[ExI] Belief in Market Efficiency

[Stathis Papaioannou]

2009/2/7 painlord2k at libero.it <painlord2k at libero.it>:

>>> You are  free to do "public education" for your community in a
>>> libertarian
>>> world, if your community is willing to foot the bill.
>>
>> That's what taxation is.
>
> Taxes and willing don't go together well.
>
> In the Italian languages a synonymous of "taxes" is "imposte" (the same of
> "imposed[s]" only a noun and not a verb). There is a reason because they are
> called so and not "Voluntary donations" or something else.

People willingly vote to be taxed. Consider these options:

(a) everyone gets taxed except me;
(b) everyone gets taxed;
(b) no-one gets taxed.

Most people might be inclined to choose choose (a), but obviously (a)
isn't going to work. As second best, most people choose (b). You might
say that's unfair, because (b) then covers the minority which would
have chosen (c). But you can't choose taxes and make them voluntary,
since that would be the same as (a). So we're stuck with (b), until
some country tries out (c) and dazzles the rest of the world with its
success, leading to widespread copying.



-- 
Stathis Papaioannou