4 ms·

> This is not true. If I, a taxpayer, want my taxes raised for the sake of extending equality to a historically and currently oppressed group, then I am not har

by seneca 3y ago

> This is not true. If I, a taxpayer, want my taxes raised for the sake of extending equality to a historically and currently oppressed group, then I am not harmed. If you want your money used to pay for reparations you can donate to a charity with aims aligned with that desire. No one is arguing about what you do with your money. > If you, a taxpayer, disagree with the notion of restorative justice, I posit that your overall happiness would be helped more by empathy and less by "lower taxes". A functioning society requires accepting other people have different priorities and values from yours.

fugalfervor 3y ago
> If you want your money used to pay for reparations you can donate to a charity with aims aligned with that desire. No one is arguing about what you do with your money. I can also advocate for the state to do it on my behalf. I prefer that solution, because a larger amount of resources can be allocated. > A functioning society requires accepting other people have different priorities and values from yours. I accept this, but the values expressed disturb me.
- tristor 3y ago
  > I can also advocate for the state to do it on my behalf. I prefer that solution, because a larger amount of resources can be allocated. The only reason a larger amount of resources can be allocated is because you are advocating for using state violence to force people who don’t agree with you to also pay for your ideas. That’s what taxes are, fundamentally.
ImPostingOnHN 3y ago
> A functioning society requires accepting other people have different priorities and values from yours a functioning democracy requires accepting that, in the event that your values conflict with those of the majority, your values lose and theirs win we saw on January 6th in the US what happens when a loud minority can't accept that unfortunately, some are under the misunderstanding that democracy means all ideas are equal and have equal value, or indeed universally have positive value it does not, and they do not
- shadowgovt 3y ago
  To tune this a bit: our society operates under a rule of law with checks and balances (and some bedrock law in the Constitution that is significantly harder to modify than the rest of it) because a system as simple as "in the event that your values conflict with those of the majority, your values lose and theirs win" is known as a "tyranny of the majority" and is not particularly desirable. If the majority says, for example, some race is inferior, that's not sufficient to anchor the law and we have a 14th Amendment to protect against such abuse.
  - ImPostingOnHN 3y ago
    to elaborate: our society does indeed consist of checks and balances, and part of that is ensuring that, in the event that the values of the minority conflict with the values of the majority, we don't have a "tyranny of the minority", or minority rule if the minority says, for example, some race is inferior, that's even less sufficient to anchor the law, and insufficient to overrule the majority saying it isn't
    - shadowgovt 3y ago
      I completely agree and I cannot think of a single instance of that happening in the history of the United States, with a possible exception of the nation's ongoing collapse into oligarchy and rule by that minority.

by seneca 3y ago

fugalfervor 3y ago

> If you want your money used to pay for reparations you can donate to a charity with aims aligned with that desire. No one is arguing about what you do with your money. I can also advocate for the state to do it on my behalf. I prefer that solution, because a larger amount of resources can be allocated. > A functioning society requires accepting other people have different priorities and values from yours. I accept this, but the values expressed disturb me.

tristor 3y ago
> I can also advocate for the state to do it on my behalf. I prefer that solution, because a larger amount of resources can be allocated. The only reason a larger amount of resources can be allocated is because you are advocating for using state violence to force people who don’t agree with you to also pay for your ideas. That’s what taxes are, fundamentally.

ImPostingOnHN 3y ago

> A functioning society requires accepting other people have different priorities and values from yours a functioning democracy requires accepting that, in the event that your values conflict with those of the majority, your values lose and theirs win we saw on January 6th in the US what happens when a loud minority can't accept that unfortunately, some are under the misunderstanding that democracy means all ideas are equal and have equal value, or indeed universally have positive value it does not, and they do not

shadowgovt 3y ago
To tune this a bit: our society operates under a rule of law with checks and balances (and some bedrock law in the Constitution that is significantly harder to modify than the rest of it) because a system as simple as "in the event that your values conflict with those of the majority, your values lose and theirs win" is known as a "tyranny of the majority" and is not particularly desirable. If the majority says, for example, some race is inferior, that's not sufficient to anchor the law and we have a 14th Amendment to protect against such abuse.
- ImPostingOnHN 3y ago
  to elaborate: our society does indeed consist of checks and balances, and part of that is ensuring that, in the event that the values of the minority conflict with the values of the majority, we don't have a "tyranny of the minority", or minority rule if the minority says, for example, some race is inferior, that's even less sufficient to anchor the law, and insufficient to overrule the majority saying it isn't
  - shadowgovt 3y ago
    I completely agree and I cannot think of a single instance of that happening in the history of the United States, with a possible exception of the nation's ongoing collapse into oligarchy and rule by that minority.