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Your question used the word “entitled”. It is reminiscent of those who say that taxation is theft. Your framing does none of 1, 2, 3, and 4. I don’t understan
by skh 8y ago
Your question used the word “entitled”. It is reminiscent of those who say that taxation is theft. Your framing does none of 1, 2, 3, and 4.
I don’t understand the point of your first paragraph. It’s a caricature of people you call the Left. I have never seen anyone anywhere paint taxation as an unalloyed good in and of itself. Can I suggest that instead of talking in terms of Left/Right that some other dialog be used? This is why I framed things the way I did. There’s not mention of Left or Right. It’s just questions that get at the heart of what being a society means.
- AnimalMuppet 8y agoI have seen the (far?) Left say, quite recently and very publicly, that wealth inequality is an unalloyed bad, and that taxation is the answer. That's not quite "taxation is an unalloyed good", but it's definitely "you don't need (and shouldn't have) that money, so we'll take it".
- skh 8y agoOK. I guess don't change the framing of taxation from Right vs. Left to framing the issue to one of determining the optimal way to fund what society needs/wants. I doubt you can large numbers of the Left saying what you claim. Specifically that the reason for wanting to increase taxes is to get rid of wealth inequality. I have heard people say things to the effect that beyond a certain point the wealthy can afford to pay more taxes in order to fund some programs. These things are nuanced and it's not helpful to reduce everything to a slogan.