Re:Controlling your own wealth as a basic human right
by dgacmu on Wednesday January 25, 2017 @11:28AM
(#13482780)
Call it theft, call it extortion - whatever your preferred perjorative is. I'm simply arguing that it's not slavery - and that terming it so deemphasizes the real horror of actual slavery, current and past.
Re:Controlling your own wealth as a basic human right
by elastic_church on Wednesday January 25, 2017 @01:51PM
(#13484589)
Your primary argument is that basic human rights can't be compared to other basic human rights because of the magnitude of certain ones you find more objectionable?
The slave trade was abolished, I don't think you really need to write a thesis on it. Everyone accepts that, and now would like to elevate attention to more nuanced inequalities.
If that were the only way taxes were spent, then taxes would be very low indeed, and we may not even need to have this discussion.
> and needs
Taxes pay for way more than "needs." Do we need to bomb people in the Middle East? If there no other way to pay for things than by the threat of violence?
> You're free to choose another place to live.
Am I? The United States must grant permission for you to renounce your citizenship, and until then, they claim taxes on your income no matter where derived. The government also controls the movement of people and may detain me if I attempt to leave the country. Of course I must also have the consent of some other government to gain entry and a work visa.
I did not freely choose to live in my country of birth. I did not consent to the obligations of taxes.
> You can object to paying 25% of your income, hand out tracts to that effect, and vote for politicians who may change that. You can't be bought and sold.
But in the end, you must pay...