[MD] Consciousness

[Krimel]

> [Krimel]
> Platt and Craig especially have argued that
> taxation is theft for example.

[Craig]
Nope, not me (Micah perhaps?)  For me there are 3 requirements for
taxation: 1) the tax revenue is for a legitimate government function,
2) the correct entities are taxed & 3) the tax is fair (neither too high nor
too low).
For instance:
1) The Securities & Exchange Commission is a legitimate
government function
2) Its cost should be paid for (by taxes or fees) by those involved in
securities & exchange
3) Such taxes & fees should match the SEC's cost .  
For the radical libertarian position that "taxation is theft":
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/666806/posts

[Krimel]
My apologies, we are closer than I thought. But still no cigar. If "user
fee" style taxes that you advocate above were sufficient to support
something like that SEC then the SEC should be a private enterprise. This
model of taxation is the kind of abomination that results in toll roads.
Taxes are not "fair" in the sense that every individual who pays them gets a
direct benefit from the service provided. Benefits accrue to every member of
society when securities transactions are monitored and regulated. I benefit
from highway construction in New Jersey whenever I travel to New Jersey and
New Jersey tourists benefit by having roads here in Florida. The user fee
model is just a foot in the door to for the radical libertarian model and
for the ludicrous "Fair Tax" plan floated by the rich to further soak the
poor.

BTW, Craig I know you have long supported frugality in the use of text in
the posts on this forum but an extra carriage return at the end of your
posts would help to distinguish what you are saying from the spam tacked on
at the end of these messages. At carriage return only takes up one byte so
it is not likely to clog your inbox. 
Just a suggestion...