Yes, one cannot be free internally without recognizing the outer conditions for it is our willingness to confront it where we find a different kind of freedom built with an inner fire and start to make daily choices outside the “ways of the world.”
Once you see the reality you can’t unsee. Had a discussion the other night with someone who could not understand that government is not necessary. That taxes are not a good thing. They took the old “doing my part” stance. It was kind of pathetic to hear.
Great inclusion of inflation (expansion of the money supply, which leads to price increases) in this post. The evil of central banks should be understood and not underestimated.
No doubt, but in my view inflation and unsound money is one of the most absolutely pernicious side effects. The soundness (or unsoundness) of money has so many downstream effects, including the state's ability to wage war. It is intimately connected with the people's character (time preference), their ability to produce good art, and so many other things. The Austrians, especially Hoppe, have done a great job describing the connection between unsound government money and this widespread decline.
Yes. The reason we can’t escape this is taxation: businesses are forced to pay taxes in the government’s fake monopoly-money. So, we are forced to attribute value to it. Only a committed, coordinated, and en-masse tax strike can change things.
I will suggest that a tax strike would be mostly (not entirely) symbolic. Governments, through their central banks, will print the money they want, thus taxing the populace surreptitiously.
Even now, in the US, the tax revenues are so far below government expenditures that the excess must be printed or borrowed (for repayment later in printed dollars).
In the absence of a central bank, there is at least some political pushback when the taxes are explicit and in everyone's face, providing some limit to government's ability to tax and spend.
You're absolutely right that there is a pervasive and unfortunate need for government on the part of almost everyone.
No, this is false. I keep making the point that government NEEDS taxation more than anything. If there were no taxation, and governments kept printing all the fiat currency they wanted, who do you think would use it? Taxation is VITAL for government. It is the only thing that forces businesses to use fiat. Plus, taxation keeps hyperinflation at bay by suppressing the economy at the expense of the little guy.
There are many periods of US history where fiat money was printed and there was no tax regime. This was prior to the intro of the income tax around WWI, but also included more focused "tax revolts" after WWI. These periods caused some economic instability, but did almost nothing to deter the state.
For a country, like the US, that runs a constant and large budget deficit, the deflationary effect of taxes doesn't exist since every dollar of taxes is shoved into further government spending. Rothbard discusses this topic in Man, Economy, and State.
I haven't read your link, but will do so. I agree that taxes are vital for the state, and printing money for too long without taxation would destabilize their operations and their fiat currency. But a temporary tax strike would do little to that stability in a country like the US. A permanent one, to the extent it could ever happen, may be a different story and would require a simultaneous shift to a private money alternative.
I know this one all too well. We’re stuck in The Matrix.
We are. No one seems to want to escape it.
yep, at least do a revocation and stop contributing where it is possible to remove voluntarily.
Yes. That's all we can do. That and reminding people that they are indeed slaves, and they shouldn't lie to themselves that they are anything else.
Yes, one cannot be free internally without recognizing the outer conditions for it is our willingness to confront it where we find a different kind of freedom built with an inner fire and start to make daily choices outside the “ways of the world.”
and operate in the private domain, exchange goods with individuals in the private as much as possible where there is no tax…
That would be ideal.
Once you see the reality you can’t unsee. Had a discussion the other night with someone who could not understand that government is not necessary. That taxes are not a good thing. They took the old “doing my part” stance. It was kind of pathetic to hear.
Troll him with this: https://sotiris.substack.com/p/government-is-an-unnecessary-evil
Great inclusion of inflation (expansion of the money supply, which leads to price increases) in this post. The evil of central banks should be understood and not underestimated.
Yes, but still it is but a side-effect, a symptom. The true cause is our deluded need in government. That is the enemy.
No doubt, but in my view inflation and unsound money is one of the most absolutely pernicious side effects. The soundness (or unsoundness) of money has so many downstream effects, including the state's ability to wage war. It is intimately connected with the people's character (time preference), their ability to produce good art, and so many other things. The Austrians, especially Hoppe, have done a great job describing the connection between unsound government money and this widespread decline.
Yes. The reason we can’t escape this is taxation: businesses are forced to pay taxes in the government’s fake monopoly-money. So, we are forced to attribute value to it. Only a committed, coordinated, and en-masse tax strike can change things.
I will suggest that a tax strike would be mostly (not entirely) symbolic. Governments, through their central banks, will print the money they want, thus taxing the populace surreptitiously.
Even now, in the US, the tax revenues are so far below government expenditures that the excess must be printed or borrowed (for repayment later in printed dollars).
In the absence of a central bank, there is at least some political pushback when the taxes are explicit and in everyone's face, providing some limit to government's ability to tax and spend.
You're absolutely right that there is a pervasive and unfortunate need for government on the part of almost everyone.
https://sotiris.substack.com/p/why-pay-taxes-if-they-can-print-all
No, this is false. I keep making the point that government NEEDS taxation more than anything. If there were no taxation, and governments kept printing all the fiat currency they wanted, who do you think would use it? Taxation is VITAL for government. It is the only thing that forces businesses to use fiat. Plus, taxation keeps hyperinflation at bay by suppressing the economy at the expense of the little guy.
There are many periods of US history where fiat money was printed and there was no tax regime. This was prior to the intro of the income tax around WWI, but also included more focused "tax revolts" after WWI. These periods caused some economic instability, but did almost nothing to deter the state.
For a country, like the US, that runs a constant and large budget deficit, the deflationary effect of taxes doesn't exist since every dollar of taxes is shoved into further government spending. Rothbard discusses this topic in Man, Economy, and State.
I haven't read your link, but will do so. I agree that taxes are vital for the state, and printing money for too long without taxation would destabilize their operations and their fiat currency. But a temporary tax strike would do little to that stability in a country like the US. A permanent one, to the extent it could ever happen, may be a different story and would require a simultaneous shift to a private money alternative.
Money...a side effect, a symptom of government?
I would say it is the other way around.
It is the inflated money that drives the actions of the government.
The problem is our deluded need in centralized coercive government. It is what makes government.
OUR?
I know I do not need govern - Ment....don't include me in that mess!
Seems to me that slavery always follows the same path, it becomes increasingly oppressive until it becomes untenable.
We give up part of our freedom to live in a society, I suppose, but the question always boils down to "how much".
I think we might be at the "this form of slavery is also untenable", which makes one wonder, what form of slavery comes next?
Insightful comment. What comes next? Willing slavery that is seen as a virtue. COVID was the dry run.
I appreciate your honesty and push back at your own risk