If any man's money can be taken by a so-called government, without his own personal consent, all his other rights are taken with it; for with his money the government can, and will, hire soldiers to stand over him, compel him to submit to its arbitrary will, and kill him if he resists. -Lysander Spooner
Are you suggesting all wise old men were anti-government? Or by default if they are wise they were also anti-government? Anyway, quotes neednt be limited to anti-government
No I'm suggesting that I would like to read one thread in politics that doesn't devolve into yuri johnny and you blindly asserting that "taxes are theft." Just because you say something over and over again doesn't make it true. Calling taxes theft is like calling an abortion baby murder. Yeah technically it's true but most people can see why the two aren't directly comparable. Theft is defined as taking something with the intent of depriving that person a benefit. Well you may not agree with the taxes, the intent is to provide people with benefits not to deprive them. I don't disagree that the government is full of a bunch of crooks and that many government programs are beyond inefficient but to call taxes theft is completely misleading and is just rhetorical bullshit. By calling it theft you guys can now pretend that you are taking the high road and that the discussion about taxes isn't even worth having which is such a bullshit tactic to debating an issue. It's like the people who sit around and say abortion is murder, think of the morality. You can't argue morality because it's completely subjective and that's why statements like taxes are immoral are silly and cop outs.
"If people spent half as much time and energy in real life protesting the government as they do online, the world would have already changed by now." - Sneaky Snake
I didnt say taxes are theft, the guy I quoted did. I just happen to completely agree. But, that isnt the subject or purpose of this thread, so why dont you shut your yap or post a wise old man saying something else
Theft is taking something that dips not belong to you without permission of the rightful owner. That is EXACTLY what taxes are. If I do not give my clear express permission without duress for a part of my paycheck to be taken every single payday then that is theft. it doesn't matter if you want to take half of my paycheck for 90 percent of the country want to take half my paycheck you are still taking it against my will. Might does not make right. Just because you and a bunch of other people get together and decide that I owe you money does not make me obligated to pay it no matter what that money might be going to .
I'm sorry for hijacking your thread. Here's a quote from good ol' Abe Lincoln "There is an important sense in which government is distinctive from administration. One is perpetual, the other is temporary and changeable. A man may be loyal to his government and yet oppose the particular principles and methods of administration."
As you may have guessed I disagree with that statement entirely. The government even refers to itself as the administration nowadays and vice versa. Don't forget, that quote also came from a man who is a part of the establishment, government, administration, whatever you want to call it and also the man who destroyed states rights the first time. Everyone remembers Lincoln is the president who freed the slaves when actually slavery was only a small part of the Civil War. the war was over states rights to decide what was legal and illegal in their state. what lincoln did was decide that the federal government has ultimate authority over the states and completely abolished the 10th amendment. Fuck Lincoln
"In the cabaret of globalization, the state shows itself as a table dancer that strips off everything until it is left with only the minimum indispensable garments: the repressive force." Subcomandante Marcos
"When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket." Nikola Tesla -1909
Now THAT was a wise man. No wonder the government tried their hardest to picture him as a nut and erase him from history.
-Nicola Tesla Edit; They say that Einstein was once asked what it was like being the smartest man in the world? "I don't know you, you will have to ask Nicola Tesla" was hes response.
A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. Max Planck