David Weber, absolute proof that very smart people can buy into wingnut bullshit..

[Fumesucker]

I just finished Weber's "Shadow of Saganami" on the Baen free library, I was on chapter 39 and really getting into it, Weber was giving a terrifically sophisticated analysis of the various political entities involved in his story when from out of nowhere he dropped this amazing turd into the punchbowl.

http://www.baenebooks.com/10.1125/Baen/0743488520/0743488520.htm?blurb

"I think they believe that since the Star Kingdom requires its citizens to pay taxes before they're allowed to vote, they'll be able to control the situation. That the Manticoran system's set up to give the Star Kingdom's upper class control of the electorate while maintaining the fiction that the lower classes have any real political power," Van Dort said, and Terekhov barked a sharp laugh.
"That's because they don't understand how high a percentage of our people do pay taxes. Or maybe they think our tax codes are as complicated and buggered up as theirs are as a way to chisel people out of the franchise."
"Not all of our tax codes are that bad," Van Dort protested.
"Oh, please, Bernardus!" Terekhov shook his head in disgust. "Oh, I'll grant you Rembrandt isn't quite as bad as the others, but I've taken a look at the rat's nest of tax provisions some of you people have out here. I've seen hyper-space astrogation problems that were simpler! No wonder nobody knows what the hell is going on. But the Star Kingdom's personal tax provisions are a lot simpler—I filled out my entire tax return in less than ten minutes, on a single-page e-form, last year, even with the emergency war taxes. And all the Star Kingdom requires to vote is that a citizen pay at least one cent more in taxes than he receives in government transfer payments and subsidies.

Totally ruined my suspension of disbelief, it took me about three chapters to get back into the story again, thankfully I didn't see any more really obvious wingturds so I managed to get through the rest of the book without pounding my keyboard into scrap..

Anyone who can believe that a provision to keep anyone not paying net taxes from voting will not eventually be used by the upper classes to disenfranchise the lower ones is just deluded.