"When a new source of taxation is found it never means, in practice, that the old source is abandoned. It merely means that the politicians have two ways of milking the taxpayer where they had one before"

This quote by H. L. Mencken is a commentary on the nature of taxation and the politicians who enforce it. He is suggesting that when a new source of tax is found, it does not indicate that the old source is deserted. Rather, it indicates that politicians now have two ways of extracting cash from taxpayers, instead of simply one. This suggests that politicians are not always searching for methods to lower the problem of taxation on residents, however rather to increase it. Mencken's quote is a cautioning to taxpayers to be familiar with the capacity for political leaders to increase their tax problem, and to be alert in holding them liable.