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Paying one's taxes as a citizen is not "coerced surrender of the fruits of one's labor", nor does paying one's taxes as a citizen who receives the benefits of o

Paying one's taxes as a citizen is not "coerced surrender of the fruits of one's labor", nor does paying one's taxes as a citizen who receives the benefits of one's government in any way share similar characteristics with indentured servitude or slavery. Slavery was so much more than the "coerced surrender of the fruits of one's labor". And indentured servitude is a far different thing--it was a practice to enslave someone for a set term after obligating them to a debt as a means to gain free labor. Neither of these things are in any way analogous to paying taxes. You do history, and those who suffered under these systems, a great injury by misappropriating them for ridiculous political statements.

anonymoushn 13y ago
If you ask me, "Are you willing to pay for generational theft, subsidies for the health insurance industry, and killing brown people on the other side of the planet?" I will probably say something like "No." It looks like an agreeable meaning of "coerce" is "to make (someone) do something by using force or threats." So if someone, or some group of people, convinces me to fund the causes listed above by means of threatening to kidnap or murder me (murder being reserved for those who resist kidnapping), it seems reasonable to say that I am coerced.
- bobwaycott 13y ago
  You're only being coerced if you are also coerced to not commit murder, not drink and drive, not steal other people's things, not rob banks, not set fire to other people's things, etc. Calling paying legally authorized taxes coercion is abusing language to make a stupid political point. Calling tax-paying "generational theft" is the same thing. Besides, you're missing the point of the parent statement--comparing slavery and indentured servitude to the "coerced surrender of the fruits of one's labor". That is, plainly speaking, total bullshit, and a misappropriation of slavery & indentured servitude for a stupid political point about not liking taxes.
  - anonymoushn 13y ago
    It's a bit rude to suppose that I want to commit murder, drink and drive, steal, rob banks, and set fire to things. Calling paying legally authorized taxes coercion is abusing language to make a stupid political point. Sorry, could you point out in what way the situation I described is not coercion? Are we to suppose that it is not coercion because it has been happening for a while, to a variety of people, despite the definition of the word not mentioning this? Calling tax-paying "generational theft" is the same thing. Social Security will not exist in its current form when I am 65. A variety of solutions could cause it to continue to exist in some form, like killing people when they reach the age of 80 (this probably would not be legal), paying out less, setting the cutoff age to be later, or just arbitrarily denying payouts to people completely at random (this would be legal - see Flemming v. Nestor), but most of the likely solutions to the problem result in people my age paying in a great deal more than we will ever receive.

anonymoushn 13y ago

If you ask me, "Are you willing to pay for generational theft, subsidies for the health insurance industry, and killing brown people on the other side of the planet?" I will probably say something like "No." It looks like an agreeable meaning of "coerce" is "to make (someone) do something by using force or threats." So if someone, or some group of people, convinces me to fund the causes listed above by means of threatening to kidnap or murder me (murder being reserved for those who resist kidnapping), it seems reasonable to say that I am coerced.

bobwaycott 13y ago
You're only being coerced if you are also coerced to not commit murder, not drink and drive, not steal other people's things, not rob banks, not set fire to other people's things, etc. Calling paying legally authorized taxes coercion is abusing language to make a stupid political point. Calling tax-paying "generational theft" is the same thing. Besides, you're missing the point of the parent statement--comparing slavery and indentured servitude to the "coerced surrender of the fruits of one's labor". That is, plainly speaking, total bullshit, and a misappropriation of slavery & indentured servitude for a stupid political point about not liking taxes.
- anonymoushn 13y ago
  It's a bit rude to suppose that I want to commit murder, drink and drive, steal, rob banks, and set fire to things. Calling paying legally authorized taxes coercion is abusing language to make a stupid political point. Sorry, could you point out in what way the situation I described is not coercion? Are we to suppose that it is not coercion because it has been happening for a while, to a variety of people, despite the definition of the word not mentioning this? Calling tax-paying "generational theft" is the same thing. Social Security will not exist in its current form when I am 65. A variety of solutions could cause it to continue to exist in some form, like killing people when they reach the age of 80 (this probably would not be legal), paying out less, setting the cutoff age to be later, or just arbitrarily denying payouts to people completely at random (this would be legal - see Flemming v. Nestor), but most of the likely solutions to the problem result in people my age paying in a great deal more than we will ever receive.