I write in response to Jean Marbella's latest misguided rant ("No free drinks: Bottle tax deserves another shot" May 23). In supporting a new tax on beverages, she questions where we have the right to drink all of the beverages we want as cheaply as possible. I recall reading about a rebellion occurring up in Boston in 1773 when the British Parliament tried to tax their beverage of choice, tea. We all know how that worked out for the Brits.

The government cannot continue to bury us in taxes because they fail to show better fiscal responsibility. They cannot look to their constituents as ATM machines. They cannot bankrupt small businesses because they fail to manage city finances better. The city has a spending problem, and it didn't stop with Mayor Sheila Dixon's ouster.

John Flynn, Annapolis