Even if the money did originally belong to Caesar, once he trades it for a product or service it is no longer his, no matter whose picture is on it. If I paint a self-portrait and sell it for $10, the portrait no longer belongs to me. I can’t just go and take it and holler “Taxed!” and be in the right. It is no longer my property even if my picture is on it.
Tag: taxation
They Will Be Slaves Forever
For over two hundred years, Americans have voted, and petitioned, and protested, and campaigned, and filed lawsuits against state agents and departments, and filed complaints against abusive government enforcers and bureaucrats, and voted some more.
Guilty Statists?
How much guilt does the “average statist” have for their beliefs, and how much slack should we cut them? I’ve been having an interesting discussion with Jim Henshaw, the former Chair of the Hawaiian LP, recently of regions closer. He says I “come across as a bit unforgiving at times“. And, I can see that. I’m pretty sure this has caused me to lose followers and financial supporters. So, I asked his advice.
America Needs More Robin Hoods
Robin Hood is a model of an ethical outlaw. He broke bad laws by doing what was right for the right reasons. His story has been misrepresented. In the original tellings he didn’t “rob from the rich and give to the poor,” but took back property that had been stolen through taxation and returned it to its rightful owners.
The Philosophical Toolbox
I’m not saying that philosophy as a whole is without contradiction, however through years of weeding through different philosophies and theories I was able to find what works best for me. A collection of tools with which anyone can use to truly test whether an idea, concept, law, or edict is just, fair, and equitable. In no particular order I’d like to present a few of the tools I use use when trying to make a consistent, rational, and logical judgement or claim.
Statism’s First Casualty Is the Truthful Use of Language
States engage not only in conquest, plunder, and oppression, but also—in order to create conditions in which the populace is rendered less likely to resist a state’s abuses or rebel against it—in pervasive bamboozlement. Those who support the state ideologically tend to engage in chronic misrepresentation of what the state does and how it does it. So, not only war—the characteristic state action—but statism in general makes truth the first casualty of its claims, proposals, programs, and projects.
The Classical Liberal is a Dreamer
Classical liberalism does not disavow the state. Indeed, it embraces and celebrates it, but only, the classical liberals insist, in the form of “limited government.” This regime, sustained by taxation, includes legislators who enact rules, executives who control police and armed forces to enforce the rules, and judges who settle disputes between persons and between persons and the state. In many versions it also includes active engagement in the construction and maintenance of public works (now often called infrastructure) and a system of government schools (now often with compulsory attendance). The classical liberal imagines that this setup will support free markets and more generally a free society and that it can be sustained indefinitely.
Words Poorly Used #132 — Non-Disclosure
If it is POTUS himself who is trying to hush government employees, doesn’t it violate two trusts of public office? Firstly, he is infringing on the employees’ right to free speech, but worse he is dropping an iron wall on the public’s expectation of transparency in government.
Hooray for Smugglers!
Smuggling. What a funny little non-crime. I can’t even wrap my mind around any possible way it could be wrong. It’s just the act of going around a bully who’s standing in your way, wanting to rob you or prevent you from getting products to those who want them.
Endings, Not in Sight
Time flies when you’re having fun, but some things seem never to change. Wars lead to wars. Government leads to more government. Taxes lead to greater taxes. Modes of taxation lead to more and novel modes of taxation. Organized crime leads to organization, crime, and more organized crime.