In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
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In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
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Re: In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
#2taxes aren't just a way to raise money for federal and local governments, they are also an elegant way which society has to allocate social hatred.
You need a corporate tax because people hate corporations, a wealth tax is being discussed and on the horizon because people hate the wealthy...and so forth
In this case, of course there was a tax on wine in ancient Egypt in order to represent the social hatred which ensued when somebody saw a wealthy person consume a luxury item such as wine
Re: In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
#3Also, taxes are money. Essentially, a government issues money to its (armed) servants. It also demands its citizens to pay a certain tax in form of that money. This forces the citizens to work for and sell to the government's servants to obtain that money. Servants are happy, government can continue to govern, citizens, well, who cares, right?
Re: In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
#4taxes aren't just a way to raise money for federal and local governments, they are also an elegant way which society has to allocate social hatred. You need a corporate tax because people hate corporations, a wealth tax is being discussed and on the horizon because people hate the wealthy...and so forth In this case, of course there was a tax on wine in ancient Egypt in order to represent the social hatred which ensu…
Taxes seem more of a form of "societal sculpture" in our day, as there are carve-outs to enhance this virtue or punish that vice.
Blows my mind how we can have truly great software architecture like, e.g. Netflix, and a tax system that remains a Byzantine trainwreck.
Or, as Jonah Goldberg notes: "Complexity is a subsidy."
Re: In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
#5Also, taxes are money. Essentially, a government issues money to its (armed) servants. It also demands its citizens to pay a certain tax in form of that money. This forces the citizens to work for and sell to the government's servants to obtain that money. Servants are happy, government can continue to govern, citizens, well, who cares, right?
Its like the mafia coming to your door wanting a protection fee but instead the government is much bigger and even pays to punish people for wrong-think like on this site.
If you don't pay your taxes and fight back, the government will send its servants to kill you or beat you until money pops out.
Re: In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
#6taxes aren't just a way to raise money for federal and local governments, they are also an elegant way which society has to allocate social hatred. You need a corporate tax because people hate corporations, a wealth tax is being discussed and on the horizon because people hate the wealthy...and so forth In this case, of course there was a tax on wine in ancient Egypt in order to represent the social hatred which ensu…
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Re: In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
#7Also, taxes are money. Essentially, a government issues money to its (armed) servants. It also demands its citizens to pay a certain tax in form of that money. This forces the citizens to work for and sell to the government's servants to obtain that money. Servants are happy, government can continue to govern, citizens, well, who cares, right?
Its like the mafia coming to your door wanting a protection fee but instead the government is much bigger and even pays to punish people for wrong-think like on this site. If you don't pay your taxes and fight back, the government will send its servants to kill you or beat you until money pops out.
If you don't like taxes why wouldn't you move to a country that doesn't have taxes like Somalia?
Is it because taxes pay for security and things you use everyday like infrastructure?
Re: In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its like the mafia coming to your door wanting a protection fee but instead the government is much bigger and even pays to punish people for wrong-think like on this site. If you don't pay your taxes and fight back, the government will send its servants to kill you or beat you until money pops out.
If you don't like taxes why wouldn't you move to a country that doesn't have taxes like Somalia? Is it because taxes pay for security and things you use everyday like infrastructure?
Somalia has some other issues.
That being said, I would happily move to a country with 0% income tax, such as Monaco or Oman.
Alas these countries do not allow free movement of people through their borders.
Re: In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
#9Also, taxes are money. Essentially, a government issues money to its (armed) servants. It also demands its citizens to pay a certain tax in form of that money. This forces the citizens to work for and sell to the government's servants to obtain that money. Servants are happy, government can continue to govern, citizens, well, who cares, right?
Its like the mafia coming to your door wanting a protection fee but instead the government is much bigger and even pays to punish people for wrong-think like on this site. If you don't pay your taxes and fight back, the government will send its servants to kill you or beat you until money pops out.
God is love.
Love is blind.
Ray Charles is blind. Ray Charles is God.
Re: In the Beginning, There Were Taxes
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its like the mafia coming to your door wanting a protection fee but instead the government is much bigger and even pays to punish people for wrong-think like on this site. If you don't pay your taxes and fight back, the government will send its servants to kill you or beat you until money pops out.
If you don't like taxes why wouldn't you move to a country that doesn't have taxes like Somalia? Is it because taxes pay for security and things you use everyday like infrastructure?
It's a common strawman argument to paint the argument as black and white, that either you want taxes or you want zero taxes. When in reality there's many shades of grey. The majority of people that complain about taxes don't want zero taxation, they just want to be taxed fairly, with proper representation, and for the government to make proper use of the money they do take, with accountability, before demanding more from the citizens.