In this video, I hit the streets of Winnipeg, Canada for Canada's 150th birthday to ask people if they think taxation is theft. Let's just say, people in Canada have a lot of learning to do...
As people are extorted to death by taxes in Canada, it appears people have little resentment. From carbon taxes which is basically a tax on everything and benefits the massive monopolies that the left pretends to hate, to the PST, GST, income tax, business tax, capital gains tax, property tax (which stops people from ever actually owning their house), gas tax, plastic tax, excise taxes and in some places an MST the level of extortion is enormous.
When you can't opt out of paying taxes, it is theft. If some great collective came to your door and insisted you paid them for some "great idea" they have, would you not consider THAT theft? So how is being forced to pay a collective we call "government" under some social contract you never signed not theft?
Everything the government does, the free market does better. The inefficient and crumby services of the state cause a Hegelian perpetual problem of problem, reaction, solution, repeat. The bureaucracy monopolizes healthcare and causes the prices to hike, benefitting a few corporations who get the subsidization with no incentive to innovate, no incentive to compete for lower prices and bring great new medicines and treatments to cure horrible diseases. Instead, without competition the subsidized corporations just create a perpetual cash flow by putting medications and treatments on the market that just lead to more medications and treatments. It's a scam!
Kids are indoctrinated by public schools, small businesses are regulated and taxes to death again stifling competition. Central banks print currency creating devaluation, debt and inflation (the hidden tax). Roads are built terribly with contractors guaranteed to get another contract a few years later with returning profit. The list goes on and on.
This glassy eyed religion cult called statism which people are brainwashed into believing in is not the great society, the great collective that people believe it to be. It's an extortion racket, a control complex, a slave plantation. Don't agree? Get kidnapped for a victimless crime and see your life get destroyed. Go into debt and watch the state and banking system use you as a pawn.
It's time we truly bring anarchy to the streets, and not in the way many think, but the message of freedom must be understood and cannot be watered down.
Taxation is theft!
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Involuntary money transfer is theft. Plain and simple.
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As a Canadian living abroad I would say most Canadians are sheep! Taxation is theft! They don't even see the corporate fascism eating them alive! Most think Canadian health care is free because we're told that over and over again, however, they don't see that because health is administered by the government it is extremely expensive. I laugh/cry when facebook friends celebrate June 6th as "ta x freedom day". It is sad how much they love the chains as you say. Happy Canada Day! Wake Up Sheep!
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taxation is not theft if they are justified by the quality of infrastructure the government provides. For example, without the government, there will be no well-maintained roads and bridge, then of course, I won't mind paying my taxes. The government helps to address the market failure problem resulting in a deadweight loss. The tax may decrease the overall utility of our income but increase the efficiency of society. That to me is a trade off I'm willing to bear.
However, if taxes do not result in an overall increase in welfare of the society, then to me, that's theft. If I have no say on the projects that I support, but my money is "forcefully" taken away from me, then that's robbery.
Nothing beat legal theft and robbery by the government.
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As long as you can justify theft as providing infrastructure it's not theft? How absurd is that!
But as long as good roads and bridges are good roads and bridges, taxation is not theft, even if they are forcibly doing it.
The market failure problem?
So to you it's a trade off, because they're not stealing if they use the money to improve society.
It's not the act that makes it stealing, it's what you do with the consequences of the act that makes it stealing.
How much say do you have about anything the government does? Seems you're implying that you get a say..
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It's easy to write sweeping personal attacks like this. If you truly want to engage an argument, please provide your statement and argument your point. Simply writing: How absurd is that doesn't absolve you from using your brain to think critically.
Substantiate your point. What do you mean by consequences of the act? Provide examples. Unless you want me to engage in your argument you've got to do better than that.
I never imply that I get a say on the project. On the contrary, because I don't get a say in how my money is spent when it gets to the government, that's why I believe my money is "wasted." High taxation that supports wasteful behavior is theft. I've worked in the private and the public system and I saw first hand how funds are being allocated to projects which resulted in thousands of dollars, even millions of wasteful spending.
If you have nothing better to write, I would strongly urge you to work on your logic and think carefully before spewing thoughtless remarks.
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'Everything the government does, the free market does better. '
Couldn't have put it better myself!
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What free market? We (USA) are in a Soviet-style managed economy.
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That kid is smart
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That kid is a baller.
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Its really sad, but people are so brainwashed these days, they think the state is the solution.
I had a deep talk with my sister the other day and one of the first questions she said was, but if all of this is a conspiracy, wouldnt this be leaked somehow?
I said, yes, it is being leaked, but you have to go to the alternative media to find out. So, we need to drive traffic to sites such as Steemit and your channel, World Alternative Media.
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The typical zombiefied answers were given - the dumbing down of Canada is complete - glad I have my bug-out bag ready for Russia
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in my opinion taxation is not theft at all.....these taxes are ones which are used in developing the country which stands as a pride among other nations :)
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"Baaaaaaaaaaaaa"
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So if I steal money from you, or force you to give me money, it's not theft if I use that money if I convince you that it's for developing the country you'd be ok with it, and it's not stealing anymore, because it belonged to developing the country to begin with, it was theirs, you just got in the middle of it.
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If you convince him it's for developing the country, than no, it's not theft. It's an exchange of goods and services. It's when you refuse and they take it anyway that it could constitute theft, but then that's the cost of living in the country. You can't refuse to pay rent and expect to stay in your home.
Whether the land should actually be owned by the government is a fine debate, but the fact is they do. So paying them for use of that land and the services provided with it is not theft.
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cool I have just said my opinion nice post :)
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And I asked a very simple question, is it not stealing anymore if I tell you it's for developing the country if I take money from you?
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How depressing!
Canadian here living in North Dakota because of this exact reason...
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Interesting one from your site. Nice post !!
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The first taxes were introduced to fund wars, probably all you need to know about taxes, nothing has changed.
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not suprise by the answer from people
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Technically it's extortion which is a form of theft.
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"When you can't opt out of paying taxes, it is theft. "
But you can opt out. You can move someone with lower or no taxes. If you say you don't want to live in a place like Somalia and not pay taxes because you want the services and infrastructure of Canada, taxes are the price you pay for that.
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Couldn't agree more. You may be interested to read a post I made a few days ago:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@greenstar/will-cryptocurrencies-be-the-death-of-direct-taxation
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Mind control so many people worship the state.
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Hell ya it is. Legal theft from the gang...er...mafia...er...'governement' that is in power.
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Thank you for this... I am canadian and very frustrated with my fellow canadians... I didn't want any part of the canada 150. I see so many people that are beguiled by the bread and circuses and it disgusts me. I am not proud of this country or it's people. Turdeau disgusts me. The waste and excess of our parasitic government, our lack of a spine, the rubber duck and the red bouncy ball that cost tax payers 100ks (and were payed to american artists, no less!!) all infuriates me. What disgusts me most is the arrogant attitude that we are somehow better than the US, when we are just their little bitch. There is a sense of complete naivete and a total lack of accountability. A bunch of complacent, passive children that don't want to be bothered with any difficult questions...Living in lala land! The only reason we are so passive and polite and accepting of our slavery is that many of us are on the government teet, so they are taken care, at the expense of the future generations. We also happen to be spread out in a large resource rich country and a small population, which allows for people to largely go about their business in total denial, without having to bump shoulders with too many others. If our population was anywhere near that of the US, people would not be so "friendly"and accepting. Following you!
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Terrifying? Yeah goofball, you're right and Canada and the world's all wrong. I can see you've been watching waaay too much Fox "News".
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LOL Fox News? Not bloody likely. They support extortion. Enjoy paying the government 50-60% of your money with the threat of imprisonment.
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@joshsigurdson Citizens have been conditioned - so unfortunately, no surprise.
Your video shows the mass deception and mass conditioning we are facing - thanks for sharing!
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All thieves should stop stealing and start taxing.
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I am Canadian and Agree 100%. What is worse is living in Ontario. Taxed in the grave beyond death. LOL Thanks for sharing
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People who support thieving governments are the problem more so than the government. Without their blind ignorant following the government couldn't do it in the first place!!!! Wake the hell up people!!!
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In the video Josh spoke to a woman who said she "worked" for the government. So she pays taxes, right? On her income, right? But shes paid out of tax revenue! So unless she is making a loss and paying the government to work there, she is "net tax negative" and is therefore effectively not paying tax.
She would save you all some money by quitting her job and going on welfare.
Tax is not theft only because they kindly let me know how much they are taking and that its been taken. Tax is extortion.
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Add to that (for the Province of Quebec): tax on lodging, tobacco tax, tax on insurance premiums, tax for 911 service, specific duty on road tires and specific tax on alcoholic beverages.
http://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/citoyen/taxes/autres-taxes/default.aspx
And probably many others we lefted out. Why not entirely go for true user pays?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_pays
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So who pays for the roads that connect our cities? Who manages the water that flows through our pipes? Who pays the people that handle our defense?
One way or another, there are a lot of systems that you have to be taxed for because they affect large groups of people. If you want to subtract yourself from that, grab a boat and live on the ocean.
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This is funny when you think about it. We need a huge gang of thieves to steal our resources because supposedly we cannot build a flat place. Never mind that mind control (which is what government means), never actually builds the roads. What they do is steal a whole bunch of money. Take less than 10% of the stolen goods and pay a bunch of people like me and you to build that flat place you claim we could never do without mind control.
Try thinking in terms of being responsible. Try thinking in terms of morals. You cannot be free until you are responsible and you will not be moral until you realize morals are equally beneficial to everyone. I don't have the right to assault anyone, which in reality means I can't give a thug the right to do so either. Thinking that you can is immoral and irrational for the same reason you cannot give trillions of dollars away if you don't have it.
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Morals are relative. I believe that living in a community, which is what countries are, and letting someone who contributes to that community die because they can't afford healthcare is immoral. Killing someone through complacency seems far worse to me than insisting that everyone in a community has to contribute to that community.
And it's not like you can't build that flat place, but you're probably going to do a shit job at it compared to a professional. Unless you're a marxist and believe that the professional should just do the job with the expectation that his neighbor will feed him and his other neighbor will take care of his plumbing. I don't mind that philosophy, but it has yet to work in a real-world scenario on a large scale. I'm not willing to take that bet either, seeing people typically lose their sense of empathy for each other in communities larger than 400 people. Less than that, and you run into the problem of protecting your community from larger aggressors.
I agree that you have to be responsible, but part of that is paying into the publicly available resources you use. Not contributing to those costs yet expecting to stay a part of that society is the height of irresponsibility.
Ultimately I value my freedom. But as restrictive as governments can be, I've never found my government to be nearly as oppressive as some of my employers. So if capitalism is to persist, governments are going to be needed to ensure we don't become a country of a few slave owners that employ us at slave wages.
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"Morals are relative." does this mean murder is relative?
"And it's not like you can't build that flat place, but you're probably going to do a shit job at it compared to a professional"
The same people (the professional) would be paid only it would happen cheaper without force!
"I'm not willing to take that bet"
You are betting that government is going to protect you. It is a lot like playing poker only the only action that is allowed is anteing up, but you don't get to have any cards dealt to you. Thus there is no chance of you winning.
"I agree that you have to be responsible"
None of us have the choice to not be responsible. It is only some of us don't realize that is what freedom is all about.
"I've never found my government to be nearly as oppressive as some of my employers."
All governments in the western world are on the NYC stock exchange. So who do you think owns the mind control if it is not corporations?
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So your solution to the government that is corrupted by corporations is to get rid of the taxes that support that government, therein dismantling that government and letting these corporations directly screw you? I don't like the level of corruption in government either, but the solution is to educate voters on what corruption looks like, not get rid of the only body that has the authority to regulate those corporations. Much like a business, if things are poorly managed you fire the incompetent employees, you don't shut down the business.
Everyone has a choice to be irresponsible. There are just consequences to that effect. Not everyone wants freedom either. It sounds like a crazy concept, but there's a sizable portion of the population that would prefer the simplicity of just following orders and submitting. Not that I think they should govern policy either mind you, but it's important to understand they exist and it's their "freedom" to choose to submit.
You're right, betting long term that the government will protect you is a poor bet. But it's better than the guaranteed losses of taking on the world as an individual. Again, you can vote in a new government, you can't vote for the people around you not to screw you over the first chance they get.
How do you figure a private contractor, who needs to cover costs AND make a profit, is going to be cheaper than the government who only needs to cover costs? Not that it's entirely relevant in the case of roads. Private companies tend to get the contracts anyway, the government is just a conduit to make sure they have a single point of contact to get paid. If you want that contractor to go around to each house to collect expect the cost to go up accordingly.
"murder" is a judgement. Killing someone is the action, and yes, it's relative. If it's in clear self defense, I think almost everyone would agree it's morally acceptable. What if I kill someone for trespassing on my property? What if a cop shoots a suspect that's running away or incapacitated? Depending on who you ask you'll get different answers on those last two. I'd say it's arrogant to say your view is the only right view.
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"I'd say it's arrogant to say your view is the only right view."
When did I say this?
To me this is a sign of cognitive dissonance, which means the contradiction in your own statements are making you feel uncomfortable. I am sorry about that. The good news is that if you think about it contradiction don't actually exist, but the premises used to describe reality are in conflict because one of the premises is wrong.
Murder is always a crime because the act of murder is without the justification of self defense, which is as you say universally is understood to not be a wrong.
"How do you figure a private contractor, who needs to cover costs AND make a profit, is going to be cheaper than the government who only needs to cover costs?"
One a private contractor is building the roads today on the tit of mind control welfare.
Two the too expensive resource that mind control (governments) cost is not the money, but the health, welfare and freedom of the individual. There are some things that a man or a women should not up with put. There are also some condition that makes living hell. I would suggest to you that slavery is one of those condition.
"taking on the world as an individual"
Whether you realize it or not you are taking on the world as an individual. Your life and indeed your death matters not to the slave master and in reality you're willing compliance is what they want. To get it they create the conditions for Stockholmes syndrome and get you to defend and protect your assaulters, which by the way is what you are doing right now.
I agree with you that the real solution is education as indoctrination is the exact opposite of education. Indoctrination merely requires you to accept enslavement and is easier than knowing yourself well enough to educate yourself.
Is why I think of freedom as a responsibility and a duty!
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Sorry, I worded that poorly. I don't get the impression that you're arrogant, I was just referring to the concept of thinking your way is the only way is arrogant.
I'm also not uncomfortable with my own statements. They line up perfectly with how I view the world, which is why I think the way I do.
You're right about the definition of murder, and as I intended to allude to murder is wrong by definition. If it's deemed just cause, then it's not called murder. As I said though, self defense is the easy one that we can easily agree on. What about the police shooting a fleeing suspect or shooting someone trespassing on your property? I would say both of those should be considered murder. Am I indefensibly wrong? Are the people who disagree with me indefensibly wrong? Abortion is another good one I think. Is it moral to force a woman to carry and birth a baby? Is it moral to prevent a fetus from being born? There are things we can almost all agree are bad, but most morals are a matter of opinion. I'd also say things that are always a crime aren't always immoral. We can probably agree that there are plenty of laws that only serve to restrict and suppress that should have never been written down.
I would agree slavery is one of those conditions, but I'd also say the government is the only thing preventing slavery in certain areas in situations. Without a federal governing body each smaller community will do as they wish, and I would put money on some of those communities allowing actual slavery. So while you might find your own safe an happy place, many others will find themselves in that very hell.
Humans evolved, physically and culturally, to work in communities. You have to go pretty far out of your way to truly take on the world alone. I think there should be somewhere for people to go if they want to drop out of society and live a truly free life on their own strength, but I don't think government should be dismantled as a whole.
The government doesn't assault me. I pay taxes like I would pay for any other service. By staying a part of society, I agree to carry the burden of cost to support the services that I want from my government. If I don't like a particular service, I speak and vote accordingly. I liment your lack of options to find your own utopia, but I'm quite happy with my current situation. I'm not a slave, as I still receive money that I can do with as I please. The amount I get paid is based on the assumption that I have to pay taxes. If I didn't pay taxes, the company I work for would almost certainly take advantage of that and pay me less. If I change my mind about my situation, I have the freedom to leave this society, even if it's just floating on a boat in the ocean.
I think we agree pretty soundly on the idea of education. Indoctrination is unavoidable. Be it from government, teachers, parents or any form of authority, there will always be someone telling you what to think. We have to get better at looking deeper into issues and making informed decisions.
I've weighed my options and chose the path that seems optimal. I can change that path at any time I feel is necessary. That is my freedom.
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Sadly there are many points I would have to disagree with. Your statement do not reflect a organized social group of human beings, but a free for all. You can by your own admissions recognize immoral behavior, but you have no moral character or moral fortitude and refuse to support moral behavior.
"What about the police shooting a fleeing suspect or shooting someone trespassing on your property? I would say both of those should be considered murder."
The fact is that it is not considered murder and yet you knowingly are in support of a system that has legalized murder. As a human being you get to believe whatever you want. I would however suggest to you that the fact that you will suffer the consequences of that support of murder is proof that you do not have a choice about being responsible.
That actually makes you a knowing accomplice to murder, which by the way in much of the western world is punishable by death. Thus the belief that it is OK to support murder is in direct contradiction with your knowledge that murder is wrong.
The above facts about what you have said is what makes below statement either a lie, or the statement of a very confused individual and at the very least morally ill person.
"I'm also not uncomfortable with my own statements. They line up perfectly with how I view the world, which is why I think the way I do."
There is no way a intelligent person cannot know that the above statements can only be from either a victim of Stockholmes syndrome or from someone who is morally depraved.
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