And while we're at it, what educated adult in any age would voluntarily choose to pay taxes? In perpetuity!?
If the inhabitants of a small village choose to pay for certain services to be administrated by a tiny proportion of that population (and pay for the employment of that tiny proportion), all well and good. After all, many a citizen would prefer that their household waste (sewage or material) be disposed of healthily and efficiently. And they would rather not have to light all the street lights at dusk, nor turn them off at dawn. And tracking down each and every horse thief or burglar would be time consuming. Most honest citizens would spend their waking hours feeding themselves and their families. And there would be other like-minded inhabitants in the community who would be willing to pay a thing called taxes to ensure that someone else would have to deal with all those pesky responsibilities. Seems sensible.
There were greater complexities, such as the enormously costly castle in the next province, and the raiders and barbarians just waiting to steal your goats and wives. Thus begat the feudal system where the local warlord offered to shelter his farmers and artisans in times of war in return for food to feed his soldiers. Then that cold stone building over the next hill and valley looks quite inviting, doesn't it, especially during times of pillage or harsh winters? And if your feudal liege isn't a complete tyrant then the whole deal is, well, quite workable, isn't it? And if your little village has a fairly smart trader then certain goods can be sold at a profit thereby reliving the locals of their tax bill. So everyone's happy, are they not?
There were greater complexities, such as the enormously costly castle in the next province, and the raiders and barbarians just waiting to steal your goats and wives. Thus begat the feudal system where the local warlord offered to shelter his farmers and artisans in times of war in return for food to feed his soldiers. Then that cold stone building over the next hill and valley looks quite inviting, doesn't it, especially during times of pillage or harsh winters? And if your feudal liege isn't a complete tyrant then the whole deal is, well, quite workable, isn't it? And if your little village has a fairly smart trader then certain goods can be sold at a profit thereby reliving the locals of their tax bill. So everyone's happy, are they not?
Multiply the village population to a million or a billion strong then the original contract gets a little bit corrupted. Our local trader gets a little bit too rich. Our local baron finds his castle too expensive to run. The degree of protection offered gets a little bit substandard. The local priest is preaching quite a different economy to the one you signed up to. All of a sudden, you realise you are paying in perpetuity for things you hadn't originally signed up to.
Far from being taxed on everything you earn you now find yourself taxed on everything you purchase with what money you have left. Moreover, you find that, somewhere along the line, you are also being additionally taxed on specific commodities you purchase, like your car, or your petrol, or your TV, or your beer, or your land, or your household rubbish collection. "Wait a minute! If you take 20% from my hard-earned wages and 20% from everything I buy with what's left, why do you need to take more from specific things I choose to buy?"
It is at this point you realise that Government, somewhere along the line, became an entity that gave itself more power than any previous feudal overlord. In order to pay for its legions of politicians, judges, lawyers and public servants it became a dictatorship that forced you to pay for things that you, in any intelligent alternative version of reality, you would never have agreed to.
This is where voluntary taxation crosses the line. When the teeming masses of highly educated public servants now demand that you, the humble taxpayer, pay for people's lifestyle choices ("I choose not to work!"; "I choose not to contribute!"; "I choose to have as many babies as I want or need!"; I choose to fall upon the mercy of the State every time I have a personal crisis!"; I choose not to take personal responsibility!!!". The angry backlash from everyone who, just might have had a shred of sympathy for people less fortunate, is ENOUGH.
Politics is nothing about the labels that modern man assigns. It has nothing to do with whether you are a "Tory" or a "Labour Voter" or even a "Sun Reader"; whether you are "Republican" or "Democrat". It is a choice over which economic dogma you wish to be controlled by: whether you wish the State to run every aspect of your life or whether you wish for a more chaotic, natural environment. The great jugging act is this: at what point does the needs of the citizens become a right for a small, non-elected minority to dictate the way you live? And this leads us nicely to the concept of SOCIALISM.
Far from being taxed on everything you earn you now find yourself taxed on everything you purchase with what money you have left. Moreover, you find that, somewhere along the line, you are also being additionally taxed on specific commodities you purchase, like your car, or your petrol, or your TV, or your beer, or your land, or your household rubbish collection. "Wait a minute! If you take 20% from my hard-earned wages and 20% from everything I buy with what's left, why do you need to take more from specific things I choose to buy?"
It is at this point you realise that Government, somewhere along the line, became an entity that gave itself more power than any previous feudal overlord. In order to pay for its legions of politicians, judges, lawyers and public servants it became a dictatorship that forced you to pay for things that you, in any intelligent alternative version of reality, you would never have agreed to.
This is where voluntary taxation crosses the line. When the teeming masses of highly educated public servants now demand that you, the humble taxpayer, pay for people's lifestyle choices ("I choose not to work!"; "I choose not to contribute!"; "I choose to have as many babies as I want or need!"; I choose to fall upon the mercy of the State every time I have a personal crisis!"; I choose not to take personal responsibility!!!". The angry backlash from everyone who, just might have had a shred of sympathy for people less fortunate, is ENOUGH.
Politics is nothing about the labels that modern man assigns. It has nothing to do with whether you are a "Tory" or a "Labour Voter" or even a "Sun Reader"; whether you are "Republican" or "Democrat". It is a choice over which economic dogma you wish to be controlled by: whether you wish the State to run every aspect of your life or whether you wish for a more chaotic, natural environment. The great jugging act is this: at what point does the needs of the citizens become a right for a small, non-elected minority to dictate the way you live? And this leads us nicely to the concept of SOCIALISM.
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