No Representation without Taxation (The dangers of placing power in the hands of non-taxpayers)

American Thinker ^ | 10/26/2011 | Bruce Walker

[SeekAndFind]

The recent Occupy Wall Street ruckus and the drumbeat rhetoric of Democrats in Washington that the rich pay too little shows the dangers of placing power in the hands of those who have no real interest beyond self-interest in the governance of the nation. One rallying cry of our forefathers when the British Crown sought to impose taxes -- really, very modest taxes -- on the colonies without the consent of us colonials was "No taxation without representation!"

The logic of that slogan ran something like this: if I have no say in who passes taxes that I must pay, then what prevents the officials from imposing unfair taxes on me? On the other hand, if both the burden of taxation and the voice in tax-making are roughly equal, then taxes passed will be just and sensible.

Commonly shared burdens undertaken granted in exchange for commonly held rights was viewed as a complementary and self-regulating system. This was not true just for taxation. Because government ultimately rests upon the sanctioned use of force, both against external threats and against internal rebellions, government in America was originally founded upon two vital elements: state militia and the posse. Healthy males capable of bearing arms were expected and required to take up arms in defense of public safety and national defense.

Conscription remained, on and off, a part of American life until the volunteer army was created at the end of the Vietnam War. The posse, which has been romanticized or reviled -- depending upon one's ideological view of American justice -- was simply a recognized duty that those who voted had to enforce the laws their elected representatives enacted.

[umgud]

There are two types of people; Tax users and tax payers.

Tax users are not just welfare recipients. All gov’t employees, including the fireman who carries you out of a burning building, are tax users, even if they pay taxes. Their entire income, justified or not, is derived from tax payers.

No matter how you slice it, when the ratio of tax users to tax payers gtets too high, we’ll be on a downward trajectory that has to crash at some point.

[Buckeye McFrog]

This is WHY it is critical that we adopt Herman Cain’s 999 plan (the original one, not the revised copy) or something close to it. We have to uphold the principle of EVERY American paying taxes and having a stake in spending decisions.

[Prokopton]

Tax users are not just welfare recipients. All gov’t employees, including the fireman who carries you out of a burning building, are tax users, even if they pay taxes. Their entire income, justified or not, is derived from tax payers.

Following that line of thinking, all citizens are "tax users". If it wasn't for you and your car, taxpayers would not have to pay taxes for the roads you drive on. If it wasn't for you and your kids, taxpayers would not have to pay for the schools they go to. If it wasn't for people who get married, taxpayers would not have to pay for our court system wasting time on divorce cases.

If it wasn't for citizens, we wouldn't need any taxpayers. The problem is that we have too many citizens who are only tax users. Around 60% of the over 16 workforce pays no federal income tax at all. This, as you say, is dangerous.