POLITICS: The philosophy of taxes

Thursday, September 3, 2009

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/08/31/the-truth-about-taxes/&cp=1/#comment-195287

The Truth About Taxes
Monday, 31st August 2009 (by J.D.)

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Note: Although I try to keep GRS a politics-free zone, today’s topic is inherently political. I’ve stayed as neutral as possible in the article, but I know that there’ll be some political discussion in the comments. Please keep conversation civil, as always.

Because I was frustrated with my own ignorance about the U.S. federal budget and our tax system, I recently spent twelve hours researching a variety of tax topics. From my research came two articles: last week’s short guide to the federal budget and today’s post, which answers some of my personal questions about taxes.

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Welcome to the “tax wars”, by the time we’re finished with you, you too will be a raving loon!

Tactically, you can’t figure out how much “tax” you pay. We need to recognize that ONLY real people pay tax. So, the taxes that companies pay is really a hidden tax on the people who buy their products. BUT you can’t see it. Further, if there are capital goods used by a company, the taxes on that capital good are buried in the product’s price. Also, recognize that “costs”, “user fees”, or any unavoidable expense imposed by or as a result of the gooferment’s actions, laws, regulations, or diktats is a TAX! Try and figure out all of those. Good luck. One quick example, drugs. The FDA has rules, pharmacies have regulations, doctors have laws. Argh! It’s IMPOSSIBLE to figure out exactly what you pay in tax. And, then we can talk about monetary inflation as a gooferment tax. When you sum it all up, it might be greater than your annual income!

Strategically, taxes are NOT “the cost of living in civilized society”; they are THEFT. How does what dead old white guys did 233 years ago obligate me? It’s a principle of contract law that there has to be offer and acceptance to have a contract. Where is the offer? Where is my acceptance? What obligates me to pay? The definition of citizen states there is an exchange for the state’s “protection”, yet the courts have repeatedly held that there is no specific enforceable duty of the government to protect me. So why again do I have to pay for “services” that I don’t want, can’t use, and are horribly overpriced? In the case of Federal Abortion funding, it’s also morally offensive to me; yet, I still must pay.

Welcome to the tax wars. This is theft by deception. IMHO!

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TECHNOLOGY: Google doesn’t index comments

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Interesting. Google, the be all and end all of internet search, does NOT index comments. Very interesting.

Leaves an opening for a competitor.

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RANT: “Health care” is not a “human right”!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

http://channel-surfing.blogspot.com/2009/08/yes-virginia-insurance-companies-do.html

Friday, August 28, 2009

‘Yes, Virginia, the insurance companies do ration’

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MY RESPONSE

Two “minor” points.

FIRST!!!

“Health care” is not a “human right”!

Place a human alone in a forest. Where is their “human right” to health care?

If you assert that is a “right” then their is an obligation for some one to provide it. If I have a RIGHT to health care, then my neighbor is FORCED to provide it. If he’s a butcher, baker, or a candlestick maker, then my health care will not be so good!

OH, you’re just going to FORCE him to PAY for my healthcare. Just as I am going to be forced to PAY for his.

Don’t you see the moral hazard in that? Don’t you see the stupidity in that? Don’t you see the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of that?

Argh!

Please go back and revisit the whole history of John Locke and concept of negative rights.

SECOND!!!

No one want to see people treated like in a third world country. Sick and dying, covered in flies, in human misery.

BUT, (there is always a big butt), you have no right to compel “charity”. America is an unbelievably charitable country. You can not “force” it. When you make it a gooferment program, then you have “free loaders”. Part of our current problem is that people want something for nothing. In my childhood, there was charity care in hospitals. My relatives would pass the hat around the family rather than have a relative use “charity”. They were embarrassed to have their neighbors think that they didn’t love their family member enough to care for them. Freeloaders weren’t tolerated; down on your luck, you were given a hand up. That’s the essence of true charity.

Remember the great hospitals in America were created by the Churches and Fraternal Organizations. Only when the gooferment took over, did we create the mess we have now.

SUMMARY

(1) Health care is not a right.

(2) There will be true charity without the gooferment intrusion.

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