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Originally Posted by Galt
I found Smooth's posts to be completely irrational. Confiscating private property to ensure economic equality is incompatible with individual rights. You can guarantee absolute economic equality or you can guarantee individual rights in economic matters. You can't do both, so which do you want?
I'll ask you what I asked Smooth: What sort of "reason" are you looking for? My arguments against the estate tax are and have mainly been based on individual rights (property rights). What more of an explanation do you want?
The amount of funding necessary for a government to perform its duties depends on what a government's duties are. Generally speaking, what role do you feel government should play in our lives? What services should it offer, if any?
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You stated that "you can guarantee absolute economic equality or you can guarantee individual rights in economic matters." This is simply untrue. When indivduals consent to be members of a society, subject to government authority, there must be a "taking" to pay the freight, and it will either be in the form of taxes which are progressive or regressive in nature. Whether or not it's seen to be "equal" depends on whose ox is getting gored. How do you distiguish estate tax from income tax, where the government is "confiscating" a third or your income? You evidently don't get that some compromise of one's individual rights is the price paid for living as a member of a society of individuals.
As for your reason for estate tax repeal being based upons an individual's property rights, you ignore the fact that all taxes amount to "confiscation" of one's individual property. At the risk of putting words in Smooth's mouth, we'd like to know why you prefer other forms of taxation over estate tax, which in essence you have done, because the money to fund government activities has to come from taxes assessed on the individuals comprising the governed society.
Finally, my opinion on the role of government is irrelevant, it being a given that there are certain essential functions of government. What good would it do for me to tell you about my views on government funding of more controversial programs, when things like defense spending are mandatory? (my apologies, if you are an anarchist, but then you wouldn't be on a computer, paying tax as part of your user fees, and subject to FCC jurisdiction...you instead would be communicating with me via carrier pigeon).