Comments on: Like living with a six-year-old

By: Keith

Keith — Fri, 02 Jul 2004 15:16:21 +0000

f) Who needs medicare, public education, public transportation, or welfare anyway? I always hated th epoor and every disease can be cured if you just pray really, really hard. And yes, Anarcho-libritarianism is on the ballot. It’s in the fine print on every Bush-Cheney ‘04 bumper sticker.

By: john casey

john casey — Fri, 02 Jul 2004 03:24:31 +0000

thomas dent: Both social security benefits and unemployment benefits are taxed in the US, if the recipient’s income is high enough. (I believe 85% of SS is taxed, not 100%)

By: mccoll

mccoll — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 19:53:52 +0000

There is an amazing disconnect in many people’s minds between the things they want from government (e.g., safety, working utility grids) and what it takes to pay for those things. As a patriotic American, I pay my taxes, on time and in full.

By: Tuttle

Tuttle — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 19:22:31 +0000

Less theft is better than more theft. Taxation isn’t theft, it’s the result of private property and the need for a social system that protects it. Property is theft. /Just thought a little left anarchism should be injected here.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 14:54:19 +0000

Or, simply adopt the guaranteed minimum income/’negative income tax’ of Milton Friedman, a liberal idea if ever I saw one. Hey, I like the idea if it is coupled with a complete and total removal of all other subsidies, transfers, and so forth. I we took what the government takes in (less defense spending) we could send out some pretty decent sized checks to people. Further, we could cut out alot of the bureaucracy that costs so much money and often does very little that is productive. I’d also want it put in the Constitution or setup so that a super-majority is needed to change things such as upping the dollar amounts people get. And set it up so that it pays to work as well. Unfortunately, it will never ever fly because as soon as a politician presents it, he’ll get attacked for it.

By: Micha Ghertner

Micha Ghertner — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 11:21:11 +0000

And is the libertarian position that taxation is theft carried out at the point of a gun, but it’s OK, as long as we only do it a little bit? Not too much? Less theft is better than more theft.

By: Thomas Dent

Thomas Dent — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 10:21:38 +0000

Are benefits taxed in the US? While means-testing is probably not a good idea, I believe that benefit income should be taxed like any other income. Or, simply adopt the guaranteed minimum income/’negative income tax’ of Milton Friedman, a liberal idea if ever I saw one.

By: mc

mc — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 09:05:30 +0000

You’d think by now everyone should be outraged at anyone promising to cut taxes, not the other way round.

By: fyreflye

fyreflye — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 01:15:58 +0000

The reason for the undue attention given to Senator Clinton’s remarks is that a small but vocal minority in the US passionately hates her guts.

By: Jack

Jack — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 23:22:57 +0000

Almost all the shocked and horrified take the content completely out of context too. Senator Clinton was talking to a very wealthy group of people, she was talking about a very specific group of things, she pointed out what was prompting this action and she gave an unobjectionable justification. At first I was at a loss as how to explain the extremity of the reaction to Senator Clinton’s unsuspecting political incorrectness. Now my best guess is that Republicans must be very scared of the following: i) Popular use of the phrase “common good” ii) Democrats being able to talk about raising taxes without disaster iii) The criticism of the responsibility of the current administration under the current circumstances arising from a discussion of the issues actually raised. iv) The importance of exactly who is “you” in Sen. Clinton’s speech and what it says about the true nature of the tax cuts, especially their distribution Whether this is a calculated diversion or just a panic reaction inspired by the potential potency of the message I don’t know. In any event all the criticisms depend upon some reductio ad absurdum of her comments and unspecified and vague parallels with statements that are bad in some equally unspecified way. None tackles the issue at hand and in so far as the criticisms become the focus of discussion of Senator Clinton’s speech they may have been succesful. Taken in their own terms however they are very uconvincing and if that amount of point stretching is allowed as a reasonable interpretation politicians will have to keep their mouths shut.

By: Brett

Brett — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 23:10:42 +0000

Then there’s the other (f), which was the start of a famous and oft-used phrase used by our lovely vice-President this week. Combine with an unwillingness to admit error and an unwavering focus on electoral victory, and I think that (f)@%! is probably the winner here. Great post, btw.

By: joe

joe — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 23:08:14 +0000

Nicholas – you’re an “anarcho-libertarian”, ok, but the original comment as quoted was specifically directed toward the beneficiaries of the Bush tax cuts, who are all personally wealthy in large part as a result of hidden corporate subsidies which violate your basic beliefs about government. You have no consistent grounds for objecting to that money being taken away from those people.

By: jrv

jrv — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 23:04:42 +0000

The spiraling US debt is absolutely fantastic. Yes, I'm saying it. And no, you don't necessarily have to pay it. Do you know what happens to taxes during periods of hyperinflation? You don't have to pay! If I pay in April at last January's rate, I get off great! And technology will provide us an attractive solution to the US dollar in the future. That's right, e-gold, on your cell phone. I will refuse to be contracted in any other denomination aside from gold. No worries about carrying hundreds of pounds of sucres or reales or marks. Simple government destruction. So, there's my common good. The debt is great, keep those tax cuts coming! And....bye, bye Greenspan!

By: Giles

Giles — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 23:02:28 +0000

f) is inflation – as long as nominal gdp is growing fast enough the debt doesnt grow. Its unfrotunate however that inflation doesnt seem to be on the election agenda – yet.

By: Hogan

Hogan — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 22:54:36 +0000

If you’re offended by the Office Space heresy, can you work with The Simpsons? “They want the bear patrol but they won’t pay taxes for it.” And is the libertarian position that taxation is theft carried out at the point of a gun, but it’s OK, as long as we only do it a little bit? Not too much?