The following tweet references a post on the RenounceUScitizenship blog.
Here are some of what Charles Adams considers to be the 27 lessons from the history of taxation (page 452 of the first edition of his book: “For Good and Evil – The Impact of Taxes On The Course of Civilization“):
11. If liberty is to be defended with success against the dominance of the state, then financial privacy must be preserved. Banking privacy is one the cornerstones of liberty, having its roots in the principle of early English Law that a man’s castle (primarily his treasury) is beyond he surveillance of the king.
24. Taxes that are not apportioned among all taxpayers with impartiality and fairness lose all force of moral obligation.
Mr. Adams was writing in 1993 before FATCA and the “FBAR Fundraiser“.
Charles Adams “For Good And Evil” – The Impact of Taxes On The Course Of Civilization http://t.co/tqc2V6pPNB
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) September 21, 2014
Charles Adams "For Good and Evil – Impact of Taxes on Civilization" https://t.co/rbSUz7ohUD – Very impressive and very understandable.
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) September 21, 2014
The above tweet references a YouTube video series, made by the Mises Institute, featuring tax historian Charles Adams (who incidentally taught at the University of Toronto).
The series is based on his book:
For Good and Evil – The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization.
The lectures are described by the Mises Institute as follows:
Join tax historian Charles Adams for a week-long seminar in a new history of taxation from the ancient world to the present. His three books on the topic have highlighted the role that the state’s relentless drive for more revenue has inspired wars, revolutions, and every manner of political upheaval. And yet historians who are not usually alert to the economic dynamic behind social change have missed the role that taxation has played.
In demonstrating his theory that taxes are a prime mover of history, Adams has proven himself to a master researcher. Rather than taking others’ word for it, he examines primary documents to discover new ways of looking at major events in the Hebrew scriptures, assassinations in Rome, European history in the Middle Ages, the French Revolution, the Civil War, and so much more.
Justice John Marshall said,” The power to tax is the power to destroy”. They have wrecked the republic with politicians who keep getting elected with those who vote for a living, instead of those who work. It is the end as prdicted by a professor (TYLER) in 1776. Fewer and fewer private sector taxpayers and the power to borrow obsene amounts of money against future taxation, will cause bankruptcy Nationally just as it has for state and local jurisdictions already. We are doomed unless the few grabs power and throws the majority party’s out or somethings else unthinkable at this time, but in our future.
Rule of law, national defence, roads, schools, fire protection, food inspection, libraries, police, sanitation, parks, social welfare, clean water, public transportation.
Seem pretty important to me.
“Taxes are the price we pay for civilization” Oliver Wendell Holmes.
“Rule of law, national defence, roads, schools, fire protection, food inspection, libraries, police, sanitation, parks, social welfare, clean water, public transportation.
Seem pretty important to me.”
They would be pretty important to me IF our “Rule of law, national defence, roads, schools, fire protection, food inspection, libraries, police, sanitation, parks, social welfare, clean water, public transportation.” with regards to Canada was the matter being taxed. Unfortunately these taxes that we are fighting against right now are going south of the border and not benefiting us in any way shape or form. I’m not paying for the American national defense, roads, schools, fire protection food inspection, libraries, police, sanitation, parks, social welfare, clean water, public transportation, unless I get some benefit in return and right now there is no benefit to American citizenship taxation other than the “right to be taxed to death” and beyond.
All tyrannical regimes have seemed pretty reasonable and important to those who initially support them … even the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s. Not to mention the King of England in the 1770s. Or those who have eroded and perverted the US Constitution over the last 100 years … accelerating as the Constitutional obstacles are either, one by one, knocked down or ignored in practice. Many have observed that Democracy is doomed to failure once the majority of people realize that they can annually vote themselves greater and greater personal benefits at someone else’s expense directly or through pressure on their elected representatives; in due course such a community is doomed to collapse for lack of sufficient and further resources to purloin … this tends to encourage war to loot other tribes and nations. I believe that it was Sir Winston Churchill who remarked (paraphrased) that Democracy is not such a wonderful system, it is merely the best of the series of bad alternatives devised so far. Peace.
” this tends to encourage war to loot other tribes and nations.” We’re seeing this already. The US has caused how many wars for other nations? They look for every excuse to utilize their military war machine.
As far as Democracy is concerned; to the Americans it is just a buzzword. What they have down in the United States right now is not democracy. It’s an autocracy – President Obama says “jump”, his mindless sycophants cry “how high?”
Taxation is indeed a blunt instrument … yet, as certain IRS Officials in the US appear to have found out, an instrument that can be sharpened (illegally ?) to slice into one’s political opponents. The history of this sort of (illegal ?) behavior is long and is not the exclusive domain of the Current Democrat Administration …. remember the Nixon Enemies List ? NO political party or politician should ever be allowed to feel that they have the security to ride rough shod over any Constitution or people.
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