Government looting and the effectiveness of shrugging
Posted by LionelHutz 12 years, 2 months ago to Economics
In the days of old, our government funded itself by taxing the people through various means, but most prominently by the Income Tax.
As the government becomes the primary looter, the means of revolt expressed in Atlas Shrugged makes a lot of sense.
One deprives the government of their loot by depriving them of your production.
(They can't tax what you don't make).
However, I think we have been in a new era for a while now.
We are in an era where the government doesn't need your tax money.
Think about this. We already know Social Security and Medicare are going to go broke. We've known it for years.
So what sane politician says lets expand the program (Medicare D), and then cut the revenue stream funding it (employee portion of social security)? Both actions drive the programs deeper into debt.
How are things even staying afloat?
The answer is the government is now writing IOUs, selling them to the Chinese for face value, and telling them they may collect it with interest in the future...from our unborn children.
THIS IS TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
The following data comes from the back page of the 1040 instruction book for the past decade or so:
Percentage of Income derived from Income Taxes and Borrowing.
(Note that while the 1040 data separates income taxes from social security and medicare taxes, I lump them together in this table).
Year Taxes Borrowing
1999 82% 0%
2000 82% 0%
2001 85% 0%
2002 78% 8%
2003 70% 17%
2004 67% 18%
2005 70% 13%
2006 71% 9%
2007 75% 6%
2008 69% 15%
2009 51% 40%
2010 51% 37%
2011 53% 36%
The govt of the USA hasn't been known for compelling people to work in order to keep their income stream coming in.
Shrug all you want. The govt will simply sell more IOUs to the Chinese to make up for it.
At some point in time, the Chinese are going to come to collect on those IOUs.
Is it unreasonable to think that your children may be put into a labor camp?
Agree? Disagree? How does one fight against this?
As the government becomes the primary looter, the means of revolt expressed in Atlas Shrugged makes a lot of sense.
One deprives the government of their loot by depriving them of your production.
(They can't tax what you don't make).
However, I think we have been in a new era for a while now.
We are in an era where the government doesn't need your tax money.
Think about this. We already know Social Security and Medicare are going to go broke. We've known it for years.
So what sane politician says lets expand the program (Medicare D), and then cut the revenue stream funding it (employee portion of social security)? Both actions drive the programs deeper into debt.
How are things even staying afloat?
The answer is the government is now writing IOUs, selling them to the Chinese for face value, and telling them they may collect it with interest in the future...from our unborn children.
THIS IS TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
The following data comes from the back page of the 1040 instruction book for the past decade or so:
Percentage of Income derived from Income Taxes and Borrowing.
(Note that while the 1040 data separates income taxes from social security and medicare taxes, I lump them together in this table).
Year Taxes Borrowing
1999 82% 0%
2000 82% 0%
2001 85% 0%
2002 78% 8%
2003 70% 17%
2004 67% 18%
2005 70% 13%
2006 71% 9%
2007 75% 6%
2008 69% 15%
2009 51% 40%
2010 51% 37%
2011 53% 36%
The govt of the USA hasn't been known for compelling people to work in order to keep their income stream coming in.
Shrug all you want. The govt will simply sell more IOUs to the Chinese to make up for it.
At some point in time, the Chinese are going to come to collect on those IOUs.
Is it unreasonable to think that your children may be put into a labor camp?
Agree? Disagree? How does one fight against this?
Previous comments... You are currently on page 4.
(I also have my own wild blueberry bushes).
CLIMATE!!! I meant CLIMATE!!!
I want to address the replies in one shot.
1. Not shrugging won't get the job done, therefore shrugging will (or might).
In other words, if A doesn't work, the opposite of A will work.
Sorry, it's not that simple. Tell me why it will. Because I argued with data that it won't.
The main point of what I wrote hasn't been addressed.
The govt is financing over 1/3 of the budget on IOUs right now.
If 20% of the country shrugged, what is stopping them from making it 2/3 in response?
2. Overt slavery is an improvement on the current situation because rebellion is easier.
Really? You'd rather be living Red Dawn? You think that's preferable?
Assuming we repulse the invaders (who are just trying to collect a debt, remember),
why do you think this means the system is going to be remade in a better manner in the aftermath?
3. When the system crashes, there won't be anything for the creditors to take.
Labor camps, remember? They're taking labor from you (or your children).
They're putting you to work in their iPad factories and paying you your daily bag of rice.
4. Move to Texas
We're talking about the federal government here.
How does moving to Texas change what you're giving to the Fed?
5. Move to Chile
Please see:
http://www.heritage.org/index/country/ch...
http://www.taxrates.cc/html/chile-tax-ra...
Solitus - the tax situation there doesn't look like an improvement to me, but overall I have to respect a country that's "only" spending 23.3% of GDP, as I'm writing from a country that's managing to do about 40% right now.
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/us_2...
What are they spending it on, though?
Wikipedia:
About 3.8 million people (22% of the population) are (as of November 2011) on government welfare programs, via the "Social Protection Card", which includes the population living in poverty and those at a risk of falling into poverty.
Load more comments...