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I don't understand this sentiment. We need roads. We need cops. We need schools. We need things. As a society, we pay for these things through taxes. When you d

I don't understand this sentiment. We need roads. We need cops. We need schools. We need things. As a society, we pay for these things through taxes. When you don't pay your taxes, you're stealing from all of us. Even someone that despises taxes, can understand the free rider problem.

anateus 12y ago
The things you listed account for about 10% of the US federal budget [1]. For the other things we pay waaaay more per capita than almost all other OECD nations. [1] http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1258 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1258
- fpgeek 12y ago
  I think you're missing the point. It doesn't matter what's right or wrong with tax and spending policies. If the taxing authority routinely fails to collect the taxes that are on the books, there's a more basic problem with the rule of law. There are ways to fix that problem other than stepping up enforcement (e.g. changing the easily evaded taxes, for instance), but it is a fundamental governance problem that can't be ignored.
noipv4 12y ago
Taxes prop up a fiat currency, which by definition is generated out of thin air. Govt does not need taxes to pay for the aforementioned things you mentioned, it can simply generate the required money.
- smtddr 12y ago
  >>Govt does not need taxes to pay for the aforementioned things you mentioned, it can simply generate the required money. I'm going to need some kind of 1st-world example society, or even a hypothetical construct, where all the things mentioned in the comment you replied to is somehow taken care of without taxes. If Obama decided to pass a law that nobody needs to do taxes anymore... what would he need to do to keep things running?
  - ommunist 12y ago
    In this hypothetical situation he shall sell more govt bonds to US Federal Reserve and they will create new money. How else the US can pay for all the wars it wages?
  - noipv4 12y ago
    http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/powerpoints/7DIF.pdf http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/powerpoints/7DIF.pdf Check out #1, Pg 13.
mindcrime 12y ago
As a society, we pay for these things through taxes. That needs to be fixed. When you don't pay your taxes, you're stealing from all of us. No, when I'm compelled to pay taxes through coercive use of force (eg, the implicit threat of a gun barrel) then I am the one who is being stolen from.

anateus 12y ago

The things you listed account for about 10% of the US federal budget [1]. For the other things we pay waaaay more per capita than almost all other OECD nations. [1] http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1258 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1258

fpgeek 12y ago
I think you're missing the point. It doesn't matter what's right or wrong with tax and spending policies. If the taxing authority routinely fails to collect the taxes that are on the books, there's a more basic problem with the rule of law. There are ways to fix that problem other than stepping up enforcement (e.g. changing the easily evaded taxes, for instance), but it is a fundamental governance problem that can't be ignored.

noipv4 12y ago

Taxes prop up a fiat currency, which by definition is generated out of thin air. Govt does not need taxes to pay for the aforementioned things you mentioned, it can simply generate the required money.

smtddr 12y ago
>>Govt does not need taxes to pay for the aforementioned things you mentioned, it can simply generate the required money. I'm going to need some kind of 1st-world example society, or even a hypothetical construct, where all the things mentioned in the comment you replied to is somehow taken care of without taxes. If Obama decided to pass a law that nobody needs to do taxes anymore... what would he need to do to keep things running?
- ommunist 12y ago
  In this hypothetical situation he shall sell more govt bonds to US Federal Reserve and they will create new money. How else the US can pay for all the wars it wages?
- noipv4 12y ago
  http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/powerpoints/7DIF.pdf http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/powerpoints/7DIF.pdf Check out #1, Pg 13.

mindcrime 12y ago

As a society, we pay for these things through taxes. That needs to be fixed. When you don't pay your taxes, you're stealing from all of us. No, when I'm compelled to pay taxes through coercive use of force (eg, the implicit threat of a gun barrel) then I am the one who is being stolen from.