Why are we still paying taxes?

From Mises Wire

If you’re not familiar with modern monetary theory, they think governments should print more money because deficits aren’t a big deal. At one point in the show, Wiesenthal asked, “If we don’t need to worry about deficits, why do we have taxes?”

Kelton’s response was illuminating. Kelton’s answer? Taxes would still be needed, because they make us poor. And because they can punish people she doesn’t like.

Specifically, Kelton likes that taxes “remove dollars from our hands, so we can’t spend them,” leaving more purchasing power for the government. So taxes make the people poor, and that’s a selling point to her, presumably because she thinks governments are really good at lifting people out of poverty. Anybody who’s spent time in America’s inner cities, where government money is pretty much the only money, might disagree.

Ah, but it’s not just about spending our money more wisely than we ever could, Kelton adds two secondary reasons she loves taxes: to punish particular people by redistributing their money, and to punish people for doing things she doesn’t like. Such as failing to buy energy-efficient appliances (no, really). In other words, social engineering with carrots for your friends, sticks for your not-so-friends.

Translation, taxes have nothing to do with funding governments anymore.

15 Replies to “Why are we still paying taxes?”

  1. MMT is Irresponsible-half Keynes on steroids, without the understanding that all government stimulus spending does is move future spending forward (ie economic activity) and crowds out private spending, which means it can never stop until an outside force steps in and puts a stop to it (see Argentina)…

    This will not end well

    1. It’s maybe irresponsible, but it’s not even Keynsianism.

      The government now has control of the central bank, and there didn’t even used to be a central bank, in most countries in the world. It therefore can buy anything, print money and do as it pleases, irrespective of the economic consequences. This is possible because governments these days claim a monopoly of issuing currency; this is why they hate crypto-currencies, although I don’t trust them. They will sell out or be corrupted by governments. This is also why black market exchange rates occur in tyrranies.

    2. If it ends, it will be well.

      Encourage the system to collapse. Become part of the problem. Grift. Dont produce. Strike

    1. Would $100 trillion Zimbabwe note buy a cup of coffee? Printing money for government spending is theft from everyone holding currency.

  2. Nations and Nationalism are the real targets of this economic battering ram.

    Guillotines And Gallows are being ordered and manufactured for those who are not in compliance with the Elite’s version of their world governance.

    They are and will be unprepared when those very devices will be used on their very own necks.

    The schedenfraude will be delicious.

    1. Bankers and governments tricking people to believe in ownership when no other species does this.
      Here buy a piece of paper and you own this chunk of real estate but you really don’t.

  3. Following that “illuminated logic”, why not just let my employer sent my paycheck to the “state” and let the state pay me… Oh, I believe we’ve tried that, they called it communisms and it was a dismal failure!

  4. “Translation, taxes have nothing to do with funding governments anymore.”

    Did they ever? Tax money is spent to get votes, not fix problems. If you fix the problem you can’t run on a promise to fix it. Representative democracy is a bad way to organize a country. Problem being, all the other ways are much worse.

    1. “Did they ever?”

      No. Operating capital is borrowed annually before, not after, taxes are collected. It has always been thus.
      The ability to collect taxes determines the debt servicing, nothing more.
      When governments become unable to service the debt, they go bankrupt because they can no longer borrow operating capital.

  5. Taxes are control measures. The government wants us dependent on it. Extortion.
    Can’t trust Canadians with too much of their own money.

  6. So, taxes are just there to mess with decent people who just want to be left alone? Check.

    When does the Purge start? I need to make travel arrangements.

    1. Don’t plan on the US, they are actually go further. Trugroper will look like a Piker, compared to Lizard Warren, who is next best thing to Lenin nowadays.

      It will be countries like Indonesia or Brazil, that will be some of the last bastions of semi-freedom and even then. This world is devolving, as prophesied, into a One World government

  7. A Tax and attacks..
    Funny how they are the same thing,just spelt differently so us morons will not notice.
    We pay for the show.We consent to doing so.
    The Actors campaign for these positions,from which they promise to entertain us with the illusion of governance.
    The forms are quite rigid,cause that illusion of equality,common purpose and fair play must be maintained..for part of the audience entertainment,is the right to clear the stage.
    As with Shakespeare’s comedies,the audience participation could be hell on the actors.
    Seems the current batch of actors have forgotten their audience and act only for themselves..
    Pretty pathetic show and the audience is being moved to find enjoyment by other means.

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