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I really hope you're not serious - having to provide for the support of common infrastructure and needs is very, very different from the condition of slavery, s

by dgacmu 10y ago

I really hope you're not serious - having to provide for the support of common infrastructure and needs is very, very different from the condition of slavery, something that our country has a very tarnished history of. You're free to choose another place to live. You're free to choose how you earn your living, or even whether or not you do earn a living. Nobody will beat you senseless if you decide to take a vacation this week. Nobody has absolute control over every detail of your life. You can marry and associate with whom you choose. You can object to paying 25% of your income, hand out tracts to that effect, and vote for politicians who may change that. You can't be bought and sold.

clarkmoody 10y ago
> having to provide for the support of common infrastructure If that were the only way taxes were spent, then taxes would be very low indeed, and we may not even need to have this discussion. > and needs Taxes pay for way more than "needs." Do we need to bomb people in the Middle East? If there no other way to pay for things than by the threat of violence? > You're free to choose another place to live. Am I? The United States must grant permission for you to renounce your citizenship, and until then, they claim taxes on your income no matter where derived. The government also controls the movement of people and may detain me if I attempt to leave the country. Of course I must also have the consent of some other government to gain entry and a work visa. I did not freely choose to live in my country of birth. I did not consent to the obligations of taxes. > You can object to paying 25% of your income, hand out tracts to that effect, and vote for politicians who may change that. You can't be bought and sold. But in the end, you must pay...
- dgacmu 10y ago
  Call it theft, call it extortion - whatever your preferred perjorative is. I'm simply arguing that it's not slavery - and that terming it so deemphasizes the real horror of actual slavery, current and past.
  - elastic_church 10y ago
    Your primary argument is that basic human rights can't be compared to other basic human rights because of the magnitude of certain ones you find more objectionable? The slave trade was abolished, I don't think you really need to write a thesis on it. Everyone accepts that, and now would like to elevate attention to more nuanced inequalities.
elastic_church 10y ago
Income taxes are a 100 year old concept, local and national government was decent at supporting infrastructure and schools when it was just property owners paying taxes. I would like you to realize that it requires indoctrination to agree with you. Indoctrination that the end result of due process is "right". Indoctrination that the word tax is exempt from scrutiny.

by dgacmu 10y ago

clarkmoody 10y ago

> having to provide for the support of common infrastructure If that were the only way taxes were spent, then taxes would be very low indeed, and we may not even need to have this discussion. > and needs Taxes pay for way more than "needs." Do we need to bomb people in the Middle East? If there no other way to pay for things than by the threat of violence? > You're free to choose another place to live. Am I? The United States must grant permission for you to renounce your citizenship, and until then, they claim taxes on your income no matter where derived. The government also controls the movement of people and may detain me if I attempt to leave the country. Of course I must also have the consent of some other government to gain entry and a work visa. I did not freely choose to live in my country of birth. I did not consent to the obligations of taxes. > You can object to paying 25% of your income, hand out tracts to that effect, and vote for politicians who may change that. You can't be bought and sold. But in the end, you must pay...

dgacmu 10y ago
Call it theft, call it extortion - whatever your preferred perjorative is. I'm simply arguing that it's not slavery - and that terming it so deemphasizes the real horror of actual slavery, current and past.
- elastic_church 10y ago
  Your primary argument is that basic human rights can't be compared to other basic human rights because of the magnitude of certain ones you find more objectionable? The slave trade was abolished, I don't think you really need to write a thesis on it. Everyone accepts that, and now would like to elevate attention to more nuanced inequalities.

elastic_church 10y ago

Income taxes are a 100 year old concept, local and national government was decent at supporting infrastructure and schools when it was just property owners paying taxes. I would like you to realize that it requires indoctrination to agree with you. Indoctrination that the end result of due process is "right". Indoctrination that the word tax is exempt from scrutiny.