BobRingReflections

Pat and I will be touring Muir’s Woods, and Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks next month, starting in San Francisco.  I posted a blog about the history of these parks, “John Muir’s California,” on December 23, 2021.  This blog will cover the history of the Golden Gate Bridge, which we will cross on Day 1 of our tour.   After a short introduction, I’ll cover the period before the bridge was built, including the history of the Golden Gate Strait, Fort Point, early ferry service across the strait, and obstacles to building the bridge.  Then, I’ll discuss the design and financing of the bridge, and the building of the bridge – including a construction timeline.  Next, I’ll describe the completed bridge, the men who built the bridge, and end with some additional interesting facts about the bridge. My principal sources include The Gate:  The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge by John van der Zee; “Golden Ga...

I sometimes have trouble coming up with a new blog topic - something I want to know more about.  On April 18 th , it hit me, duh ….!  It’s taxes!  On Tax Day, I decided that I want to know more about taxes; you figure it out.  Anyway, this blog will cover the history of taxation.   After a short introduction, I’ll talk about taxes in ancient times, the Middle Ages, Colonial America, and then cover the history of the myriad of taxes in the United States, leading up to today.  I’ll close with a personal note on paying taxes. My principal sources include “History of Taxes,” taxfoundation.org; “A Brief History of Taxes in the U.S.,” investopedia.com; “History of Taxation,” britannica.com; “A History of Revolution in U.S. Taxation,” visualcapitalist.com; “Tax” and “History of Taxation in the United States,” Wikipedia; and numerous other online sources. Introduction A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer ...