As if the trucks to move the goods didn't pay taxes for using the roads (or at least on diesel), and the property taxes on the factory didn't pay for schools, police, and firefighters.
Yes, and the taxes paid by the trucks are factored into the price that the factory owner pays; I understand all that.
Elizabeth Warren's point was that the folks who perpetually agitate for tax cuts — and especially the taxation-is-theft crowd — are forgetting (or intentionally ignoring) what they get in return as part of the social contract; it's as though they think that the Public-Goods Fairy will somehow magically provide all those things that they benefit from.
Actually no, they don't believe in the Public-Goods Fairy; it's worse than that: They believe that they're entitled to the profits from their activities while the public should bear the resulting costs, including but not limited to negative externalities such as pollution, addiction, and the like.
And oh, yeah, when they f*** things up — as with the practices that led to the Great Recession, and countless other examples — they lobby to have the taxpayer to bail them out and make sure they get their bonuses.
So if you want to talk about "theft," then that particular modus operandi — privatize the profits, socialize the costs — might be a better candidate
Elizabeth Warren's point was that the folks who perpetually agitate for tax cuts — and especially the taxation-is-theft crowd — are forgetting (or intentionally ignoring) what they get in return as part of the social contract; it's as though they think that the Public-Goods Fairy will somehow magically provide all those things that they benefit from.
Actually no, they don't believe in the Public-Goods Fairy; it's worse than that: They believe that they're entitled to the profits from their activities while the public should bear the resulting costs, including but not limited to negative externalities such as pollution, addiction, and the like.
And oh, yeah, when they f*** things up — as with the practices that led to the Great Recession, and countless other examples — they lobby to have the taxpayer to bail them out and make sure they get their bonuses.
So if you want to talk about "theft," then that particular modus operandi — privatize the profits, socialize the costs — might be a better candidate