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Old 08-04-09, 12:53 PM   #3
Sailor Steve
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Join Date: Nov 2002
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That's always been my biggest headache with people who want social reforms: convincing them that government cannot create revenues. It produces nothing worth buying, so it can only exist by taxes. In the case of police and fire departments, road construction, even the military, this is a necessary thing. I was going to say good, but it is my confirmed belief that the only way to guarantee a safe government is to mandate that anyone in a position to levy taxes be required to understand that they are, in the best cases, still only a necessary evil.

Of course that's also impossible.

Another fun one: when I say that government makes no money, I always get the answer "That's silly. The government is the only one who can make money." Explaining that printing paper that says 'Money' on it and actually earning revenue are two entirely different things is an excersise in frustration.
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