From: "John Foster" <borealis-AT-mercuryspeed.com> Subject: Re: Liberal vs. social democracy - Gestell/Gewinnst Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 21:30:23 -0800 > Politicians become entrenched and begin to see different groups > and classes of citizens as standing reserves for tax revenue, ready on call. > The only difference is that we can vote them out (at least in a democracy), > and even that is possible only once in a while. > > Blameworthy, oui? > > Anthony Crifasi Not entirely true. Many corporations do not pay taxes, and many individuals do not pay taxes, particularly those making less than a certain amount. There are many tax shelters. The notion of 'standing reserve' refers to stocks within nature: timber, water, fish, metals, etc. The 'tap' analogy also refers to 'harnessed' and 'mobilized' forms of natural resources already within the reserve. Some restrictions apply: concepts such as 'sustained yield', 'soil loss calculations', 'depletion', and 'social objectivess' which taken together 'conserve' yields, and in some cases 'regenerate' and 'renew' natural resources. There are some jurisdictions were income taxes are nil, or negligible. But to compensate for the loss in revenues to a state, there are other froms of revenue generation: royalties for example. Saudi Arabia has approximately an active labour force representing something like 25% of the total available work force; the rest are on welfare. Education is free. This is due to the revenues generated from oil royalties, and this year these are estimated to be in the order of $87 billion USD. In the US income taxes are relatively low, but municipal taxes are relatively high. There has been a lot of 'downloading' of taxes to municipalities in the US. I think Idaho has no income taxes, but it has very high municipal taxes. In Canada our federal taxes have to pay for much many more services than is customary for US citizens, but that has led to efficiencies of scale. For instance our Royal Canadian Mounted Police is funded by federal income taxes for the most part. In some cases police are funded by municipal taxes. chao john foster > > _________________________________________________________________ > Say "goodbye" to busy signals and slow downloads with a high-speed Internet > connection! Prices start at less than $1 a day average. > https://broadband.msn.com (Prices may vary by service area.) > > > > --- from list heidegger-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu --- > --- from list heidegger-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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