[xlnt]

taxes aren't dividends, they are taken by force. they decide how much they feel like taking this year, and you pay or go to jail. it's not a business transaction.

and of course they still take tax money from people who never went to their schools.

[wanorris]

As far as I know, there are countries that still accept immigrants if you feel that the social contract of the nation you are currently inhabiting is unreasonable.

Failing that, there's always working for political change, or even armed insurrection.

Or you could just log on to a website and complain about it. Hey -- done!

[byrneseyeview]

Indeed! And there are other dark alleys I could have walked down -- shame on me for complaining, just because someone is threatening me with punishment in order to take away property I've earned.

In addition, the government under which I live is kind of nasty about engaging in anticompetitive behavior. Apparently they don't allow other people to operate anywhere they do business. And sometimes they set up shop in overseas countries, and engage in the same monopolistic tactics! Frankly, they are being run very poorly, and it is terribly inconvenient that they use such tactics to maintain their market share despite more efficient competitors.

[xlnt]

You have no idea if I am working for political change, or not. Why be a jerk making a personal attack? i made a statement about what i think is true, and you respond with made up comments about how i'm not living up to something.

also advocating violence against Americans is pretty awful.

[wanorris]

Sorry, I guess that was unduly harsh. Maybe I misread the tone of your prior post.

Referring to the social contract of a democracy as simply taking things by force sounded to me like deeply seated anger, and I guess I responded accordingly. And yes, advocating violence against Americans is pretty awful, but if you believe you live in a tyranny, violent overthrow is one of the traditional avenues for rectifying that situation.

[xlnt]

there is no "social contract". i didn't sign anything. they use force. end of story. you don't pay, people with guns do come. there is no denying it.

but they aren't a tyranny, that's very different.

[wanorris]

While a representative democracy cannot be considered a tyranny in the sense of being run by a single ruler with absolute power, a common, looser definition is that a tyranny is simply an oppressive and unjust government.

If you believe that the government is making you do things over which you have no control and which you have not consented to do through the use of force, how would you consider a tyranny different?

[xlnt]

we don't have an "oppressive, unjust" government. just cause it has a flaw doesn't make it bad. it's a good thing. it helps us. it's much, much better than nothing. it's also the best in the world. the best that ever existed. i just want it to be even better and don't agree that taxes are like dividends.