asaris

Are you a citizen? Then you've given the government permission to take your money. And the difference is that, while the mafia throws a little back, the gov't throws a lot back. Sure, congresspeople/the president make a good bit of money. But most of these people could make a lot more money doing something else. And compared to the amount spend on, say, social security or welfare or defense, the wages paid to congress/the president is miniscule. And last time I checked, the gov't doesn't threaten people with violence if they don't pay taxes. Sure, they'll fine you and/or put you in jail, but you make it sound like you'll be shot if you don't pay up (which is what the mafia does).

Perhaps I should ask what would make a just government, on your picture? Seems to me that something like a Hobbesian picture is correct; without the government, the life of man would be nasty, brutish, and short. So we have government, to protect us from people who would want to take advantage of us. What, exactly, is wrong with this picture? (Note that I don't agree with Hobbeses conclusions about what the state should look like).

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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."

"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche