Does taxation improve civilization?
Does the act of theft known as "taxation" make civilization better, or does it damage it? There have been claims made in the past, as well as claims made now, that civilization "needs taxation" in order to be "helped" by government to become better than it otherwise would be. Some people probably even confuse "government" with "civilization", but I'll let that pass for now. Historically, coming from the pinhead who claimed there was no right to falsely shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater, comes the "gem": "Taxes are the price we pay for civilization." Hardly. Civilization is what we manage to create in spite of taxes.
Yet, this is just an example of the statist thought process. The process that excuses wrongs and tries to justify them with things that most people want. Things like civilization. Civilization doesn't need "taxation"; governments do. "Taxation" is like a giant leech that attaches itself to a civilization as soon as it gets the chance. Unless it is ripped off it will continue to drain the life-blood of that society and grow bigger and more harmful. Our "leech" now weighs more than the host.
Is robbery OK if the mugger promises to give your money to orphans and widows? Of course not. If a cause is good, people will not need to be robbed to pay for it. If it is financed by taking property from those who would prefer to keep their property, under threat of jail (and ultimately, death), then it shouldn't be done no matter how warm and fuzzy it makes the thieves or some of their victims feel. There is no government program or "entitlement" so important that is is worth kidnapping or killing people to finance. Not one.
The truth is that there is no free lunch. No "free education". No "free justice". No "free health care" under Obama's socialistic scheme. These things, when provided at all by the state, are funded by coercion (which has a high cost independent of the dollar amount) and cost much more than they need to. They are pale, pathetic shadows of what a free market could provide.
Don't point to the cost of health care in our current society as a refutation of this claim. Our society is far from free, and hasn't been free for a very long time (despite what you have been told to believe). How much does government add to the cost of going to the doctor, buying medications, and having "tests"? Probably, like everything else, the cost is at least doubled, while your wealth is at least halved.
Instead of continuing to dig ourselves deeper into the pit of socialism, why not give freedom a try? It can't hurt. The first step is to admit that taxation is the biggest theft scheme in history, instituted by the most amoral mafia the world has ever known, and put an end to it.
