No offence, but I question the context and source of the quote:
" 'They will tax whatever they can in a never ending quest to extract more money from the people to facilitate more government spending.' " [sup][Citation needed][/sup]
While the statement is generally true on its own, it does not exhaust the possible reasons for any particular tax scheme, including managing / regulating a situation
The source of the quote is me. The quotation marks was to make it stand out as an answer to the question I was referring to.
And no offense is taken...I'm always down for clarification.
Of course there MAY be other reasons to levy taxes. Or to impose laws or regulations.
But even so, those other "reasons" all have at their heart the exertion of power and authority over people.
Because that is the explicit reason for government.
Government has long been described as a "necessary evil". Thomas Paine talked about this in his book "Common Sense":
"Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer."
Government is a necessary evil specifically because it's empowered to make and enforce the rules by which societies (groups of people) exist and interact.
To that end, some things are obviously necessary. Common rules and laws governing what is and is not acceptable behavior must be established.
You can't, for instance, allow people to go around killing each other for any old reason. Malum in se laws (laws about this which are considered intrinsically evil...robbery, murder, assault, arson, rape, etc.) are written concerning these.
Then there are malum prohibitum laws (things that are wrong only because there is a law saying its wrong). There are lots of necessary laws that fall under this category. Many traffic laws fall under this category... which side of the street to drive on, speed limits, traffic signs, etc. What side of the street one drives on is not "intrinsically evil". However, if you want to promote the general welfare and safety of the people, a common set of rules/laws governing motorized traffic is necessary.
The same can be said about taxes. Taxes are a necessary evil as well, and they should serve a legitimate purpose.
But ALL of these things ARE expressions of the power and authority of the government over the people...good or bad.
I object to the continual giving of more and more power/authority to the government and the continual erosion/removal of the rights and liberties of the people.
History shows that governments do not willingly give up power and authority. In fact, often times such cases where they do amounts to smoke and mirrors wherein it seems they dry, but actually shift things around slyly such that the government again comes out on top.
How often are budget issues dealt with by reduction or elimination of expenses as opposed to increasing taxes, debt ceiling, and spending?
Taxation is about power and control. Because that's what government does.
