7 ms·
If you pay taxes, you "support" the entire government. That doesn't mean that you are in favor of all of the things that it is doing. If you pay taxes, you are
by hnruss 7y ago
If you pay taxes, you "support" the entire government. That doesn't mean that you are in favor of all of the things that it is doing.
If you pay taxes, you are a citizen, not a "customer". These things are not the same.
- shadowgovt 7y agoThis is key. Modeling citizens as customers of government leads to all sorts of bad conclusions (including that government can choose to refuse service; there's a reason most of the developed world has no legal concept equivalent to the ancient "writ of Outlawry.").
- sneak 7y agoTaxes are not voluntary. I pay taxes for the sole reason that I do not support armed men coming to my house to jail me for not paying taxes. They are paid under duress. I do not consent.
- undersuit 7y agoNo. You entered into an agreement with your employer and the US government when you were hired. You gave them permission by consenting to work within the system and you probably filled out some sort of form with a W in front of it. You may work outside of the system.
- sneak 7y agoI made no such agreement with the government. You are manufacturing consent where none exists. The sole reason I pay is because of the threat of force, the promise of a gun to my head if I do not. There is no consent.
- Rebelgecko 7y agoWho will put a gun to your head if you stop working in the US?
- sneak 7y agoLocal cops via MLAT wherever I am working, as I owe US taxes regardless of where I earn money, a fun misfortune based on my location of birth. Failing that, local cops, when I am working nowhere and have to resort to stealing food to survive.
- SauciestGNU 7y agoStarvation, death by exposure, death from preventable disease and the like might not literally be guns, but the effects aren't that dissimilar and they are all consequences of not working in the US. There's not exactly a robust social safety net here.
- Rebelgecko 7y agoI think people overstate the dangers of moving to Canada
- hnruss 7y agoNo laws are voluntary. They are all enforced under duress. Men will come to your house and jail you if you don't follow them. That's why they're called "laws", not "options".
- somebodythere 7y agoI think you two are in agreement.
- undersuit 7y agoWAIT. You entered the US? You're not a citizen? You're complaining about our rules after we let you in?
- tomp 7y agoCouldn't you say the same about ICE? You support their main function, protecting the border, but aren't in favor in all of the things they're doing in order to achieve that goal.
- hnruss 7y agoYes, that's my point.