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Originally Posted by Dragon
How is it fair to tax material items that someone owns? You do realize someone owns the lands they get the resources from, right? And how is it right to tax someone for their property, THEIR PRIVATE property.
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How does someone have the right to own nature, land, air, stuff they had absolutely no part in creating? Income tax taxes labor, which people most certainly own. Sales tax taxes things people buy with the fruits of their labor from the people who created them. Property tax takes from people on the basis of various factors (some of which are present in Georgist taxation), many of which are based on improvements that are created by or purchased legitimately by the owner. Keep in mind, a house is still legitimate property of an individual. Land is not.
So any tax system you can stand for ultimately taxes people on their property.
But when we look at property, why is it that some people allegedly have more rights to things of nature than others? Why is it never questioned how they gain excessive profit from what amounts to a monopoly over things they had no part in creating?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragon
The founders of the US would be ashamed of what we have done to the system when it comes to how the government earns its money and spends it...
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So what? The first Europeans on this soil would hang us for witchcraft for much of what we do today? Frankly I find their slave ownership and their limits to who can vote disgusting, but it really doesn't matter does it?
But really I think we'd need to see them here and now in these circumstances to really get their opinion, don't you?
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Originally Posted by Dragon
Actually it does. Because when I go out and buy a new brand spanking grill(non-essential product), and pay the tax on it, I KNEW there was a tax on it and went and bought it. But when I have income removed from my pay check, then I have NO control how the tax money is collected.
See, dont you get it? I control the tax income for our government. Maybe this will give the government incentive to make changes on what they spend it for, eh?
We also need to change what we spend taxes on too, would of gotten to this point already, but haven had the chance yet in this thread.
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So you think the citizens of this heavily consumeristic culture will actually start basing their spending on what they think of the government?
And you think people will stop demanding government services when the economy goes down and their spending is curbed?
Riiiiight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragon
Plus, today in this nation I actually have no control over what we spend in this nation. Fact is most of the politicians could give a hoot what we want.
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Because the population has split between hardcore partisans, hardcore cynics, and hardcore apathists. The politicians would care if people got organized and motivated.
The partisans have no problem getting responses for that reason.
Apathists just complain and cynics amount to being apathists because they assume government won't work for them and spend more time trying to undermine it than changing it.
The politicians are out of control because the people are not taking it. This has nothing to do with the method of taxation.