In republics without absolute rulers, individuals trust each other to maintain the state out of a sense of civic duty, and not to declare themselves king. This

In republics without absolute rulers, individuals trust each other to maintain the state out of a sense of civic duty, and not to declare themselves king. This trust is greatly eroded by calls to eliminate direct taxes on land holders. In America the local property tax is the most important thing holding society together. It provides residents with assurances that regardless of how corrupt the public process for distributing legal tender becomes, that the richest cannot simply buy the entire country and turn the continent into a private estate which their descendants will inherit in perpetuity without paying enormous taxes to everyone else. When James Madison organized the assessment of property taxes at the national level during his presidency it resulted in the 'Era of Good Feelings' and a relative low point of political polarization. In contrast when state governments introduced sales taxes for the first time to reduce property taxes it prolonged the Great Depression, and when NYC gave the largest property tax abatements in the country to Donald Trump it lead to the Trump presidency which increased political polarization.