“The more powerful and advanced a civilization becomes, he reasons, the less liberty it can afford to its people. Peace and stability require laws, not freewheeling libertarianism. A strong military, an efficient police force, safe roads, bridges? Yup, all that means taxes. “Superpower status is not cheap,” he writes, about a quarter of the way into the book, “and someone must pay for it” (page 54)”
I can’t believe Harris made such a superficial argument. He’s a smart guy. I don’t always agree with him. But he certainly knows that the items he lists make up only a small portion of the federal budget.
What is bankrupting the US is entitlements and redistribution of income we don’t have. That’s what the elite wants high taxes for. They could care less about roads for flyover country—except insofar as it can be earmarked and sold for votes. As long as the DC transit system gets them around in style, they are good with transit.
“The more powerful and advanced a civilization becomes, he reasons, the less liberty it can afford to its people. Peace and stability require laws, not freewheeling libertarianism.”
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin
Need I say more?
What is bankrupting the US is the use of the public coffers to buy votes for incumbents. We can't afford to keep 535 kings/queens in DC.