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  "path": "/archives/2026-jan-apr.html#18_March_2026_(Texas_increased_tax_on_poor)",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-19T01:39:54.000Z",
  "site": "https://stallman.org",
  "tags": [
    "increased the tax on the poor"
  ],
  "textContent": "Texas has increased the tax on the poor represented by the system of cash bail.\n\nNominally, bail is money handed over by or on behalf of the defendant, to be returned if the defendant does appear for trial. This would appear to be fair (except when the defendant can't come up with that much money and is kept in jail during months or years of waiting).\n\nBut the way the system usually really works is that the defendant gets the money from a \"bail bonds\" company for a nonrefundable fee of around 10% of the sum. The company will later get its money back from the court, but the defendant pays, in effect, a tax for being charged.",
  "title": "Texas increased tax on poor"
}