Re:The 'white-collar bloodbath' is all part of the AI hype m...
by hx8 on Saturday May 31, 2025 @03:17PM
(#44146387)
It seems like a democratic system could both maintain private property and make sure all of their citizens have basic needs are satisifed (food, housing, education, medical). I don't see how these two are mutually exclusive, unless you take a hardline that taxation is theft.
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Re:The 'white-collar bloodbath' is all part of the AI hype m...
by AnimalMuppet on Saturday May 31, 2025 @03:26PM
(#44146444)
I think more people take a soft line. Taxation isn't theft, but too much taxation is theft.
I don't know that I've ever heard this rationally articulated. I think it's a "gut feel" that at least some people have.
If taxes take 10% of what you make, you aren't happy about it, but most of us are OK with it. If taxes take 90% of what you make, that feels different. It feels like the government thinks it all belongs to them, whereas at 10%, it feels like "the principle is that it all belongs to you, but we have to take some tax to keep everything running".
So I think the way this plays out in practice is, the amount of taxes needed to supply everyones' basic needs is across the threshold in many peoples' minds. (The threshold of "fairness" or "reasonable" or some such, though it's more of a gut feel than a rational position.)