Plunder: a verb
1. to rob of goods or valuables by open force, as in war, hostile raids, brigandage, etc.:
to plunder a town.
2. to rob, despoil, or fleece: to plunder the public treasury.
3. to take wrongfully, as by pillage, robbery, or fraud: to plunder a piece of property.
When someone forcibly takes your property, either by exertion of strength, arms, or implied menace, without your consent we call it theft. Unless its liberals doing the stealing, and then we call it compassion. Actually, I think the current replacement buzzword is, “Wealth-Redistribution”. They think that just because it is a government robbing you, than that is okay. But, they don”t call it robbery. They call it taxation. They, like most of the rest of us, understand that when an individual robs you, it only benefits himself, and this is a crime. But, when the government robs you, it is written off as “okay” because it is supposed to go to benefit the common good. (It almost never happens that your tax monies actually go to the common good.)
If you ever want to know what the government is hiding, simply listen to the terms they use. Doctors and lawyers and all forms of bureaucrats use technical jargon, to throw you off the scent; or simply to retain power. Notice all the euphemisms the Government uses for theft. They might call it “doing your fair share” or “wealth redistribution” or “increased revenues” or “tax reform” or “balanced approach”. When you hear them say this, prepare to get hit in the wallet. These watchwords soothe and mollify the tax payers i.e. victims, making us feel better about losing more of our hard earned dollars. Whether I get robbed in an alley, or fleeced by the Revenue Agency, I’m still out whats mine. The results are exactly the same.
Tonight, if a burglar breaks into my home and absconds with my property, he is widely considered to be a scoundrel of the highest order, and he will in fact be a criminal. If, however, the president or the congress decides that I have not (in their own words) “paid my fair share” they can coerce me to render unto Caesar. In which case, I would be considered, by them, to be a scoundrel of the highest order. Or, if the debt collecting arm of the US Federal Government (the IRS) determines that I have not complied with even one of the 80,000plus pages of US tax code, they can ignore Habeus Corpus, enter my domicile or my checking account and take what they claim I have withheld. Notice that they jump right past the “due process of law” and “fair trial by jury” thing, which every other infraction of law is required to abide by. Just not the IRS.
Does this say something about our society? Does this speak volumes about the true concerns of our Government? I’m pretty sure that most Americans think fair trial, prior to sentencing, is still a pretty important protection. So, how is it that we find ourselves in this delicate position? Can you imagine if Visa had the power to go into your bank account and take what they liked, or walk into your house and “garnish” your property.
As the owner of a home and small business, I can personally attest that at every level some tax collector has their hand out. The city wants to charge you for a license to do business, and the State has its own version as well. The County has its assessor, which tabulates taxable value of your real property. The State too has its auditors. And, if this wasn’t bad enough, in the State of Florida we have what’s called a “Use Tax”, which gets you if you don’t pay sales tax when making a purchase online. This “Use Tax” is to be submitted every quarter, so all of you Amazon and E-bay customers better comply, or you’ll get a notice from an Auditor at the State Dept of Revenue. Trust me, I know…
All of this is perfectly legal, and some might argue the price of living in the most affluent, technologically advanced, and freest country on God’s green Earth. My question remains however, at what point does taxation become open theft? Is it 45%? 75%? Maybe 99%? At what point to we become “revenue slaves” toiling for our corporate and elected masters? Where Socialism and Communism are strongest you will find revenue slaves and total freeloaders. Where free market Capitalism is strongest you will find innovators and investors. Capitalism gives human the freedom and ability and dignity to take ownership of ones life.
If you don’t believe me, ask yourself this question: Have you ever worked a job where a certain task was not delegated to an individual. It was a team responsibility. Just something you were supposed to do, when you noticed it needed done? Maybe this is a chore around your house like, dishes, that isn’t specifically allocated to one person. It never gets done, does it? The chore sits there unfinished. The dishes stay in the sink, don’t they? That’s because when it is everyone job, it is nobody’s job. That’s why Socialism doesn’t work, because every job, in fact the whole society, becomes everyone’s job. No one person can be held responsible. No one person can experience the pride of a job well done.
As a side note, I’d like to mention that I do very much enjoy having paved roads, bridges, police and a military. Incidentally, I am not against all taxation. It might bear mentioning that we had all of those amazing things prior to the passage of the Income Tax, and subsequent creation of the IRS. I very much like Republican candidate for president, Dr. Ben Carson’s tax plan. In Fact, so does Steve Forbes, editor of Forbes Magazine He is said to be worth $430 Million dollars, has argued for the repeal of the 16th amendment to the US Constitution.
Do we need the IRS? We need them like we need another hole in the head