At our request, State Board of Equalization Member and frequent FR Contributor Bill Leonard (pictured) penned these thoughts on the passing of California Taxpayers Association President Larry McCarthy…

Larry McCarthy is gone and the world is a poorer place.  It is right that conservatives honor his life and the dedication he had for each of us.  Anyone involved in California tax policy over the last couple of decades knew Larry.  Whether it was complex issues of unitary taxation of multinational corporations or simple principles that voters should be the final authority in approving tax increases Larry was in the thick of it.  (And on both of these he helped me) His knowledge of taxes made him a resource for many and his unassuming generosity with his time made him high on that list of people you would want to call to get answers.  His expertise was taxes and keeping taxes low is the mainstay of the conservative movement. 

His work is typical of conservatives in California.  He became an expert in his area where he sought little recognition and was actually unknown outside the arena of taxation.  Larry’s work typified what Edmund Burke called the little platoons of society that made it work.  Every Californian should be a dues paying member of Cal-Tax but in truth the organization is a relatively small number of believers in low and fair taxation and Larry was their leader.  Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of civil associations that would bind individual Americans together in a common cause and that cause would extend benefits to all of society.  Larry brought together very individualistic people many often in competition with each other and he made them into one voice for a worthy cause just as de Tocqueville reported.

It is hard to make a living and raise a family doing association work.  Those men and women like Larry McCarthy who dedicate their lives to the cause do so with sacrifices at home.  Remember Larry’s family in your prayers for Larry’s work is done.  And next time you get a solicitation or membership application for a worthwhile organization send them something in Larry’s name even if its just a thank you note for all they give to make our society civil.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.