3 ms·

It is not insane, just not obvious what Grover’s aim is. He is anti-tax for a large number of reasons. By making paying tax painful for the majority of people h

It is not insane, just not obvious what Grover’s aim is. He is anti-tax for a large number of reasons. By making paying tax painful for the majority of people he is trying to increase the percentage of the population that hate the IRS and taxes. All very sane if your aim is to lower taxes.

stonogo 7y ago
Only if you don't care who you hurt on the way to your goal. We may have different definitions of sanity.
- danieltillett 7y ago
  Now we are getting to the question if his aim is ethical or not. I think his obsession with reducing taxation at all costs is misguided and often counterproductive, but it is not insane.
xrd 7y ago
Ok, this makes me feel like maybe he had intention and thought behind this. I can honestly align with that thinking if he was doing it for this reason. It seems like the world only works with subterfuge, sadly. Is it impossible to be honest about what you want to do and move people in that direction, or is it only possible to motivate change by lying to people. I don't love Grover Norquist, but I thought it was interesting/open-minded of him to see Burning Man for himself. And, I align with the idea of reducing taxes. So, this makes me feel like he was not just a useful idiot if he actually did it for this reason. But, still, what a cost to bear. And, does the long term goal of reducing taxation by causing people to hate the IRS get him any closer to actually reducing taxes and/or getting rid of the IRS? Obviously, that did not happen.
- danieltillett 7y ago
  Whatever Grover Norquist is, stupid is not one. He appears to be quite a complex (if obsessed) person and his views outside of taxation don’t fall easily on the normal left/right axis [1]. 1. https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist
  - xrd 7y ago
    He just has so many strange positions that may be "smart" but, at least at first glance, seem to have awful side effects. From that page: "In 1985, he went to a conference in South Africa sponsored by South African businesses called the "Youth for Freedom Conference", which sought to bring American and South African conservatives together to end the anti-apartheid movement." Why would anyone work to end the anti-apartheid movement? Did Norquist think that divestment and free-trade would be more effective in ending apartheid? https://www.thenation.com/article/meet-conservatives-who-campaigned-apartheid-south-africa/ https://www.thenation.com/article/meet-conservatives-who-cam... Didn't know that Jeff Flake, the sole anti-Trump Republican US senator, was also active in that movement. I have often felt down on my luck about my employment opportunities, but never have I considered working as a lobbyist for a South African mining company during Apartheid. The book "My Traitor's Heart" has some riveting stories about the horrors of being a mine worker in South Africa before apartheid ended.

stonogo 7y ago

Only if you don't care who you hurt on the way to your goal. We may have different definitions of sanity.

danieltillett 7y ago
Now we are getting to the question if his aim is ethical or not. I think his obsession with reducing taxation at all costs is misguided and often counterproductive, but it is not insane.

xrd 7y ago

Ok, this makes me feel like maybe he had intention and thought behind this. I can honestly align with that thinking if he was doing it for this reason. It seems like the world only works with subterfuge, sadly. Is it impossible to be honest about what you want to do and move people in that direction, or is it only possible to motivate change by lying to people. I don't love Grover Norquist, but I thought it was interesting/open-minded of him to see Burning Man for himself. And, I align with the idea of reducing taxes. So, this makes me feel like he was not just a useful idiot if he actually did it for this reason. But, still, what a cost to bear. And, does the long term goal of reducing taxation by causing people to hate the IRS get him any closer to actually reducing taxes and/or getting rid of the IRS? Obviously, that did not happen.

danieltillett 7y ago
Whatever Grover Norquist is, stupid is not one. He appears to be quite a complex (if obsessed) person and his views outside of taxation don’t fall easily on the normal left/right axis [1]. 1. https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist
- xrd 7y ago
  He just has so many strange positions that may be "smart" but, at least at first glance, seem to have awful side effects. From that page: "In 1985, he went to a conference in South Africa sponsored by South African businesses called the "Youth for Freedom Conference", which sought to bring American and South African conservatives together to end the anti-apartheid movement." Why would anyone work to end the anti-apartheid movement? Did Norquist think that divestment and free-trade would be more effective in ending apartheid? https://www.thenation.com/article/meet-conservatives-who-campaigned-apartheid-south-africa/ https://www.thenation.com/article/meet-conservatives-who-cam... Didn't know that Jeff Flake, the sole anti-Trump Republican US senator, was also active in that movement. I have often felt down on my luck about my employment opportunities, but never have I considered working as a lobbyist for a South African mining company during Apartheid. The book "My Traitor's Heart" has some riveting stories about the horrors of being a mine worker in South Africa before apartheid ended.