To the editor:
Columns such as Walter Williams’ June 15 piece, “Taxation tantamount to slavery,” have become as common as they are predictable and tiresome. Of course, readers and voters eat this kind of stuff up. “Taxation is theft,” as the cliché goes, “it’s our money.” But such pandering does not come without a cost.
The notion that taxation is theft is extremely dishonest. Even the most ardent tax-hater accepts the need for national defense and law enforcement. These functions cost money: about 20 percent of the 2008 budget—31 percent of the non-social-security budget. You can’t swallow that and maintain that all taxes are bad. So let’s stipulate that the cost of these functions, at least, is not “your money.” It’s a legitimate charge for necessary services.
Now consider that your tax dollars also pay for scientific research, a well-educated job force, highways and airports, clean food, honest labeling, Social Security, unemployment insurance, trustworthy banks, and national parks. Shouldn’t you have to pay for these things, too? You like having them, right? Pandering to the taxation-is-theft crowd simply encourages the peculiar delusion that these benefits should come for free.
No one enjoys paying taxes, me included. And of course we all want government to use tax money wisely and to avoid unnecessary spending. Is there a specific program you think is wasteful? Let’s get rid of it! But by attacking the very concept of taxation, columnists like Williams enable the public to indulge their worst impulses.