I don't want to "give" any of my money or other property to the government, and I don't want government to "give me back" any money taken from others. I am not "entitled" to stolen money, not even to "pay back" money that has been stolen from me. I'll get into why I believe this in a minute.
This is the fallacy behind "Social Security", tax refunds, stimulus checks, and anything else government "gives" the people. This money is either stolen, or it was printed up out of thin air. If you or I did this, the government would call us counterfeiters. And they would be right, although they would excuse their own actions in spite of there being no real difference. Even if it was stolen from you originally, it is still tainted by the time you get it back. It's a difficult moral dilemma. What was stolen from you 6 months ago is gone. Spent. What the government "gives" you back was stolen from someone else more recently. And since everything government does is backed up by a monopoly on force, and ultimately by threat of death, the money was stolen at gun-point. It is blood money.
The same goes for any wages paid by any government entity. That money was stolen from someone, somewhere. This is why I think it would be best, if you do choose to work for government in any capacity, that you do so on a volunteer basis. If it is really that important to do, it will be done by volunteers, right?
Now, would I scold you for accepting these "benefits"? No. Maybe your understanding of morality and ethics differs from mine. But as for me, no thanks. Keep your blood money.
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Wow!
ReplyDeleteNow the world get's to see two freedom fighters actually disagree on a point they actually agree fundamentally with!
(That statement will confuse "them"!)
I wholly agree about the blood money - However -
I will take as much money from government as possible, for the simple reason - they don't get to keep it.
Every dollar I get is one less dollar some arms manufacturer doesn't get.
Of course, this attitude is only legitimate if you know it's blood money, and you're trying to stop the blood flowing. I'm not fooled, of course, into thinking government money is 'good' money nor am I thankful to the government for giving it to me.
I don't think it matters if they get to "keep" it or not, since they'll just print more if they want to.
ReplyDeleteGovernment will never really run low on money. They will always have enough to pay the war machine.
Besides not wanting to take money that was stolen from anyone else, I don't want to get dependent on the "handouts" in any way.
As I posted that, I thought of something else.....
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you have read any of Claire Wolfe's books, but in one she was saying that she believes the only legitimate reason to take all the "benefits" you can get is when government has made it impossible for you to earn (and keep) enough to survive. Or had outlawed or regulated you out of business. Then it is time to bleed the system for all you can in order to bring about its bankruptcy. BUT don't fall into the trap of using it as an excuse to be lazy; make sure you are really being prevented from earning enough because of government interference.
I'm still not convinced it really hurts the state, for the reasons I mentioned above.