My last post may have come across a little anti-establishment, and while I do wish to escape aspects of the consumer based economy in which we live, there are definitely aspects that I appreciate.
People get upset with taxes, and I'm one of them too... Few things suck like seeing a large bill for a meal, accommodations or car repairs, and then seeing a seemingly exorbitant amount added on top of the total for taxes. And then you get your paycheck, and there is a nice big chunk taken out of it for taxes too.
I have a problem with tax money being used to benefit criminals, those who take public funds and use them to enhance their lives and/or benefit their buddies with the awarding of public contracts.
And yet with all that in the picture, I am grateful for taxes too...
I was awoken this morning by an alarm, powered by electricity. Part of that is privately owned, but the government has had a hand in the logistics to supply that power to my home, and for what I pay in property taxes and the power bill, it's not a bad deal.
I took a shower with warm water, as service provided by my city (the water) and another company which has piggy backed on the public infrastructure (the gas). And I really don't pay that much for the convenience either.
I then drove to the aquatic center in the next city over. My property taxes weren't used to fund this facility so I pay a higher monthly rate, but for a fairly minimal charge, I have access to a well maintained lap pool, gym facilities and a host of other amenities. BARGAIN!!
Following that I met up with a co-worker, and we traveled 30 miles into work for the day. 30 miles would be a long way across the open country, but fortunately tax money has been used to provide a phenomenal highway system. The ride was smooth and fast. Along the way we past those employed by law enforcement, ultimately a service made possible through taxes, and on the off chance that we'd crashed our car, some of the best trained EMT's in a fully equipped emergency vehicle could have helped save our lives.
I spent a fairly significant portion of my month working to pay taxes, and while I really don't have much of a role in deciding how that money gets spent, there are people who do. Relative the money I pay into the system, the benefits seem to far outweigh the cost.
It's not a perfect system, and I'll be the first to admit that it has an element of corruption in it, but at the same time, I am profoundly grateful for it, and the higher quality of life I can enjoy because of it.
I don't understand you: You use an anti-government symbol (red V on red circle).
ReplyDeleteAs for government created things, at what cost? What are the opportunity costs? What are the things that could have been created is you and I and others were allowed to keep out 'daily bread'?
Certainly the benefits seem to outweigh the costs, you benefit from using these things while others have to pay for them.
Can any of us truly be gotten?
ReplyDeleteWith government, it's a delicate balancing act, but more on that later...
First on my anti-government stance and symbol. I blogged on this a long time ago, but the reason I use the symbol has more to do with my issues with religion than it does with government. Perhaps the symbol means government, but personally it have more of a religious meaning - or anti-religious meaning, as it were.
Government... I have a problem when government lies to advance corporate interests, like the Iraq War and many of the wars fought in the last Century. To get a better understanding of this, check out my other blog and read the posts under the "War is a Racket" section on the right hand side. It was a booklet put together by one of the most decorated US soldiers of all time, and has had a profound effect on my view of government and war.
But when it comes to things like infrastructure... Alone, keeping my 'daily bread', I wouldn't be able to make my own roads, provide sanitary water and electricity to my home for the amount I pay - and I do pay a pretty significant amount at the end of the day.
I guess what would work would be for a group of citizens to get together and form an alliance that could take care of things like this - but then again, that's pretty much what a government is.
As for getting me, I don't know if you or I could ever pin that down. On some issues I'm pretty damn liberal, and on others I favor a more libertarian/anarchist approach.
If I had to pick a label for my current beliefs, it would be libertarian socialism, but I'm not going to commit to that for the rest of my life. It may change as my knowledge and experience change as well.