That isn't to say small local governments cannot commit violent robbery, but it tends to be more of a gray area. For instance, the so-called governing board of a condo community with a shared community pool is typically viewed as a consensual arrangement. Self-government is the antithesis of big government.
Likewise, four roommates sharing a house might each pay 1/4th of the utility bills (electric, gas, etc.), perhaps even under written signed contract such that non-payment would allow other roommates to evict the non-paying roommate. Again, to reiterate, self-government is the antithesis of big government.
Thus, this topic is not meant to discuss arguably consensual pseudo-taxes used by agreement at the local level to fund shared local services such as a community pool, a local fire department, or a local elementary school.
For example, I live in Manchester, Connecticut, USA.
The USA government spends over $12,000 per person. If these aren't paid, one goes to prison, and one cannot avoid them even by moving to the woods or overseas. The total amount spent by the USA government is over $4 trillion per year. A trillion is one million millions.
The Connecticut government spends over $8,000 per person. If these aren't paid, one goes to prison.
And the Manchester town has no income tax at all but collects $5,000 per person on average via surcharges on property ownership, which are used to fund the local schools, fire departments, and police. If someone doesn't pay these, it's a civil not a criminal matter, and I believe the debt is attached to the land not the person. It's mostly moot since few people own their land/house outright and instead a private bank pays the pseudo-taxes to the town and builds the cost into the private contractual consensually signed mortgage. In other words, these are consensual, literally to the point of generally involving actual signed contracts, signed before one moves in and agrees to pay.
It's worth noting that words like 'robbery', 'rape', and 'murder' tend to equivocally have both a statutory sense and a non-statutory sense. In the statutory sense, murder is only murder if it is illegal, and thus the Nazi government didn't murder any Jewish people in that sense, but that is not the sense in which I use the words. In the statutory sense, martial rape of a wife by a husband was not rape for most of history since it was only very recently criminalized in most jurisdictions, but that is not how I use the word. The way I use the words even legal murder is murder, and even legal robbery is robbery. In the sense in which I am using the words, legality is irrelevant to whether something is murder, robbery, etc.
If we need a specific definition of big, let's arbitrarily define it as a government that spends both more than $1 billion USD per year and more than $1,000 USD per person per year.
If we need a specific definition of non-local, let's arbitrarily define it as a government that violently rules over more 100 square miles of land.
With those important clarifications in mind, do you agree that taxation by big non-local governments is violent robbery?
If not, please specify which of the following statements are the ones with which you disagree and which are the ones with which you agree:
1. Taxation is non-consensual.
2. Taxation is violent.
3. If a pacifist with children in the USA making slightly below the median income in the USA refuses to pay taxes to the federal USA government, armed agents will go with guns to the pacifist's house, forcefully break down the door if needed, and put the pacifist in prison.
4. Taxation predates the invention of paper money.
5. The suppliers and/or owners of a currency can fund their organization and services without taxes and without non-defensive violence simply by printing more of the currency and keeping the extra for themselves.
To be clear, this topic is not about whether taxes are 'necessary', whatever that might mean, whether they are immoral or morally good, whatever that might mean, or whether they are subjectively desirable. In theory, it's possible for someone to acknowledge that taxes are violent robbery, but still think that violent robbery is necessary for some purpose, or that it is desirable or such.
"The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master."
I believe spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) manifests as bravery, confidence, grace, honesty, love, and inner peace.
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