I don?t want this post to be misunderstood. Everyone should pay his or her taxes because 1) it is the law, 2) it is only fair (shared pain and all that), and 3) sometimes governments do contribute value to the social order.
But the next time you get into debates about what government is, and your antagonist tries to deny the fundamentally coercive nature of the institution, here?s an appropriate rejoinder. Try not paying your taxes and see what happens. The response will, eventually, be quite forceful.
Thus, only entrust government with tasks that you believe can and should be carried out at the point of a gun. That?s what government is. Elections don?t define the institution ? Rotary clubs and floral societies have elections. What they don?t have is the power to tax, regulate, mandate, imprison, and shoot first.
