• DrWeevilJammer@lemmy.ml
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    4 months ago

    So the libertarian solution to eliminate taxes is essentially GoFundMe, where the burden of support for those in need falls only on those who possess both empathy and the financial means to engage in philanthropy?

    • mozz@mbin.grits.devOP
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      4 months ago

      As I mentioned elsewhere in the thread, there are places in the world where it works the way this guy wants it to. Redmond O’Hanlon talked about observing the results, someone falling off a boat and clearly going to drown, and O’Hanlon becoming incredibly alarmed to the people around him, like where is the rescue boat, isn’t someone going to do something for him, don’t they have some kind of safety in place? And they asked him, who’s going to pay for it? Why would someone set up a lifeguarding operation like that for no one in particular just out of the goodness of their heart? And they laughed at his naïveté about how the world operates, as he watched the kid struggling, going further and further away and out of sight as the boat continued without him.

    • shortwavesurfer@monero.town
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      4 months ago

      Everybody has something of value they can contribute to society. So people need to find what that is for them and do that for somebody else. If you’re good at washing dishes, then go wash dishes. If you’re good at painting houses, then go paint houses. The libertarian mindset, at least from what I can gather, is a hand up, not a hand out.

      • SuiXi3D@fedia.io
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        4 months ago

        But what if nobody is paying enough to wash dishes or paint houses? Your logic would dictate that they should just find someone else willing to pay them enough, but if literally nobody is paying enough then there are no options.

        • shortwavesurfer@monero.town
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          4 months ago

          Without 52%+ taxes people would have enough to live on and save. (15% from your pay, 15% from your salary that your employer takes automatically, 10% sales tax, 12% inflation). I didnt count all the other taxes such as property ad velorem, gas, etc.)

          • n2burns@lemmy.ca
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            4 months ago

            Inflation isn’t a tax. It wouldn’t go away even if you eliminated all taxes.

            I don’t know what your income tax rates is but 30% is pretty high, you must make good money!

            • shortwavesurfer@monero.town
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              4 months ago

              Inflation won’t go away unless you switch to a currency that doesn’t inflate. And yes, inflation is a tax. It’s just a tax you don’t know you’re paying because it’s hidden from you. Instead of having less dollars in your balance, your dollar just buys less, which is the same thing.