First of all let me say that it's not my intent for this post to be political. While the subject of taxation is by nature political, since some political entity must enforce the taxation, what I write below is just my opinion on a person having a right to keep their own property.
... I suspect you've never lived near the poverty line, if you can so casually disagree - and yet agree-tomos
I don't know what is considered the "poverty line" where I live. I've lived on what I consider very little compared to those in my local area, but I think that's all relative. I think in the USA what is officially considered poverty is still very much a luxury compared to some other parts of the world.
[EDIT]You got me wondering, so I looked it up. According to
this chart here I've lived very near the poverty line (including below it) for a few years of the past decade. Thankfully that hasn't been the case for the past couple of years. I guess I'm moving up in the world.
[/EDIT]
I've pretty much always had a place to sleep, food to eat, and usually even a junker car to drive. I don't earn much, but I'm frugal and live on what I have. I don't use credit cards, I don't have car payments, and in a few months I'll have my student loan paid off and be completely debt free, which in a manner of thinking will make me one of the richest people in America.
If I continue to live in such a frugal manner and over my lifetime save up a million dollars, why should I have to pay more on taxes and social services than someone who lived lavishly and irresponsibly on credit and debt their whole life? I feel no moral obligation to prevent people from having to face the consequences of their actions and behavior.
On the other hand, I know that life isn't fair and not everyone chooses to live in the circumstances they find themselves in. That's why I personally donate more than 10% of my gross income to charitable causes (of my choice!) every month, even in times when I'm not sure I'll have enough money to make it. I don't say that to brag. What I'm saying is that I am doing what I can (and choose) with what I have, rather than demanding others do what I want with their money. If I had billions of dollars, I could certainly do a lot more. So it's my responsibility to be true to that, and if I ever get a billion dollars (which I'd surely have to earn, mind you) I'd better do a lot more than what I'm doing now.
I suppose my whole point is that individuals are generally much better stewards of their own property (money) they had to work hard for than someone else's that was just given to them. So why not let them keep as much of it as possible to use as they see fit, rather than having someone else lord over them telling them how and when it must be used?
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