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Post 20

Monday, August 2, 2004 - 2:33pmSanction this postReply
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eli,

"as for those who believe we should not accept the benefits of any government programs (that, if we do, we are immoral), i ask: do you drive on public roads?"

I see difference in kind between a government program that benefits all (e.g., public roads) and a government program that benefits only a special group (e.g., unemployment compensation).

Both programs are tax supported, but only in the latter case are the tax monies "redistributed," and therefore considered immoral.

Larry

Post 21

Monday, August 2, 2004 - 6:10pmSanction this postReply
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does road construction benefit the mountain hermit?!!!

j/k. he probably doesn't pay taxes anyway.

but, if one group of people (say, those with higher income) have to pay more for the roads, isn't it then an indirect redistribution of wealth?

and how about public schooling (which i don't believe benefits all, especially parents who send their kids to private schools)? did you go to public school? i did and still do (public univ).


also, i disagree that it is only redistribution taxes that are immoral. when the government makes itself the only service provider (of whatever service) by law, and then sets the price , and then forces you to pay it, it is immoral, no matter how the service is distributed.

i am not an anarchist however. i do believe in a centralized gov't, with police and courts and military. how would they be funded? you got me... all i can meekly suggest is: volluntarily?

Post 22

Thursday, August 5, 2004 - 1:25pmSanction this postReply
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eli,

The issue issue that you raise is one, that to the best of my knowledge, Ayn Rand herself didn't confront—i.e., how to fund the legitimate functions of government, if not by taxation.

I quote from "Government Financing in a Free Society" that appears in The Virtue of Selfishness:

In a fully free society, taxation—or, to be exact, payment for governmental services—would be voluntary. Since the proper services of a government—the police, the armed forces, the law courts—are demonstrably needed by individual citizens and affect then- interests directly, the citizens would (and should) be willing to pay for such services, as they pay for insurance.

The question of how to implement the principle of voluntary government financing—how to determine the best means of applying it in practice—is a very complex one and belongs to the field of the philosophy of law. The task of political philosophy, is only to establish the nature of the principle and to demonstrate that it is practicable. The choice of a specific method of implementation is more than premature today-since the principle will be practicable only in a fully free society, a society whose government has been constitutionally reduced to its proper, basic functions.


She makes the point quite well, I think. Our time would be better spent now by first dismantling the welfare state (including government schools). Then we can worry about how to finance the remainder (I estimate one-third of today's federal budget) by a more just method.

My personal time in government schools? —The last three years of undergraduate college, and two years of graduate school following that. All of my prior education was paid by my parents, at great sacrifice.

Why do you ask?

Larry

Post 23

Thursday, August 5, 2004 - 2:04pmSanction this postReply
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i ask because accepting public schooling is the same as accepting welfare, since both are funded by extorted money.

you said:

___________________________________________________________
"I see difference in kind between a government program that benefits all (e.g., public roads) and a government program that benefits only a special group (e.g., unemployment compensation).

Both programs are tax supported, but only in the latter case are the tax monies "redistributed," and therefore considered immoral."
___________________________________________________________


public schools don't benefit all. what about people with no children? money is effectively redistributed from people without children (and also people who payer higher taxes), to people with children, by having state education.

accepting state education is accepting that redistributed money. if a welfare recipient is immoral, than so is a public school child (or at least a state school undergrad, or graduate student).

my point was only that those who say welfare recipients are immoral for accepting extorted funds should look at what unjust government services they use.

welfare recipients didn't set up the system. they are not guilty for the tax theft of the government. many are probably victims of it (they might have more job opportunities, etc, if the country were capitalist).

also, you said:

"All of my prior education was paid by my parents, at great sacrifice."

is that "sacrifice" in the colloquial sense, or in the objectivist one?

heh heh. kind of like mulligan's slip there. i do it sometimes too.

Post 24

Thursday, August 5, 2004 - 3:16pmSanction this postReply
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eli,

I'm sorry, but I don't see where we disagree here.

Government schools are a part of the welfare system. Those whose money was taken from them to finance that system are entitled to whatever benefits they can obtain, as compensation. In this case it amounts to attending, or sending your children, those schools.

Or, did I misread something along the way?

Larry

Post 25

Thursday, August 5, 2004 - 8:35pmSanction this postReply
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eh? i am saying that welfare recipients are not immoral. it is the taxing thieves that commit the crime.

Post 26

Friday, August 6, 2004 - 4:21amSanction this postReply
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It's an issue with a few shades of gray, Eli.

If a thief steals your money, gives a random person the money and makes sure they know it was stolen, the random man is immoral if he accepts the cash.  It's not his.  He didn't earn it, but seeks to benefit from it, and deprives you of your money.  He didn't hold the gun to your head, but he certainly didn't quell at benefiting from the violation of your rights.  So it is immoral, along that line.  (Not to mention the welfare recipient should get off their ass and work for their own money.)

Where the shades of gray enter is: what about cops?  Judges?  Our military?  The funds used to support these vital careers in government have been extorted from us at the point of a gun.  (Or a jail cell, if you like.)  Are we immoral for utilizing the services paid for by the toil of others (other taxpayers)?  Since we've put our stolen money into the system as well, we can say "oh, but I'm simply getting what I've paid for."  And the vital services that are paid for by my extorted cash has never been much of a big deal to me, so long as they do their job well, and cheaply.  Services such as welfare are a decaying burden on all taxpayers, and cannot ever be called moral in any shape or form, along with those who utilize them and perpetuate them.  Ever!  LoL.


Post 27

Friday, August 6, 2004 - 9:43amSanction this postReply
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"Since we've put our stolen money into the system as well, we can say "oh, but I'm simply getting what I've paid for." And the vital services that are paid for by my extorted cash has never been much of a big deal to me, so long as they do their job well, and cheaply. "

we have a progressive tax system (in the u.s. anyway, i dunno where you're from). that means that the more you make, the more taxes you pay. so while everyone gets basically the same service from the police, military, and courts, not all pay an equal share.

also, considering anti-trust laws, and things like big tobacco law suits, some of the people who pay the most for those services are having them used (unjustly) against them.

but that's just an aside really.

i think we should have police, courts, and military.

i was arguing against public schools.

as for people who payed for the services... i'm sure plenty of welfare recipients have payed *some* money into the system, so they could say that same thing you said (just gettting what they paid for). i don't agree of course, but that's just to show the invalidity of that idea.

"If a thief steals your money, gives a random person the money and makes sure they know it was stolen, the random man is immoral if he accepts the cash."

with welfare, there is no option of giving the money back to the people it was stolen from. it's going to be used either way.

"Services such as welfare are a decaying burden on all taxpayers, and cannot ever be called moral in any shape or form, along with those who utilize them and perpetuate them. Ever! LoL."

first off, i don't think welfare is moral. at all. i think it should be done away with.

but, you say people who use such services are not moral. i ask then, do you use public roads? did you attend public school?

how about public water companies? or the services of the fda?

you had no part in setting up the system that way? well neither did many welfare recipients. they may be just as much victims of our mixed economy as tax payers are. with free, leave alone capitalism, they could probably get more and better jobs and such. but because of the mixed economy, they may not have another choice but to accept welfare (except to die...).

it is evil to advocate the continuation or expansion of these programs. but to accept the benefits? look in the mirror. you may not have a choice in the matter, but neither did plenty of welfare recipients.

it may seem from my stance that i'm responding in defense of my own actions. in a way i am: i go to public school. as far as i'm concerned, they are the same, morally (public schools, and welfare).

does it matter that one comes in the form of money, and the other in the form of a service? how could that matter?

i re-assert: if you damn welfare recipients, then you damn all public school goers (and probably yourselves as well).

we didn't set up the system of tax theft. many of us are its victims.

don't let the gov't confuse you when it points to hungry children as its excuse to rob you. don't forget where the blame lies.

well, speaking of long boring posts...

:)
eli

Post 28

Friday, August 6, 2004 - 10:34amSanction this postReply
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eli,

i am saying that welfare recipients are not immoral. it is the taxing thieves that commit the crime.


Ok. I'm back on track with your position. (I'm also current with Jeremy's comment and your response to that.)

Referring back to the Rand essay referenced in Posts 11 and 12 here, you will find that a person who advocates or supports welfare laws is acting immorally, irrespective of whether they accept such monies; but a person who opposes such laws, and who treats such payments as restitution for taxes previously taken from them is acting morally.

Using that standard alone, you are free to continue your education, and even make use of student loans and public scholarships. Moreover, when you graduate, you can even get a government job and stay moral—although an IRS job may be stretching it. ;-)

What doesn't seem to be referenced in the foregoing essay is the person collecting welfare who has never paid any taxes (hidden or otherwise—and, I wouldn't think that paying sales tax on items purchased with a welfare check would qualify). They certainly can't claim restitution without a robbery. It would seem to me that, following the logic of the essay, they would be acting immorally, irrespective of their position on the welfare system.

OTOH, I don't claim to know what the official Objectivist position might be given that circumstance. However, I am confident that others here do, and will let us know.

Larry

Post 29

Sunday, August 8, 2004 - 9:44amSanction this postReply
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otoh? oh, on the other hand?

"What doesn't seem to be referenced in the foregoing essay is the person collecting welfare who has never paid any taxes (hidden or otherwise—and, I wouldn't think that paying sales tax on items purchased with a welfare check would qualify). They certainly can't claim restitution without a robbery. It would seem to me that, following the logic of the essay, they would be acting immorally, irrespective of their position on the welfare system."

well, when i was in elementary school, and high school, i didn't pay taxes.

and i don't think the taxes i pay now could cover my education costs.

so then, it can't really be seen as restitution in my case, can it?

perhaps it would be restitution for my parents, since they paid taxes, and would be covering the whole bill w/o gov't education?

well, what of those children of parents who pay only a small amount of taxes? are they to deny themselves the benefits of gov't education? and what of orphans?

understand, i am not saying we should have state education. i am saying that people who can't pay for it, should not deny it for themselves.

as far as i'm concerned, taxed monies are lost to their rightful owners. there is no victim to the crime of taking money (in the form of benefits, or directly) from the gov't.

and a victimless crime is not a crime at all.

"shoplifting is a victimless crime, like punching someone in the dark!"

-nelson, on the simpsons

:)
eli

Post 30

Sunday, August 8, 2004 - 11:01amSanction this postReply
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eli,

As I read Ayn Rand's essay (and I keep referring back to it only to stay on an Objectivist course here), restitution must be viewed in a very general sense. We all pay "hidden taxes" —i.e., taxes that are paid by others who provide our goods and services, and include them in the cost to us. A good example is rent. Landlords pay property taxes from the rents collected, and those taxes are used to finance local schools.

It seems to me that parents paying their property taxes (either directly or as a portion of their rent) also pay for the public education of their children, through college. Besides, while you may not be earning anything now, you can plan on a lifetime of taxation on your earnings.

The final four paragraphs of Rand's essay should put your concerns to rest:

In a free society, it is immoral to denounce or oppose that from which one derives benefits—since one's associations are voluntary. In a controlled or mixed economy, opposition becomes obligatory—since one is acting under force, and the offer of benefits is intended as a bribe.

So long as financial considerations do not alter or affect your convictions, so long as you fight against welfare statism (and only so long as you fight it) and are prepared to give up any of its momentary benefits in exchange for repeal and freedom-so long as you do not sell your soul (or your vote)—you are morally in the clear. The essence of the issue lies in your own mind and attitude.

It is a hard problem, and there are many situations so ambiguous and so complex that no one can determine what is the right course of action. That is one of the evils of welfare statism: its fundamental irrationality and immorality force men into contradictions where no course of action is right.

The ultimate danger in all these issues is psychological: the danger of letting yourself be bribed, the danger of a gradual, imperceptible, subconscious deterioration leading to compromise, evasion, resignation, submission. In today's circumstances, a man is morally in the clear only so long as he remains intellectually incorruptible. Ultimately, these problems are a test-a hard test-of your own integrity. You are its only guardian. Act accordingly.


Larry

Post 31

Sunday, August 8, 2004 - 12:54pmSanction this postReply
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she seems to agree with me exactly.

i read that article long ago, and i think it helped me form this conviction.

"So long as financial considerations do not alter or affect your convictions, so long as you fight against welfare statism (and only so long as you fight it) and are prepared to give up any of its momentary benefits in exchange for repeal and freedom-so long as you do not sell your soul (or your vote)—you are morally in the clear. The essence of the issue lies in your own mind and attitude."

so, my point is, a recipient of welfare is not evil, unless he wants the system to continue, and votes accordingly (or promotes that system in some other way). which is consistent with the article.

Post 32

Sunday, August 15, 2004 - 4:42amSanction this postReply
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So I had my thoughts all ready to go, except for a closing, trying to get it in before I left for Disney. Turns out I ran out of time and actually missed my flight that day! And for about two weeks including my vacation time went back & forth on this issue in a few places. So I apologize for falling of this thread but plan to catch up & hopefully can contribute some ideas very shortly!

-Elizabeth


Post 33

Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 10:48pmSanction this postReply
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Elizabeth,

I still look forward to your essay on this topic. Can't you tell your employer that there are more important things in life?

Larry

Post 34

Sunday, December 12, 2004 - 7:37amSanction this postReply
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Hi,

I'm new to the site but I wanted to put in my 2 cents on this subject.

The way I look at taxation and other forms of government extortion is like that of a mugger.

A mugger pulls out a gun and says "Your money or your life." You will give him the money because your life is more valuable. Even after you give it to him the money is not his by right and still belongs to you.

Stealing an individuals money through taxation is no different. You will give it to them so your life is not wasted in jail. That money is still yours by right.

You can not just go to the government and tell them to give it back. Or call the police to try to get it for you as you would for a run-of-the-mill mugger.

Welfare, Social Security, Scholarships and any other government program are ways to get your money back without risking your life. My self imposed limitation would be to calculate how much over my lifetime they have taken from me (with interest of course) and limit how much I can get out of these projects to that amount. It would also be fair to leave some in the system for services that I do use like roads, etc. but the amount is what *I* choose to pay for the benefits I'm receiving.

Regards,

Jeremy Nelson

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