[Platt] Taxes, for example, are hijacked from citizens at the point of a gun.
[Arlo] Taxes are a means towards a social infrastructure, enacted by democratically elected representatives of the people, without which the strong social firmament we all enjoy would be impossible. No one forces me with a gun to pay taxes, just like no one is forcing me not to kill anybody, I do both voluntarily because I understand the increased freedoms I will enjoy by doing so. From a protective military, to free travel on our waterways and roadways, to EMT services, libraries, and providing for free, open public lands, to providing for the basic health and food needs of our poor, to subsidizing corporate research, our taxes are a vital, and necessary part of the Great Land we live in. Your above statement represents one of the most outrageous distortions in modern political discourse. [Platt] No kidding. Communism has slaughtered untold millions of its own subjects. [Arlo] "Communism" has really not ever been seen. What you talk about is Totalitarianism, such as Stalinism. [Platt] Bringing you and me untold riches -- the free market a fertile ground for DQ. [Arlo] Shiny toy objects, yes. But like Pirsig points out, the great power and wealth comes at an expense. But why point that out when "untold riches" are really the only thing that matters. moq_discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
