Republicans and others who subscribe to the view that taxes are good when used for purposes they condone should not be surprised when Democrats think taxes should be used for purposes they approve of, including more overt socialist goals.
Republicans and others who subscribe to the view that taxes are good when used for purposes they condone should not be surprised when Democrats think taxes should be used for purposes they approve of, including more overt socialist goals. A recent exchange on an LDS forum thread titled “Is Socialism OK with Mormons Now?” reveals the fact that to concede any justification for a tax brings logical consequences that justify socialist programs.
The thread began with an honest inquiry by a forum member about why it seems latter-day saints are somewhat quiescent when it comes to responding to the US Government’s march toward Socialism. The original post mentions that many LDS actually agree with recent government involvement with “banks, health care, [and] the auto industry.”Â
The relevant part of the thread for the purposes of this article begins with a later comment by “skippy740″ who wrote the following:
It is a personal perspective that a true LDS follower would shun socialism of any kind.
Why? Because we know about the war in heaven.
We chose to follow Christ because we want the opportunity to choose and to become exalted or fail-but it would be by our own doing.
What was Satan’s plan again? Oh yeah… HE wanted all of us to follow him and be COMPELLED to “righteousness” so HE can get all the glory!
So far, no problems. Many latter-day saints who love liberty use the premortal battle as a justification for their political beliefs. And, I agree, a “true LDS follower [sh]ould shun socialism of any kind.” However, I do not think skippy740 really believes what he writes, as will be demonstrated shortly.
The other main party to this discussion is forum member “gaspah,” who replied directly to skippy740′s post with the following:
Freedom has nothing to do with healthcare or taxes. By your rationale, all taxes are an abomination; unfortunately society cannot function on any large scale without tax. Without taxes there is no military [and] without military your land cannot be fortified like foretold in Nephi; without health the nation loses strength also. [edited for grammar]
Gaspah was right: “By [skippy740's] rationale, all taxes are an abomination.” Unfortunately, gaspah thinks taxes are necessary for society to function. When I read “without taxes there is no military” I thought that would be a good thing. But, it is a non sequitur to argue that without a tax a program would not exist. Also unfortunate is that skippy740 did not stick to his original argument-that socialism in any form and under any name is still socialism and should be shunned. He replies to gaspah by arguing the following:
Taxes are a part of a capitalistic system.
Remember that the Lord’s Kingdom has a “tax!” 10% of your earnings plus a broken heart and a contrite spirit! The financial part of this “tax” is for the building up of the Kingdom. Why should the government treat our tax dollars any differently?
If you can’t pay taxes [it means] socialism is required to provide for you.
But this “tax” is a “wealth transfer” tax. THAT is an abomination.
Taxes for maintenance and growth of our roads and public services . . . that’s expected. (Of course, those should be budgeted for FIRST in the budget.) Military to protect our borders and our freedoms from outside . . . of course we need those.
So, I’d say that there are “good” taxes and there are “evil” taxes. Government should use my taxes for those projects that will eventually help ME-through public services, roads & military to preserve our freedoms. Those taxes where I’ll see no return because they are given directly to someone else? I’d rather not see that. [edited for grammar]
There is a lot of nonsense in this passage and skippy740 is setting up gaspah to knock it out of the park, socialist style. Before we move on to gaspah’s reply it is worth analyzing this passage in some detail.
It needs to be pointed out that taxes are in no way necessarily part of a “capitalistic” system. A discussion of taxes would be mainly in the area of political or social theory. Even if it is true empirically that all capitalist systems have taxes, it by no means follows that taxes are a part of the capitalist system.
The next paragraph tries to make the gross analogy between tithing and taxes. Tithing is a voluntary offering to the Lord, where an individual is blessed for his efforts; taxes are a forced removal of an individual’s property, where one person benefits at the expense of the other. If skippy740 would only return to his more solid foundation of the war in heaven he would not have to resort to such nonsensical and ludicrous (false) analogies.
In the remainder of his post, skippy740 reveals his utilitarian approach to taxation: It depends on what they are used for! He describes his relativist leanings: “Government should use my taxes for those projects that will eventually help ME . . .” One response is, “Why not eliminate the middle-man? You choose projects that will help YOU.” In addition, to define taxes as “good” and “evil” based on how you benefit is to concede the socialist argument. For what is the socialist argument but that taxes should be used to benefit socialists, what skippy740 would have to call “evil” taxes, if the taxes did not also benefit him. Yet, to the socialists, the same taxes would be “good.” Thus, in skippy740′s relativist framework, the same tax can be called good and evil depending on who benefits and who does not. (Note that an analysis of tax qua tax has not fully entered into the discussion. As in most Republican vs. Democrat discussions, it is merely answering the “what for?” or “how much?” questions, and not the more fundamentally relevant “If?”Â)
Now time for gaspah to point out the logical inconsistency in skippy740′s argument:
. . . if you fall ill you will benefit, such as if you use the roads you benefit. So are you saying that people that do not use roads should not pay taxes for their maintenance, that their wealth is being transferred to those who drive or purchase things that are transported, or that people who don’t have children shouldn’t pay taxes for public schools. People that stay indoors and play video games shouldn’t have to pay taxes for parks and public spaces?
EVERYBODY gets sick and thus EVERYBODY benefits, so please explain to me how a public healthcare system is any different to those other tax-driven services?
Gaspah correctly applies the same logic as skippy740 to support a public healthcare system: Those who benefit should be taxed. So what’s the difference between skippy740′s use of taxes for public roads and military and gaspah’s use of taxes for public healthcare? Nothing-they are both Socialist. Public roads are socialized roads. Public defense is socialized defense. Public healthcare is socialized healthcare. The common element in all of these “goods” is the use of taxes. (While the thread continues, the main point has hopefully been illustrated, that any use or justification of taxes allows the socialist to get his boot in the door.)
Fortunately there is a solution that allows for a latter-day saint to-as skippy740 says-”shun socialism of any kind”Â: abolish taxes. For any liberty-lover to remain logically consistent in his viewpoints there can be no support of taxes. Taxes are theft-despite what they are used for, evil or good. The only difference between the thief and the tax collector is the person holding the gun. Frank Chodorov was correct when he titled his book, Income Tax: The Root of All Evil. It is a love of money that is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10). The power to print money only further demonstrates the evil power available to politicians, most of whom are already engaged in a parasitic relationship, surviving off of the fruits of others’ labor. Those who love liberty must “shun socialism” and its lifeblood: taxes.
Chris Brown is a lecturer and management consultant at the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship. He maintains a blog at http://www.austro-libertarian.com. You can sign up to receive articles in your inbox by Murray Rothbard at his other website, http://www.murrayrothbard.com. Send him email at austrolibertarian@gmail.com.
