False Economy and Taxes

Liberals make the excellent point that the economy is of their devising, they pick the winners and losers, if you are a winner, then it is because of their policies, and thus you should pay out to them for their good work on your behalf.  Conservatives claim if they win it is because of their rugged individualism, and no one has claim on their just compensation.  Of the two, of course the liberals are correct, since being marxists, they always get their facts straight.  Conservatives are considered selfish for not sharing, and that is about right.  Anyone rich today, whether liberal or conservative, can trace his wealth back to a government program, whether subsidy or regulation, of some sort.  The system is good because it works for them.

There is a youtube video popular among the right showing state workers in Illinois chanting "raise our taxes!"  An expensive charade is govt collects taxes, passes it to govt workers, who then give some back in taxes.  Therefore govt workers pay taxes.  Ummm... wait a minute...  hundreds of millions in costs could be eliminated if we paid govt workers net, that they paid no taxes, their incomes were tax exempt. For them voting a tax increase is to vote a net gain for themselves.  They throw elections.  The system is good, because it works for them.

this closed, false economy leaves an awful lot of people outside the system.  The liberals want to share a lot more of the wealthys' resources to help the poor, never mind that it is largely due to the false economy that we have poor.  While the two winning sides squabble over who is more insensitive, vast swathes of time, talent and potential remains in lockdown.

Anyway, back to false economy:  since we are in a false economy, why not pay taxes, it is about as significant as a fine in a game of Monopoly.   It is all funny money anyway.

Well, since conservatives are bought off by the warfare system upon which their weal depends, they are not going to state the obvious: we need to end taxation, because it is wrong.  The entire system is wrong, and we need to reinstate free markets.  That is not going to happen either way: no truth telling, no changes.

So let's ask "What would Jesus Do?"  When faced with a tax, the only time it is recorded he did so, Jesus makes clear it is unjust, explains why in natural rights/free market terms, and then performs a miracle.  He pays the tax, in order not to offend the powers that be.

Christians of course, have no right to either collect nor pay taxes, but what are you going to do if and when they do?  Well, expect a miracle.

Matthew 17,  22.27

24After Jesus and His disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25“Yes, He does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?”

26“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27“But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

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