St. Paul and I Agree...
Taxation is not theft: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves." -- Romans 13 The key idea implicit here, and the one that turned me on the subject of whether or not taxation is theft, is that "every soul" owes obedience to the "governing authorities." Now, if that is a debt I truly owe , then, when those authorities levy the taxes they need to do the job of governing, I owe them those taxes, and attempts to collect them certainly do not constitute acts of theft. And obviously it doesn't matter at all, from this point of view, whether or not I "signed" any sort of "social contract." (In fact, the history of political thought since the Reformation can be read as an attempt to find a secular rep...
What are you in PA for?
ReplyDeleteI kind of live here, especially in the summer.
ReplyDeleteAs you would be older at the time that you won than at the time when you were playing then the sign could be accurate even for the oldest Pennsylvanian.
DeleteOh, ok. I was just curious because I live in Ohio, but I often work in PA.
DeleteIf this is another math post, Gene, you are going to get destroyed at Wenzel's blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably six hours east of you! But if you get out this way, give a shout.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I might be working out that way beginning in the next month or so. I don't have the details yet, nor do I know if I am going to be on that job for sure, but it is highly likely.
DeleteGive a shout if you ever get near Cleveland, though I cannot imagine why on Earth anyone would want to get near Cleveland.