Tea party protest planned for tax day

With tea parties now planned in 350 American cities and communities, this is expected to be the largest multi-city mass gathering in US history. Organizers are planning for about a half dozen local tea parties to protest tax day.

Felicia Cravens with the Houston Tea Party Society said, "It's anti-stimulus which isn't a stimulus. It's anti-generational theft." Cravens is the leader of the Houston Tea Party Society and expects hundreds to gather in Houston's Jones Plaza on Wednesday, April 15 to protest what tea party supporters call unprecedented government spending.

"I think these are people who haven't read basic economics, or they're attempting to experiment with something that they're not certain will work," Cravens explained.

Cravens and others aren't certain if their protest will work as well as the Boston Tea Party of 1773, but they are certainly willing to try. More than 500 people showed up to a rally in late February and protested Congress' handling of the economic crisis.

No tea will end up in the gulf, still protesters in Galveston, Friendswood and Clear Lake hope to flood congressional members with tea by signing tea bags and mailing them to DC.

And while the movement seems to be gaining popularity by the day with the help of social networks like Facebook, it does have its critics. Amber Moon with the Harris County Democratic Party points out money taxed federally is making its way back to address local needs.

"We definitely like to see money coming down to the states," she said.

But tea party advocates, including Texas Governor Rick Perry, believe that tax money shouldn't be leaving the states in the first place.

"Lot of people have been involved and they're tired and frustrated and they want to find a way to express that," said Cravens. "Certainly, we have people who agree the spending is out of control and there's too much pork and that there's lots of things that we could be doing better to get back on the road to recovery."

The events won't end with tax day. Plans are already in the works for future protests including one on July 4th.