes

The Tea Party Movement began with a protest against two aspects of current public policy:

The Tea Party Movement began with a protest against two aspects of current public policy:

# Excessive taxation

# Taxation of the wealthy (many Tea Part supporters pay lower taxes under Obama than they did under George W. Bush, but they have apparently been misled by national organizations crowing about "excessive taxes")

# Special privilege

# Lack of special privilege

[[Rick Santelli]] specifically cited the mortgage [[bailout]] policies of early 2009 as a prize example of the government doing special favors for certain classes of voters, in return for their continued support, and also of the "moral hazard" in which such policies inevitably place anyone who "buys on time," i.e., buys any sort of asset, from a home appliance to a parcel of [[real estate]], using borrowed money.

[[Rick Santelli]] specifically cited the mortgage [[bailout]] policies of early 2009 as a prize example of the government doing special favors for certain classes of voters, in return for their continued support, and also of the "moral hazard" in which such policies inevitably place anyone who "buys on time," i.e., buys any sort of asset, from a home appliance to a parcel of [[real estate]], using borrowed money.

# Self-responsibility

# Self-responsibility

# Self-autonomy

# Self-autonomy

# Limited government

# Limited government (meaning government that can do only what this small minority wants it to do, ignoring the majority of voters)

# A requirement that government live within its own means, just as individuals must live within theirs

# A requirement that government live within its own means, just as individuals must live within theirs (though tax cuts for the rich and unjustified wars are exempt from this requirement)

# Capitalism

# Capitalism

# Freedom of all varieties of production and trade

# Freedom of all varieties of production and trade

# Respect for the [[United States Constitution]]

# Respect for a hilarious misinterpretation of the [[United States Constitution]]

== Characteristics ==

== Characteristics ==