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Poetry · Chapter
CLXI explained
In the Parliament of Otumwee, the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposes a tax on fools, and a member retorts that such a tax already exists in the form of the poll tax.
What happens
In the Parliament of Otumwee, the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposes a tax on fools, and a member retorts that such a tax already exists in the form of the poll tax.
Themes in this chapter
Political Satire
The chapter satirizes political taxation and the absurdity of taxing fools, with a jab at the poll tax.
Key passages
“The right honorable and generous gentleman forgets that we already have it in the poll tax.”
The member points out that the proposed tax on fools is redundant because the poll tax already serves that purpose.
A sarcastic remark implying that voters (who pay the poll tax) are fools.