But one thing he did keep bringing up was "social democracy." And he used the term as a euphemism to deflect the fact that communism/socialism is theft and he was living off of other people. In short social democracy means since people voted to take your money, then it's not theft - it's "social democracy." Thus, everything is morally hunky dory super dooper OK. And so this "social democracy" arrow is guaranteed to be in the quiver of every leftist because they can't stand the truth that they and their ideology are parasitic.
Any intellectually honest person can see right through this pathetic canard. It doesn't matter how somebody else ended up with your money - whether it be at the end of a gun, or people voting it in...and consequently also at the end of a gun - if you didn't want somebody else to have your money, it's theft. But the left is infinitely cowardly when it comes to getting your money, both avoiding any physical confrontation to get it, and hiding behind the excuses as to how they got it. Alas, very much like lawyers, the most common way leftists will hide their parasitism is by pointing out it's legal, completely disregarding whether it's moral.
At the other end of the spectrum you have your sperg-out-a-lot libertarians.
These guys, just like our communist friend above, also supplant any real world accomplishment with a blind fanaticism to their religion. They too also live in their parents basement and constantly parrot the conservative talking point that "all taxation is theft." And again, they hide their intellectual dishonesty behind nuanced technicalities and arguments, notably that since if you don't pay your taxes you will have men with guns force you to, otherwise you will be put into a cage. And while technically correct, I have yet to have a libertarian explain to me how a world governed solely by "positive reinforcement" and "good wishes" would be practical, feasible, and even possible. Will people "willingly" pay taxes to form an army to fight off the army of the other country where they conscripted soldiers and forcibly taxed their citizens to arm them with more and superior tanks and fighter bombers? Will people "willingly" form a large enough posse to fight off the band of bandits created by a smarter tactician who decided theft was easier than labor? Will you finally discipline your children, or are you going to continue to try to intellectually rationalize with a 2 year old about the philosophical and moral merits of not screaming in the house? These questions usually send the sperg-out-a-lot libertarians back to their parents' basement much like asking communists how using euphemisms change reality.
But never fear, Cappy is here. And I am going to provide you all with the correct answer as to what taxation is and is not, so the next time this topic comes up you can provide a link to this convenient post and conclude the discussion more accurately informed than when the discussion began.
65%.
Taxation is 65% theft.
The reason taxation is 65% theft is because that is the percent (on average) of state, federal and local budgets (in the US) that goes to other people's pockets. It will of course vary by state and location, it will vary based on your income and taxes you pay, it will also vary over time, but right now, in the US, on average, you can expect 65% of your taxes to go to another person WITH NOTHING ELSE IN EXCHANGE.
We call these expenses "income transfers" and they are a direct transference of your money to somebody else. When I pay for some soccer-mom's snot nosed brat to go to school, that is an income transfer. When I pay the additional property taxes so her other "autistic brat" gets
It is theft.
It is one person benefiting at the expense of the other.
It is ALSO slavery as you are working for that person for a percent of your life.
And it is parasitism. Yes, you are a parasite if you need other people's money. That is not debateable or "social democracy." It's a fact. You are a leech.
The remaining 35% are what are called "public goods," meaning that my consumption of them does not exclude yours. Or a shorter explanation, "we get something in return for that 35%"
For example defense. At least I get something in exchange for my tax dollars when they go to pay for the US military - defense. Same thing with the cops. At least I get something when I pay taxes for the cops - protection. We all benefit from a department, say like the US Department of Commerce which regulates (in theory) corporations and companies from putting acid in our soup. And we all benefit from the Department of Transportation that builds and maintains the roads. AND in all instances one person's consumption of the good does not exclude others. My driving on the road does not prevent you driving on the road. Your taxes dollars going to pay for that F-16 to patrol the skies does not prevent me from enjoying the protection provided by it. In short, that 35% of your taxes paid on public goods is NOT theft. It is legitimate taxation. You get something in exchange for it (although, I can understand you may not want it).
There is however an important distinction to make where it may not be as clear cut as "Taxation is 65% Theft" - charity. Because just as sure the arrow of "Social Democracy" is in a leftist's quiver, the arrow of "I Don't Mind Paying More in Taxes" is also guaranteed to be in there.
I don't for a second believe leftists don't mind paying more in taxes. Every time a liberal friend of mine worked as a contractor and failed to make the quarterly tax payments they were APOPLECTIC when they had to pay their - *ahem* - "fair share" come April 15th. They would do EVERYTHING in their power possible to NOT pay taxes. Also, it's not like you can't cut a check to the US Treasury for shits and giggles. And all the rich liberals in Hollywood, Washington DC, and trust fund babies can just start cutting checks if they don't mind paying more in taxes. It's the fact they don't means you know they're lying.
But let's just take them at their worthless word and assume they do indeed not "mind paying more in taxes."
This then introduces a charitable element to the "Taxation is Theft" argument and makes it more of a personal issue. If you're like me, you don't believe in charity, you don't WANT to give money to other people, and so when you're forced to, taxation is indeed 65% theft. That's my money. That's my life. I do not want it going to anybody else. But if you "don't mind paying more in taxes," or have a philosophical argument that we as a society owe it to the rest of society to provide some kind of safety net, then the argument could be made in your personal case that "Taxation is 65% Charity." That you're OK paying 65% of your taxes to somebody else. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's your personal choice. But that only applies to your individual case and your personal situation.
As is usual for leftists, they don't let it remain a personal choice. They need to loop other people into their world. They need to force other people to be socialists. They value their politics/religion over other people's property rights or moral rights. Yes there may be that one leftist who donates his or her money intellectually honestly to help out the poor because they personally believe they have a moral obligation to do so. But the remaining 99.9999% of the case is most leftists want to use YOUR MONEY to make them feel better. They want YOUR MONEY to advance THEIR politics of parasitism and laziness and fuzzy wuzzies. And I cannot emphasize what a violation of morals that is right there.
Most leftists think absolutely NOTHING about stealing from you simply to make themselves feel better.
Admittedly, at least they're not the democrat party who steals from you to bribe other degenerates to vote for them. But rank and file democrats are not much morally better thinking they have a moral right to your life-labor, that they have the right to enslave you for a significant percent of your working life, simply so they can vote to have warm fuzzies and feel good about themselves.
Alas, when you realize just what few leftists and democrats are indeed charitable souls, with a soul within them, who willingly donate their own money to help their political cause, the "Taxation is Charity" argument is moot. No democrat "doesn't mind paying more in taxes." They all do. Therefore, 65% of the taxes you pay are indeed theft. In part to pay for parasites too lazy to work. In part so leftists can feel good about their unaccomplished, worthless selves. In part so the democrat party and buy votes.
You have the right to be pissed off 2/3rds the time about your taxes.
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8 comments:
Gee Cappy, in general yes I'm with you. I think there's a difference with respect to public education. Yes, public education has been distorted and is largely an indoctrination to leftist views, yet it remains a public good (service).
Please follow: The purpose of the State is to continue the existence of the State. In order to do this, the State must be protected externally and internally (defense and police), it must have some infrastructure, courts for contract enforcement, etc.
It must also have citizens who are available to assist with the perpetuation of the State and who can take part in the above activities. The State makes these people through a public education. Absent the public education, the State will cease to exist.
Is education overpriced? Have standards fallen considerably? Is the barrier to entry for teachers ridiculously low? Have teachers unions distorted their market?Yes to all of the above. Yet the school system remains I believe, a public good from which we all benefit.
Another great article. I better print it before it goes behind a pay wall.
Technically, taxation is extortion. If you're lucky you'll have some minuscule say over what happens to that money. Most people throughout history didn't even have that much.
Had to read "Enjoy the Decline" twice just to drop my anger level by one fifth
Socialists are parasites who feed off the productive. A passage I read in the book "Enemy at the Gates" described what happened when a POW would die in a cold soviet camp. "Streams of grey would move in columns away from the dead man. Body lice leaving the corpse in search for another warm body." Thats the mental image I have when I think of leftists.
Look no further than Venezuela. All those ardent supporters of socialism streaming to neighboring Columbia seeking to feed.
One of your best.
"Yet the school system remains I believe, a public good from which we all benefit."
Pull your head out of your ass. Government schools are why this nation is full of indoctrinated leftist idiots who think they are geniuses.
I'm tired of conversations about what should be the tax rate on high income earners. It makes no difference to me and my life if someone earns 20,000 times more than me - I have a good life and all that I want (and more). More to the point, I know lots of people who have earned way more than me, and surprise - that have spent it all on useless crap.
I'm more concerned about what governments are 1. Doing with the tax money we already send them and I suspect a conservative estimate would be 30% is pissed away on useless projects that produce nothing. and 2. None of the windfall would be used to pay down debt that governments have run up, but rather would be used by politicians and bureaucrats would create new, expensive useless projects that would produce nothing.
So until politicians and the advocates of higher tax rates can actually explain what governments spends taxpayer's money on NOW engaging in speculation about high tax rates and fairness is pointless and a waste of time.
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