Perhaps the greatest crime ever committed by the American left is the equivocation of freedom and bondage. And it couldn’t be more clear than in Matt Stoller’s column in praise of taxation, which appeared on Monday at MyDD. The Agitator is surprised that people actually believe this sort of thing. So am I.
The column is not only factually incorrect, it is also riddled with ad hominems and commits the No True Scotsman fallacy from ambiguity, among others. So you might wonder why I’d even bother addressing his drivel. Because it’s infuriating:
I just paid my taxes, and I have to say, I always take pride when I do so….The tax burden we face is a very small price to pay for the privilege of taking responsibility for our own freedom and our own society…I am proud to pay taxes because I take pride in America, and paying some tiny burden to keep our society running is an extremely small price to pay for being able to call myself an American citizen
Unfuckingbelievable!
It is disingenuous, at the very least, for Stoller to maintain that the tax burden price we pay for government is “small.” First and foremost, “small” is a relative term, only meaningful in comparison to something else. So the tax burden is small – compared to what? There exists no objectively determined market price for government-provided goods or services, to which we could compare the government prices and make a subjective relative statement. No comparison is even possible, which is convenient, because Stoller omits any attempt at demonstrating how he determines the “price” is small, he just returns to name calling.
What is clear though, is that the tax burden price we pay for government is enormous, compared to the rest of our expenses. The average American spends more time working to pay off his various “small” tax burdens, than he spends paying for his housing, food, and recreation, combined! (H/T Trav.is for the chart, from taxfoundation.org)
He also says that the “tax code is the DNA of our nation’s moral compass,” which is curious and also deeply troubling. Curious, because the nation seemed to get along fine for 120 years or so without it, and deeply troubling because morality isn’t guided by force and punishment.
And what’s this nonsense about “the privilege of taking responsibility for our own freedom…”? The last time I checked, responsibility for oneself is not a privilege. It’s not a privilege if it’s a positive obligation, and if it’s a positive obligation, it’s not freedom. Freedom cannot be imposed at gunpoint, and it cannot be granted through bondage. Only individuals may be possessed of freedom. Words like “our” and “society” muddy the thought process for most, though. The abstract contstruct, “us,” requires the existence of (at least) a “you” and a “me.” If I don’t have freedom, and you don’t have freedom, then we don’t have freedom.
Unfuckingbelievable sounds about right.
If they like taxes so much maybe I’ll ask them to pay mine next year.
I think that’s the sort of drivel I saw when I read George Lakoff some time ago.
no shit! If Stoller likes paying taxes soooo much, he can certainly volunteer to pay more. But I presume he’d be happier paying less.
From Stoller: Personally, I find banking fees, high cable and internet charges, health care costs, and credit card hidden charges much more abrasive than taxes, because with those I’m just being ripped off to pay for someone’s summer home.
This just demonstrates how confused he is. If he dislikes all these things, he can choose to forego those services and save on the fees.
Choice. Freedom. Key words here.
Taxes leave you no such option. You get ripped off with taxes – just try refusing to pay them. You’ll quickly find out exactly how abrasive they can be.
I like how some of his commenters are more than happy to point out that they don’t “need” the money the government takes by force. Sounds awfully close to “…to each, according to need”.
I used to be a liberal, but damn, I’d like to think I was never as close to commie-dom as those loons.
Zach,
That’s the point – if they don’t need it, we can assume they’d give it away voluntarily. And that’s fine – maybe they don’t need it. But there is no way – there exists no metric by which *they* can determine what portion of my income I *need.* Their tastes, values, and preferences are just as subjective as yours or mine.
Wow, this guy is majorly brainwashed. It is sad to see that such individuals actually exist. He is such a good tax slave.
Zach,
I was in the same boat until the day I decided to challenge every belief I held. I realized I was more libertarian than I had thought.
I still challenge myself every day and I still get to the same place. Maybe I’m doing something right for a change.
From Stoller: Personally, I find banking fees, high cable and internet charges, health care costs, and credit card hidden charges much more abrasive than taxes, because with those I’m just being ripped off to pay for someone’s summer home.
Not only can he choose to forgo these services, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that every single one of those services are heavily regulated. The high prices and fees are due in large part to regulation, so he ought to be HAPPY to be paying those high prices! He’s paying for his “elected representative’s” summer home in Chappaqua, and why not? That man has an important job, he needs to be comfortable! If it’s one thing Matt ought to take to heart, it’s that his suffering is necessary for the politician’s happiness.
If there’s one thing that government lackeys don’t like, it’s competition. And they don’t play nice when an individual attempts to provide alternatives. Occasionally, it starts with name-calling, but a lot of these government drones quickly become violent. They’ve short-circuited genuine thought on the issue.
how embarrassing for him. but right in line with the usual statist lullabies he extols.
great post.
Wait… compasses have DNA?
[...] post attacking Matt Stoller at DailyKos, here for his shameless fellating of the federal income [...]