Mood:
sharpTopic: Taxes
Taxation, especially taxation on income and property, are morally reprehensible in my view. It represents the use of force to confiscate the property of individual citizenry to either redistribute to other citizens (or non-citizens) or to pay for programs which may or may not be useful or desirable to the individual paying for them. This sort of action is exactly what caused the revolution which founded this nation in the first place. As a nation we have turned our backs on our foundation and we allow the government to constantly violate the constitution.
Below is a simple logical exercise. If you agree with the assumptions I list below you cannot logically disagree with the conclusions.
STATEMENT: "To tax is not constitutional under article 13."
Definitions: These Definitions are provided for reference as back up for many of my assumptions.
PROPERTY:
1 : something (as an interest, money, or land) that is owned or possessed
FORCE:
1 a : to compel by physical means often against resistance
2 : to impose or require by law
TAX:
1 : a charge usually of money imposed by legislative or other public authority upon persons or property for public purposes
2 : a sum levied on members of an organization to defray expenses
Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law, ? 1996
Article. XIII. of the US Constitution [Ratified by Congress in 1865] :
Section. 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Assumptions: An assumption is a statement that is assumed to be true. To test the truth of the assumption try its opposite by adding the phrase "It is not the case that..." before the assumption. The result should be a false statement. If the result is a true statement the assumption must be false.
A. PROPERTY is something (as an interest, money, or land) that is owned or possessed. = TRUE by definition.
B. To FORCE is to impose or require by law. = TRUE by definition.
C. A TAX is a charge usually of money imposed by legislative or other public authority [law] upon persons or property for public purposes. = TRUE by definition.
D. A person X's labor is owned or possessed by X. = TRUE, inasmuch as a man owns his mind and body, the labor which his mind and body produce is owned by him, and may be traded (for a wage) or the produce of which may be sold or kept by him as his choice dictates.
E. A person X's government is a legislative or other public authority, and is not X. =TRUE, our government serves as a legislative or public authority, which creates and upholds our laws under a constitution. In order for a person X's government to be X, X would have to be a sole dictator.
F. For a person X, An entity other than X is not X. = TRUE, obviously anyone or anything that is other than me, is not me.
G. To enslave is to FORCE a person X to forfeit X's labor to an entity other than X. = TRUE, a very general definition of what slavery entails. I think most people would agree that if I force you to work for me (whether I compensate you or not), that is slavery.
H. To enslave is NOT constitutional under article 13. = TRUE, "except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." Just read the article yourself.
Statements: A statement is something that is not assumed to be true. The goal of a logical exercise is to prove your statements to be true through the use of assumptions. Once a statement is proven to be true it may be used to prove the truth of other statements.
I. a person X's labor is X's PROPERTY.
J. To tax is to impose or require by law a person X to forfeit X's PROPERTY to a legislative or other public authority.
K. To tax is to FORCE a person X to forfeit X's PROPERTY to a government.
L. A person X's government is an entity other than X.
M. To tax is to enslave.
N. To tax is not constitutional under article 13.
Logical Conclusions:
IF (A and D), THEN I. True.
IF (A and C), THEN J. True.
IF (B and E and J), THEN K. True.
IF (E and F), THEN L. True.
IF (G and I) and (K and L), THEN M. True.
IF (H and M), THEN N. True.
Exercise Conclusions:
This exercise logically proves (as long as my assumptions remain true) the statement that "To tax is not constitutional under article 13" is a true statement.
Posted by trueliberal0
at 8:15 PM PST
