Sticking it to the man, by shopping

Retailers in Massachusetts were pleasantly surprised by the huge turnout this past weekend as shoppers took advantage of a tax free weekend:

Inundated with shoppers on a sultry, summer weekend, giddy retailers said yesterday that the state's first-ever Saturday and Sunday without a sales tax could end up being the most profitable weekend of the year, beating the $500 million in sales that shops usually reap during the final weekend rush in late December.

There’s a coalescing belief that Bay Staters may have rushed to the stores in a display of protest against Beacon Hill:

Customers said they had many reasons to shop yesterday, beating the government not least among them.
Many acknowledged a certain frisson at the idea of saving 5 percent from the state -- shopping as civil disobedience.

Some of the Freedom Shoppers were heard singing “We Shall Overspend.”