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Old 12-15-2009, 03:49 PM   #53 (permalink)
Martian
Young Crumudgeon
 
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Location: Canada
Wait... did you just Godwin taxes?

...

Okay, I'll take a crack at that one.

Imagine that you and your buddies all got together and formed a club. Maybe you decided that you all like top hats and wanted a Top Hat Appreciation Society. Whatever.

Your club grows until you have, say, 100 members. You're getting tired of the guys coming around every Wednesday, messing up your basement and drinking all your beer. So you decide to take a vote. The vote passes -- you'll rent a club house. The kitchen will be full of snacks, the fridge always stocked. Hell, go all out. Get one with a bar and keep your favourite brew on tap.

But all of those things cost money, and that's a problem. So you decide that you'll take up a collection. Maybe you decide that everyone chips in the same amount, or maybe Joe rakes in the bank as a lawyer and Fred barely makes ends meet as a high school janitor, so Joe agrees to pay some of Fred's share. The details don't really matter; the important part is that you work out a system where the bills all get paid and everyone agrees that it's fair.

And then there's Pete.

Pete comes by the club house every week. He drinks the beer and eats the food, he watches the big screen high def tv, he uses the internet, and generally enjoys everything the club has to offer. But when it comes time to pony up the dough, Pete decides he's not going to pay his share. So what do you do?

Well, the logical answer is to kick Pete out of the club. But maybe there's a clause in the club's charter that once a member is vetted, they stay a member for life. You can try to amend the charter, or you can just change the locks so that Pete's club house key doesn't work anymore and he can't abuse the place that everyone has worked so hard to make great.

...

A democratic nation when viewed at the most basic level could be considered an agreement between a collection of people. Those people generally live within a geographically contiguous area, and sometimes people get confused and think it's the geography that makes the nation, but it's not. The people agree to work together for their collective betterment, and as part of that agreement they all chip in to pay the costs of services they agree are essential.

You could make the argument that you didn't choose to be a citizen of your nation, and that would be fair. Unless you immigrated, that status was granted automatically and irrevocably when you were born. However, you choose to remain a citizen; you choose to continue to live where you are, and take advantages of the services offered. If you really have a problem with taxes, you should optimally cease to do so. Go live out in the wilderness, eat what you catch, make your own clothes, etc. If you don't choose to do that, you're Pete. Don't be surprised when the other members of the club tell you to pay up or get out.
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