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From: cliff@unmvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: knee-jerk libertarians
Message-ID: <459@unmvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 5-Oct-84 15:45:18 EDT
Article-I.D.: unmvax.459
Posted: Fri Oct  5 15:45:18 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 7-Oct-84 21:50:47 EDT
References: <1704@inmet.UUCP> <2722@ucbcad.UUCP>
Organization: Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Lines: 38

> Look, I'm sick of hearing knee-jerk libertarians refer to everything that 
> the government does as 'extortion'.  If you are responsible, and pay for
> what the government does for you, it's not extortion or theft, it's just
> paying for what you use.
> 
> 	Wayne

It is sad, but one consolation for those who are paying too much taxes
is at least you don't get as much government as you pay for.

Remember, the US went from 1789 to 1913 with no Constitutional authorization for
income tax.  I do believe that when the income tax amendment (++yes, the
Constitution had to be *amended* {Article XVI I believe}) was being ratified
that some congressmen thought a ceiling should be included, lest in the future
we might face a tax as HIGH as 3% (three percent).  Of course popular thought
at that time believed a ceiling unnecessary, because Americans wouldn't stand
for such larceny.

++this point is not directed at Wayne, but at people who may not have known
  or forgotten when/how income tax was brought about (I guess it is possible
  for some netters to remember a time before income tax, but only a few and
  certainly not me)

Libertarians object to income tax, but not necessarily road fees
(the roads should be owned by private industry and surely they could choose
to collect fees).  An effective military is one of the few things that most
libertarians and Libertarians agree as a necessity.  How to fund it is another
matter, and military waste is a third.  Let's not paint libertarians as
irresponsible and I won't try to portray the Democrats under Mondale as
*purposefully* trying to ruin the economy.  Both groups mean well and if your
article meant only to object to the unthinking libertarians (a subset of the
unthinking masses) then I apologize.  My interpretation was that you meant to
castigate anyone opposed to income tax.

	--Cliff [Matthews]
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