why do people agree to pay taxes?

[deluxeCITY]

When you check into a hotel, do you say "I'm not gonna need those stupid pillow mints, i'm not even gonna use the bed, so you have no right to charge me for it"?

Living in a country is like that.

Checking into a hotel requires the consent of the customer.  Being born in a country involves no such consent.  The difference is night and day.

You didn't have a say in being born, and that's why your country owes you a living?
If you were born at my house, would you feel entitled to live in it without bothering to pay me rent?  For that matter, do you feel that you have a right to homestead in the maternity ward of the hospital where you were born?  Help me understand.

Right. I am sure all the people who are saying they should not have to pay any taxes are also going to complain when the government is no longer able to provide the kinds of services and protection that taxes pay for and they have gown accustomed to.

[STT]

The point is that people can spend that money themselves more efficiently not that they dont want security or welfare but there is something to be said for earning your own wage and providing for yourselves or at least within a community not ruled by a political majority thousands of miles away.  Law administered remotely by strangers is far more likely to go awry and/or cost to excess over what that person or community could do themselves

The Swiss probably have the best system with more local control and only essentially national policy decided centrally like unfortunately their decision to fix currency to the Euro is a valid national policy and they did vote a referendum on it recently in a related way

[TheButterZone]

When you check into a hotel, do you say "I'm not gonna need those stupid pillow mints, i'm not even gonna use the bed, so you have no right to charge me for it"?

Living in a country is like that.

Checking into a hotel requires the consent of the customer.  Being born in a country involves no such consent.  The difference is night and day.

You didn't have a say in being born, and that's why your country owes you a living?
If you were born at my house, would you feel entitled to live in it without bothering to pay me rent?  For that matter, do you feel that you have a right to homestead in the maternity ward of the hospital where you were born?  Help me understand.

Right. I am sure all the people who are saying they should not have to pay any taxes are also going to complain when the government is no longer able to provide the kinds of services and protection that taxes pay for and they have gown accustomed to.

Violent criminals are most certainly going to complain when their government protectors can no longer afford to disarm their law-abiding, sane victims for them, and they start getting citizens arrested and/or shot.

[Son0fLamb]

The point is that people can spend that money themselves more efficiently [etc., etc.]

What is it about "you are free to leave" that you find so difficult to grasp?

@TheButterZone: eat a lot of wall candy when you were a kid?

http://s12.postimg.org/cmus81ih9/subg.jpg

[TheButterZone]

The point is that people can spend that money themselves more efficiently [etc., etc.]

What is it about "you are free to leave" that you find so difficult to grasp?

<snip desperate last grasps at debate by totalitarian>

What is it about "you are free to leave only by suicide, because every jurisdiction on earth is tyrannical" that you pretend to find so difficult to grasp?

[Son0fLamb]

The point is that people can spend that money themselves more efficiently [etc., etc.]

What is it about "you are free to leave" that you find so difficult to grasp?

<snip desperate last grasps at debate by totalitarian>

What is it about "you are free to leave only by suicide, because every jurisdiction on earth is tyrannical" that you find so difficult to grasp?

Why should I care that no other country will let you freeload either?  Stop acting like some entitled emo drama queen.  Suicide

[TheButterZone]

"Freeload"

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=825433117500593&id=693477984029441

[phpTaskForce]

This book probably gives answer to this topic
Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki

[picolo]

the only reason this works is because the citizens are unorganized and unarmed.
if people gather in groups of tens of people to protect each other against the government there is no way they could throw anyone in jail.

Well then they would probably make an example of a few to intimidate the rest.

how will they do that if they have a million armed people marching on their jail.
there are millions of us and only a few thousand of them, its insane that people haven't gathered up and thrown those government thugs in a cage yet.

It has happened many times in history.
Those people then form a new government which, in time, turns out to be pretty similar to the old one.

The solution is to have a constitution that protects the people.  It used to be the case in the States.

[btcxyzzz]

Thinks like Ethereum could heal this worlwide nonsenses.

[Nicolas Dorier]

This book probably gives answer to this topic
Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki

Agreed, very good book. And I adopt his answer actually. Robert Kiyosaki wrote great books, but after a while a keep repeating himself.

The solution is to have a constitution that protects the people.  It used to be the case in the States.

Agreed, the constitution was a pragmatically response to such problems. But it did not work, and sadly I don't think somebody found an alternative.
As much as I like libertarianism and think the state should just disappear, I am conscious that a libertarian society does not compete with violence, and so will converge to a state as much as a constitution.

[cameronpalte]

Most of you people are idiots.


So let's say the U.S. marches on DC knocks out the old government and decides to replace that with a new government that doesn't charge you taxes...


who will pay for your defense?
who will pay for research?
who will pay for your roads?
who will pay for healthcare?
who will cover education?
who will pay for your infrastructure?


if you don't want to pay taxes your solution is simple. Renounce citizenship and go live in Antarctica or find somewhere else to make your own country. But good luck having anything.

[TheButterZone]

Supposedly this is the only unclaimed territory in Antarctica, or perhaps even the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Byrd_Land

So since the government doesn't control climate so that it isn't suicidal to try to live in particular places, we're back to "you are free to leave only by suicide, because every jurisdiction on earth is tyrannical".

[bl4kjaguar]

But good luck having anything.

The government earns twice as much in investment income as it does in tax income [Source].

There are enough surpluses to eliminate taxes.

Now who looks like an idiot?

[Silverspoon]

... [Source].
...

Early 90s called.  They want their website back.  ba dum chhh!

Just flew in from Chicago and boy are my arms tired.  But seriously tho folks, next time you want an authoritative primary source, you just post your clever ideas on your MySpace page & cite yourself til the cows come home.  Simple as pie.
You've been a great audience, good night bitcoin.  Rock on!

[bl4kjaguar]

you just post your clever ideas on your MySpace page & cite yourself til the cows come home. 

And what do you do? Try and distract people from "clever ideas" which may just be true?

The facts are on my side. Only 1/3 of the income was tax income.

See for yourself:
http://www.fms.treas.gov/fr/backissues.html

[Sumerian]

I don't agree with all the taxes I pay, I simply have to obey the rules (most of the times) and pay.

[Silverspoon]

you just post your clever ideas on your MySpace page & cite yourself til the cows come home.

And what do you do? Try and distract people from "clever ideas" which may just be true?

The facts are on my side. Only 1/3 of the income was tax income.

See for yourself:
http://www.fms.treas.gov/fr/backissues.html

Lolwat?  Care to cite something specific, or are you seriously trying to get me to do your work for you?

[grendel25]

Paying taxes is part of a social contract.  I pay taxes and expect several things in return: security and an ever improving way of life, basically.  I had a neighbor that used to complain of paying taxes when the money went to schools and programs for school children.  I could have made the same complaint but you have to think about what that money is doing.  Putting kids through school enables adults to spend more time in the work force.  It educates children.  That's pretty much it.  I mean, that's just one example of many but you get the idea.  Also think about when new technologies such as the internet come along.  The internet is a new attack vector for pedophiles so you need law enforcement to handle it and that costs money.   

[Nicolas Dorier]

Paying taxes is part of a social contract.  I pay taxes and expect several things in return: security and an ever improving way of life, basically.  I had a neighbor that used to complain of paying taxes when the money went to schools and programs for school children.  I could have made the same complaint but you have to think about what that money is doing.  Putting kids through school enables adults to spend more time in the work force.  It educates children.  That's pretty much it.  I mean, that's just one example of many but you get the idea.  Also think about when new technologies such as the internet come along.  The internet is a new attack vector for pedophiles so you need law enforcement to handle it and that costs money.  

Why is it so hard to understand that libertarians are not against paying for services, just against paying by compulsion ?
Let me pay for my school. Let me decide if my child need schools at all.

A contract assume two consenting person. But if you don't consent, you go to jail. This is not what I call a contract.