[lbo-talk] Things I will never understand: Fear of Tax

John Thornton jthorn65 at sbcglobal.net
Sun Oct 19 19:36:14 PDT 2008


Sandy Harris wrote:
> Ismail Lagardien <ilagardien at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>> I don't even discuss tax. I once told a woman that I didn't mind
>> paying tax because there was "a woman down the road who is
>> a single parent of two teenage boys" who might need help.
>>
>
> Nothing stops you from giving her private charity, or from
> organising many like you to help many like her. Probably
> either would be more effective than government help.
>

Did my subscription to LBO get switched to Little Green Footballs?

What evidence do you have that private charities are more efficient than government programs? I believe I've read that govt. programs have lower operating costs than is the average for tax exempt charities.

As a member of society I believe it is every persons right to share in a fair portion of societies largess. Since incomes do not fairly apportion societies bounty, taxes are collected so that members who are unfairly compensated via low wages can be remunerated by those who receive a disproportionately large amount. It is everyones right and a responsibility, not something that should depend upon the charity of others.

Do you really believe this offensive libertarian garbage or are you simply trying to be confrontational?


> Why do you imagine that the coercive powers of tax -- armed
> pigs empowered to cease bank accounts and so on -- can
> justifiaby be used to "help" her?
>

The price we pay for a civilized society is collected as taxes. I know of no better method to collect funds nor do I know of a better method of redistributing wealth.


> Granted, those powers need to exist. The government must be
> able to tax, and to enforce taxes, for things like sanitation and
> national defense. But once it can take money, effectively at
> gunpoint, for anything it chooses, we're all screwed. For one
> thing, the crooked slime won't use it to help her; they'll give it,
> billions at a time, to cronies like crooked bankers.
>
> Granted also, there's a role for law in helping her, holding the
> father to account, protecting the woman from loonies who want
> to "stone the slut", et cetera.

My taxes are not collected at gunpoint. I pay my full share of taxes gladly and have never looked to a tax shelter to reduce my level of taxes. Private charities are not required to protect women from "stone the slut" fundies but govt. programs are.

John Thornton



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