So, you’re a Libertarian that hates taxes? Well, since you do not like taxes or government, please kindly do the following.
1. Do not use Medicare.
2. Do not use Social Security
3. Do not become a member of the US military, who are paid with tax dollars.
4. Do not ask the National Guard to help you after a disaster.
5. Do not call 911 when you get hurt.
6. Do not call the police to stop intruders in your home.
7. Do not summon the fire department to save your burning home.
8. Do not drive on any paved road, highway, and interstate or drive on any bridge.
9. Do not use public restrooms.
10. Do not send your kids to public schools.
11. Do not put your trash out for city garbage collectors.
12. Do not live in areas with clean air.
13. Do not drink clean water.
14. Do not visit National Parks.
15. Do not visit public museums, zoos, and monuments.
16. Do not eat or use FDA inspected food and medicines.
17. Do not bring your kids to public playgrounds.
18. Do not walk or run on sidewalks.
19. Do not use public recreational facilities such as basketball and tennis courts.
20. Do not seek shelter facilities or food in soup kitchens when you are homeless and hungry.
21. Do not apply for educational or job training assistance when you lose your job.
22. Do not apply for food stamps when you can’t feed your children.
23. Do not use the judiciary system for any reason.
24. Do not ask for an attorney when you are arrested and do not ask for one to be assigned to you by the court.
25. Do not apply for any Pell Grants.
26. Do not use cures that were discovered by labs using federal dollars.
27. Do not fly on federally regulated airplanes.
28. Do not use any product that can trace its development back to NASA.
29. Do not watch the weather provided by the National Weather Service.
30. Do not listen to severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service.
31. Do not listen to tsunami, hurricane, or earthquake alert systems.
32. Do not apply for federal housing.
33. Do not use the internet, which was developed by the military.
34. Do not swim in clean rivers.
35. Do not allow your child to eat school lunches or breakfasts.
36. Do not ask for FEMA assistance when everything you own gets wiped out by disaster.
37. Do not ask the military to defend your life and home in the event of a foreign invasion.
38. Do not use your cell phone or home telephone.
39. Do not buy firearms that wouldn’t have been developed without the support of the US Government and military. That includes most of them.
40. Do not eat USDA inspected produce and meat.
41. Do not apply for government grants to start your own business.
42. Do not apply to win a government contract.
43. Do not buy any vehicle that has been inspected by government safety agencies.
44. Do not buy any product that is protected from poisons, toxins, etc…by the Consumer Protection Agency.
45. Do not save your money in a bank that is FDIC insured.
46. Do not use Veterans benefits or military health care.
47. Do not use the G.I. Bill to go to college.
48. Do not apply for unemployment benefits.
49. Do not use any electricity from companies regulated by the Department of Energy.
50. Do not live in homes that are built to code.
51. Do not run for public office. Politicians are paid with taxpayer dollars.
52. Do not ask for help from the FBI, S.W.A.T, the bomb squad, Homeland Security, State troopers, etc…
53. Do not apply for any government job whatsoever as all state and federal employees are paid with tax dollars.
54. Do not use public libraries (or work in one).
55. Do not use the US Postal Service.
56. Do not visit the National Archives.
57. Do not visit Presidential Libraries.
58. Do not use airports that are secured by the federal government.
59. Do not apply for loans from any bank that is FDIC insured.
60. Do not ask the government to help you clean up after a tornado.
61. Do not ask the Department of Agriculture to provide a subsidy to help you run your farm.
62. Do not take walks in National Forests.
63. Do not ask for taxpayer dollars for your oil company.
64. Do not ask the federal government to bail your company out during recessions.
65. Do not seek medical care from places that use federal dollars.
66. Do not use Medicaid.
67. Do not use WIC.
68. Do not use electricity generated by Hoover Dam.
69. Do not use electricity or any service provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
70. Do not ask the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild levees when they break.
71. Do not let the Coast Guard save you from drowning when your boat capsizes at sea.
72. Do not ask the government to help evacuate you when all hell breaks loose in the country you are in.
73. Do not visit historic landmarks.
74. Do not visit fisheries.
75. Do not expect to see animals that are federally protected because of the Endangered Species List.
76. Do not expect plows to clear roads of snow and ice so your kids can go to school and so you can get to work.
77. Do not hunt or camp on public land.
78. Do not work anywhere that has a safe workplace because of government regulations.
79. Do not use public transportation.
80. Do not drink water from public water fountains.
81. Do not whine when someone copies your work and sells it as their own. Government enforces copyright laws.
82. Do not expect to own your home, car, or boat. Government organizes and keeps all titles.
83. Do not expect convicted felons to remain off the streets.
84. Do not eat in restaurants that are regulated by food quality and safety standards.
85. Do not seek help from the US Embassy if you need assistance in a foreign nation.
86. Do not apply for a passport to travel outside of the United States.
87. Do not apply for a patent when you invent something.
88. Do not adopt a child through your local, state, or federal governments.
89.Do not use elevators that have been inspected by federal or state safety regulators.
90. Do not use any resource that was discovered by the USGS.
91. Do not ask for energy assistance from the government.
92. Do not move to any other developed nation, because the taxes are much higher.
93. Do not go to a beach that is kept clean by the state.
94. Do not use money printed by the US Treasury.
95. Do not complain when millions more illegal immigrants cross the border because there are no more border patrol agents.
96. Do not attend a state university.
97. Do not see any doctor that is licensed through the state.
98. Do not use any water from municipal water systems.
99. Do not complain when diseases and viruses, that were once fought around the globe by the US government and CDC, reach your house.
100. Do not work for any company that is required to pay its workers a livable wage, provide them sick days, vacation days, and benefits.
101. Do not expect to be able to vote on election days. Government provides voting booths, election day officials, and voting machines which are paid for with taxes.
102. Do not ride trains. The railroad was built with government financial assistance.
The fact is, we pay for the lifestyle we expect. Without taxes, our lifestyles would be totally different and much harder. America would be a third world country. The less we pay, the less we get in return. Americans pay less taxes today since 1958 and is ranked 32nd out of 34 of the top tax paying countries. Chile and Mexico are 33rd and 34th. The Republicans are lying when they say that we pay the highest taxes in the world and are only attacking taxes to reward corporations and the wealthy and to weaken our infrastructure and way of life. So next time you object to paying taxes or fight to abolish taxes for corporations and the wealthy, keep these quotes in mind…
“I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.”
"Taxes are the price we pay for civilisation" ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
51. Do not run for public office. Politicians are paid with taxpayer dollars.
ReplyDeleteI don't plan to.
52. Do not ask for help from the FBI, S.W.A.T, the bomb squad, Homeland Security, State troopers, etc…
They would be hours getting to me if I did.
55. Do not use the US Postal Service.
They are still around?
61. Do not ask the Department of Agriculture to provide a subsidy to help you run your farm.
I assure you I don't want them on my farm.
76. Do not expect plows to clear roads of snow and ice so your kids can go to school and so you can get to work.
Actually clearing our roads? That would be nice.
77. Do not hunt or camp on public land.
I don't, I hunt on my own land. But if I did use public lands to hunt, I would have to pay fees for the privilege.
79. Do not use public transportation.
What public transportation?
83. Do not expect convicted felons to remain off the streets.
With plea bargaining, they usually do remain on the streets to commit crimes again and again.
94. Do not use money printed by the US Treasury.
They will put you in jail if you don't use their money.
95. Do not complain when millions more illegal immigrants cross the border because there are no more border patrol agents.
Operation Fast and Furious is helping to reduce the number of Border Patrol agents.
Well that's about what 20 out of 111 that you don't think you need.
ReplyDeleteBTW, your land, your private land, it's served by public roads as is your place of business and all that nice interstate commerce that's regulated by the feds.
You don't use the post office for anything? Or do you just mean you don't mail anything out using them?
With plea bargaining the U.S. has more people incarcerated than ANY country on earth*.
"They will put you in jail if you don't use their money."
Untrue. Millions of transactions are conducted every day in this country using various foreign currencies--the exchange rate can be a bitch.
"Operation Fast and Furious is helping to reduce the number of Border Patrol agents."
I would think that would make folks like you happy.
So, here's a newsflash for you. I never really thought of the ATF or the CIA, FBI or any other federal agency as being especially interested in anything except expanding their own juridstictions. If you want to beat up on them, that's fine by me. Get Holder fired? I give a shit about him. What I would like to see of course is Holder and a few other people arrested for their part in this terrible misapplication of resources and money along with everybody who worked with Bush and Cheney. Guess what, nagonnahappen.
*Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html
I posted comments on the first 50. Apparently they didn't get posted.
ReplyDeleteThey ended up in spam. I thought they were duplicates and deleted them.
ReplyDeleteSorry.
FWM, I get alerts in my e-mail on all comments. I didn't see that one. Sorry. Cyberspace musta got it. It wasn't us.
ReplyDeleteNO, MikeB, I take responsibility for this.
ReplyDeleteIt was not intentional--it was just a slip of my trigger finger.
Seriously, I saw them in spam, didn't really look, and assumed they were dupes. I deleted them by mistake.
I'm truly sorry about that, FWM.
I think you have to realize that most people would like to pay as little tax as possible. Sure I hate paying taxes, but I do acknowledge that some government is needed. Out of the list I would gladly give up 1,2,9,10,11,15,17,19,20,21,22,25,29,30,32,33 (I pay for this directly),35,36,41,45,48(not eligble anyway as a small business owner),54,55,56,57,59,60,61,62,
ReplyDeleteok I lost interest, but I expect about half of the rest are either repetitive or worth dropping from government support. Most people that complain about taxes would like to see spending cut in this country. Do we really need all of the government services we are currently tryng to provide? I say no. Who here thinks the government is spending the right amount or too little money?
Jim is right on. I don’t know anyone claiming they want NO taxes, just less. But let’s say someone does think that. I bet they’d gladly not use those things right AFTER they stopped getting taxed for them. If you are so upset about the government taking your money, at the very least you’d want to do all you can to get it back in the form of money or services.
ReplyDeleteTake no. 2 for example. If there were an opt-out, I would jump all over that. No thanks, I’ll keep my money and be responsible for my own retirement.
Everybody, including me, would like to pay less taxes. I would do away with fire departments, all parks departments, all public health departments, all schools, all ag and business subsidies, all tax breaks of any kind for any charity/NFP--including every religion, every fraternal organization and every 501(c)3--and
ReplyDeletesocial security and medicare for every person born after 10/25/1949.
Hmmmmmmmmmm, I may have a vested interest in there somewhere.
Does the gummint throw a lot of money away? You bet your ass they do. Could I do a better job of keeping the economy running and providing what most of us have come to think of as "essential" services? Not a chance.
Somalia don't got no taxes.
The absurdity of the Libertarian Theory has been made abundantly clear with this post. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIf I get the time, I will rewrite my response to the first 50 but my preamble (or maybe preramble would be a better description) said that I am not a libertarian. I am not a fan of income taxes but property taxes are another matter as I at least can vote directly on those. Property taxes provide for most of my use of that list of services.
ReplyDeleteSomeone brought up a feature/bug of property taxes a short time ago when we were discussing an estate of 16,000 acres along the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY. He said the land is taxed at a rate that is so low that it's ridiculous. I have not had a chance to check his claim (I'd have to travel there and look at town tax records) BUT property tax relief in NY is a major political football. My home (or hovel, as you might prefer if you saw it) had it's assessment raised by approximately 40% several months back. The assessment may of course be challenged; there is almost never a successful appeal. There are three separate property based taxes in play--city, county and school district--with the school district accounting for most of the tax revenues and expenditures. I've never had a child in school here, I was educated at parochial schools until I graduated high school. By rights, I don't owe the system a friggin' dime for education.
ReplyDeleteOddly, I have no problem with paying taxes for education--call me crazy. Otoh, people who have educated their families in this community for GENERATIONS do nothing but complain. I would wonder why that is if I didn't know, after nearly 62 years, that human nature is perverse.