Finance without taxation possible

Finance without taxation possible

(My Clovis News Journal column for May 1, 2015)

I am amazed when otherwise intelligent people believe they couldn’t find a way to provide necessary infrastructure and services without committing taxation against their neighbors.

It makes me wonder how many abolitionists were accused of hating farms and cotton by those who couldn’t imagine how fields could be worked in the absence of slaves.

For anything currently financed through taxation I can think of several ways it could be financed voluntarily. If I can, you can too. The more knowledgeable you are about a subject area, the more options you should be able to find.

Don't make assumptions based on how things are done today. Really think. The current way isn't the way it has always been, nor is it the only way it could be. The time for relying on coercion and theft is past.

Think your way out of the restrictive box which has been carefully crafted to imprison your mind. It is built and maintained by those who depend on you not understanding that "authority" is a dangerous superstition, that taxation is theft, and that if you have to rob others to fund something, you'd be better off doing without. Everything good and necessary can be financed voluntarily.

I value education; I love libraries and parks; I even appreciate roads. I am not willing to rob you to pay for any of them.

Many seem to consider tax-funded things to be free. They are not. In fact, they are expensive and inferior compared to what could exist if people kept all their money and paid for what they actually want; choosing among competing providers. Without the burden of taxation you would have much more money to direct toward those things you think are important, whatever they might be. Everyone would be expected to pay for what they use, and no one forced to pay for things they don't use.

The inability, or reticence, to find ways to do things without coercion or theft is a result of having a hobbled mind; it shows a lack of critical thinking and creativity. The brain is a creative organ; able to solve problems. Use it. Don't settle for continuing to be less than fully functional.

It astounds me when people assume a privately owned and maintained road, for example, would require toll booths every few yards or so, as you switch between property owners. What is this, the twentieth century? Come on, think!

Now, picture something you value which is funded by taxing your neighbors. Then, think of ways to provide the same-- or a superior-- service or infrastructure without committing the act of taxation against anyone. It's liberating!

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