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But do you really think we could get our g'ment pared down enough for "easy" tariffs to provide enough revenue? And do you really think that toher coutnries won't get pissed becasue we tarriff their gods, and that they won't arrif our exposts too, thus driving costs up even more?
Aint gonna happen. The same legislators who would accomplish that lofty and desirable gaol are the ones spending the billions.
ok, i've been mulling this over in my mind. First of all everyone is welcome to contribute to this thread. Second of all i'm not an economist, so a lot of people here will know more about this subject than me.
When i talk about tax free society, i mean completely:
-no income tax
-no sales tax
-no capital gains tax
-no property tax
-no inheritance tax etc....
The thinks that would drive this society:
-philanthropy
-charity/charitable organization(instead of welfare/free social services)
-capitalism/ free trade/ maximize competition
a society like this would have to have a small limited government. The government would not be an employer or collect taxes(no irs) from people. If the people wanted new roads, better schools, better parks etc... They would get together raise the money, get the job done themselves. Firstly i think a society like this would have to be fully privatized. Private police(see article below), private healthcare, private schools, private prisons etc....
benefits of privatization:
- private police - higher salary, no immunity like government police
- private healthcare - less rationing, better services
- private schools - higher test scores than public school
- private prisons - could use criminals as labor force to pay off their debt
in fact i think the only tax should be a "criminal tax". So really, any law abiding citizen would be living in a completely tax free society. People who commit misdemeanors could be taxed at 1-10% for 1 - 5 yrs for punishment, or whatever rate you want to use. Harsher criminals(but not murders, rapist, pedos) could work on a prison labor force to work off their debt directly as punishment.
Free free to add how you think a society like this would work or wouldn't. It's just a thought experiment.
Still need a defense tax, this one I think can not be argued as only benefiting others or can a person simply claim they will abstain from it. National defense is required otherwise we would be some other countries property.
Philanthropist puts the burden on specific people when the defense of the nation is everyone's responsibility whether you like it or not so all should take part in its expense.
That said, other than that I see nothing wrong with taxes as such being simply to which local municipalities and states decide. The federal government is there for the defense of the nation primarily and to insure the protections of the constitution by the states. So if we were to reduce it down to those simple things, we could go back to having representatives working part time in government as a voluntary basis.
But do you really think we could get our g'ment pared down enough for "easy" tariffs to provide enough revenue? And do you really think that toher coutnries won't get pissed becasue we tarriff their gods, and that they won't arrif our exposts too, thus driving costs up even more?
Aint gonna happen. The same legislators who would accomplish that lofty and desirable gaol are the ones spending the billions.
What exports would other nations put a tariff on???
There isn't much left we produce beyond military equipment.
Ok, I've been mulling this over in my mind. First of all everyone is welcome to contribute to this thread. Second of all I'm not an economist, so a lot of people here will know more about this subject than me.
When I talk about tax free society, I mean completely:
-No income tax
-No sales tax
-No capital gains tax
-No property tax
-No inheritance tax etc....
The thinks that would drive this society:
-Philanthropy
-Charity/Charitable organization(instead of welfare/free social services)
-Capitalism/ Free trade/ Maximize competition
A society like this would have to have a small limited government. The government would not be an employer or collect taxes(no IRS) from people. If the people wanted new roads, better schools, better parks etc... they would get together raise the money, get the job done themselves. Firstly I think a society like this would have to be fully privatized. Private police(see article below), private healthcare, private schools, private prisons etc....
Benefits of Privatization:
- Private police - higher salary, no immunity like government police
- Private healthcare - less rationing, better services
- Private schools - higher test scores than public school
- Private prisons - could use criminals as labor force to pay off their debt
In fact I think the only tax should be a "criminal tax". So really, any law abiding citizen would be living in a completely tax free society. People who commit misdemeanors could be taxed at 1-10% for 1 - 5 yrs for punishment, or whatever rate you want to use. Harsher criminals(but not murders, rapist, pedos) could work on a prison labor force to work off their debt directly as punishment.
Free free to add how you think a society like this would work or wouldn't. It's just a thought experiment.
You just described anarchy, or possibly fuedalism if you stretch. Philosophically I'd be all for it but it would never work in the real world. If there were less than a million people on the whole planet and they all kept a good distance from each other, it might work but with billions of them tripping over each other, they need governance. Unfortunately it takes money to run a government. You could always conquer and enslave the rest of the world for revenue but eventually that too would fail.
Last edited by Joe_Ryder; 07-30-2009 at 08:02 PM..
Reason: added a thought
LOL....quite a lot of the food you eat is not from the USA.
Electronics? what is made here that is sold overseas?
Sneakers are almost totally made overseas.
Is Barbie made here?
LOL....quite a lot of the food you eat is not from the USA.
Electronics? what is made here that is sold overseas?
Sneakers are almost totally made overseas.
Is Barbie made here?
Last I checked, more than half the food eaten in the US came from CA. As much as some may not like it, CA is indeed a US state. The US exports nearly as much if not more food than it consumes.
An interesting fact about electronics: Though the VCR was invented in the US, not a single model has ever been mass produced in the US. We do get a significant amount of consumer electronics from Mexico but the bulk is made in Pacific rim countries. I think the last TVs made in the US were Curtis Mathes who went belly-up about 15 years ago.
I haven't seen a sneaker made in the US for over 20 years but there are many high end dress shoes and work boots still made here. Tevas used to be made in the US but they seem to be made in China now.
Barbie...no clue.
I'm all for heavy tariffs on imports. It would equalize the massive trade imbalance and might encourage more manufacturing in the US. That "Service Economy" drivel doesn't seem to working out all that well.
Reduce federal taxes to a minimum to where they should be only to cover things that the states are not responsible for..most taxes go to the states where they belong..you want a road..you pay for it..you want schools..you pay for it...not re-distribution of wealth from the feds to the states..
Most state constitutions state a right to a free public education.
Most state constitutions state a right to a free public education.
Then the states would pay for it....NOT the fedgov.
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