Not paying taxes is punishable by jail, or even death if you resist enough. The fact that some people resist means that by definition taxes are not voluntary. Therefore, you're not just wrong, you're exactly wrong.
except that theft is, you know, illegal and taxation isn't. The government isn't mugging you when they fine you for not paying your taxes; it's punishing you for failing to pay your share of the cost of society.
Siad Barre and scientific socialism Somalia's adherence to socialism became official on the first anniversary of the military coup when Siad Barre proclaimed that Somalia was a socialist state, despite the fact that the country had no history of class conflict in the Marxist sense. For purposes of Marxist analysis, therefore, clanism was equated with class in a society struggling to liberate itself from distinctions imposed by lineage group affiliation. At the time, Siad Barre explained that the official ideology consisted of three elements: his own conception of community development based on the principle of self-reliance, a form of socialism based on Marxist principles, and Islam. These were subsumed under "scientific socialism," although such a definition was at variance with the Soviet and Chinese models to which reference was frequently made. The theoretical underpinning of the state ideology combined aspects of the Qur'an with the influences of Marx, Lenin, and Mao, but Siad Barre was pragmatic in its application. "Socialism is not a religion," he explained; "It is a political principle" to organize government and manage production. Somalia's alignment with communist states, coupled with its proclaimed adherence to scientific socialism, led to frequent accusations that the country had become a Soviet satellite. For all the rhetoric extolling scientific socialism, however, genuine Marxist sympathies were not deep-rooted in Somalia. But the ideology was acknowledged—partly in view of the country's economic and military dependence on the Soviet Union—as the most convenient peg on which to hang a revolution introduced through a military coup that had supplanted a Western-oriented parliamentary democracy.
More important than Marxist ideology to the popular acceptance of the revolutionary regime in the early 1970s were the personal power of Siad Barre and the image he projected. Styled the "Victorious Leader" (Guulwaadde), Siad Barre fostered the growth of a personality cult. Portraits of him in the company of Marx and Lenin festooned the streets on public occasions. The epigrams, exhortations, and advice of the paternalistic leader who had synthesized Marx with Islam and had found a uniquely Somali path to socialist revolution were widely distributed in Siad Barre's little blue-and-white book. Despite the revolutionary regime's intention to stamp out the clan politics, the government was commonly referred to by the code name MOD. This acronym stood for Marehan (Siad Barre's clan), Ogaden (the clan of Siad Barre's mother), and Dulbahante (the clan of Siad Barre son-in-law Colonel Ahmad Sulaymaan Abdullah, who headed the NSS). These were the three clans whose members formed the government's inner circle. In 1975, for example, ten of the twenty members of the SRC were from the Daarood clan-family, of which these three clans were a part, while the Digil and Rahanweyn, sedentary interriverine clan-families, were totally unrepresented.
Experiment: We ask all conservatives who feel this way to vacate America. We annex them some land at no cost to form an independent country (say, Alaska?) and a few blankets and horses as a parting gift.
Watch as they form a government with no taxation and no collective worker forces and no regulations of labor or industry, and let them do their own thing. Then wait a year, and go and ask the citizens of New Beckistan if they wish to be allowed back into America.
Newsflash: The wealthy are already expatriating. Believe or not, the US isn't the greatest country in the world. There ARE places which are better places to live, without the police state, disregard for civil liberties, all the fucking crime, the class, race, and age warfare, and so on.
In 3 or 4 years, when you're struggling just to have internet access because the standard of living has dropped so significantly, we should revisit this discussion.
Believe or not, the US isn't the greatest country in the world. There ARE places which are better places to live, without the police state, disregard for civil liberties, all the fucking crime, the class, race, and age warfare, and so on.
True. Canada is pretty nice. Elsewhere? Not so much.
I'm just saying, everyplace has it's downside. Somalia is very small government, but there's a high chance of death. Most of the western european countries are commie, most of the south american and african states are police-y, Eastern Europe is fulla corruption, and a lot of the far East is subject to earthquakes or killing fields.
What's funny is that two out of those three countries have higher limits on their progressive tax rates, all three have VAT taxes. They also spend a far lower percent on military and spend higher percent on social programs...
Believe or not, the US isn't the greatest country in the world. There ARE places which are better places to live, without the police state, disregard for civil liberties, all the fucking crime, the class, race, and age warfare, and so on.
Don't let the tea party American exceptionalists hear you say that.
they could move. And I'm sure there will be passports. Neither Texas nor Alaska could make it on their own as a sovereign nation. They'll be coming to us for support, only then it will be "foreign" aid.
I don't get it, except for maybe the art part, although it's still stupid. Not wanting the government to waste money on something frivilous when we are in debt isn't the same as hating art. I don't understand how fiscal responsibility hurts teh poor oppressed gays and minorities. That's just spin to turn people against one another.
it's not fiscally responsible to cut such small programs. What's fiscally responsible is to raise taxes on those who can afford it, and cut MAJOR expenditures, like the DOD and DHS. Defunding NPR, for example, isn't a fiscally responsible action, it's an ideological one.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 05:22 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2011-03-11 07:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 08:24 pm (UTC)Cute but stupid
Date: 2011-03-11 09:41 pm (UTC)Siad Barre and scientific socialism
Somalia's adherence to socialism became official on the first anniversary of the military coup when Siad Barre proclaimed that Somalia was a socialist state, despite the fact that the country had no history of class conflict in the Marxist sense. For purposes of Marxist analysis, therefore, clanism was equated with class in a society struggling to liberate itself from distinctions imposed by lineage group affiliation. At the time, Siad Barre explained that the official ideology consisted of three elements: his own conception of community development based on the principle of self-reliance, a form of socialism based on Marxist principles, and Islam. These were subsumed under "scientific socialism," although such a definition was at variance with the Soviet and Chinese models to which reference was frequently made. The theoretical underpinning of the state ideology combined aspects of the Qur'an with the influences of Marx, Lenin, and Mao, but Siad Barre was pragmatic in its application. "Socialism is not a religion," he explained; "It is a political principle" to organize government and manage production. Somalia's alignment with communist states, coupled with its proclaimed adherence to scientific socialism, led to frequent accusations that the country had become a Soviet satellite. For all the rhetoric extolling scientific socialism, however, genuine Marxist sympathies were not deep-rooted in Somalia. But the ideology was acknowledged—partly in view of the country's economic and military dependence on the Soviet Union—as the most convenient peg on which to hang a revolution introduced through a military coup that had supplanted a Western-oriented parliamentary democracy.
More important than Marxist ideology to the popular acceptance of the revolutionary regime in the early 1970s were the personal power of Siad Barre and the image he projected. Styled the "Victorious Leader" (Guulwaadde), Siad Barre fostered the growth of a personality cult. Portraits of him in the company of Marx and Lenin festooned the streets on public occasions. The epigrams, exhortations, and advice of the paternalistic leader who had synthesized Marx with Islam and had found a uniquely Somali path to socialist revolution were widely distributed in Siad Barre's little blue-and-white book. Despite the revolutionary regime's intention to stamp out the clan politics, the government was commonly referred to by the code name MOD. This acronym stood for Marehan (Siad Barre's clan), Ogaden (the clan of Siad Barre's mother), and Dulbahante (the clan of Siad Barre son-in-law Colonel Ahmad Sulaymaan Abdullah, who headed the NSS). These were the three clans whose members formed the government's inner circle. In 1975, for example, ten of the twenty members of the SRC were from the Daarood clan-family, of which these three clans were a part, while the Digil and Rahanweyn, sedentary interriverine clan-families, were totally unrepresented.
Re: Cute but stupid
Date: 2011-03-11 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-12 07:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-12 08:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 08:25 pm (UTC)Watch as they form a government with no taxation and no collective worker forces and no regulations of labor or industry, and let them do their own thing. Then wait a year, and go and ask the citizens of New Beckistan if they wish to be allowed back into America.
We'll be here waiting with open and diverse arms.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 08:37 pm (UTC)In 3 or 4 years, when you're struggling just to have internet access because the standard of living has dropped so significantly, we should revisit this discussion.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 08:59 pm (UTC)True. Canada is pretty nice. Elsewhere? Not so much.
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Date: 2011-03-11 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 09:25 pm (UTC)You could try australia, mate!
Of course
Date: 2011-03-11 09:43 pm (UTC)Re: Of course
Date: 2011-03-11 09:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 11:32 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2011-03-11 11:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-11 09:51 pm (UTC)Don't let the tea party American exceptionalists hear you say that.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-12 05:24 am (UTC)Oh, and I live in NYC. The only real estate that's doing really well here is high-end real estate.
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