Herodotus wrote:
On Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:36:36 -0700, Stephen Trapani
wrote:


A higher sort. That's rich. Someone who really doesn't care about other
people, especially those who are dying.
Who are you talking about? I care about people. I just don't think that
stealing money by force from people and giving it to someone else is the
way to solve peoples' problems.

Stephen

Stephen,

Rosseau's statement that "all taxation is theft" and its underlying
arguments does not apply in this age and has been largely discredited.
If you wish to belong to a particular herd and claim protection and
hearth warmth from that herd then you must pay the piper.

That is why you elect the people who decide how much the membership
fees are and how it is spent.

Apart from any moral or empathetic reasons that come with a supposedly
highly developed civilisation, to me it makes economic sense to
financially try to help one's less fortunate citizens.
[...]

A more moral and effective way to help less fortunate citizens is with
better forms of voluntary private donation. A more moral and efficient
way to fund public services is with private companies competing in the
marketplace to provide them instead of dumping money into government
organizations with little to no accountability for how effectively they
use that money.

Stephen