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102 sats \ 11 replies \ @kepford OP 27 Oct \ parent \ on: Which is Worse: Taxes or Fiat Money? econ
And yet... one has opposition and the other is invisible.
Virtually no one even understands fiat.
Most people have a much better understanding of taxes.
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This is why I asked the question. Good point. I still disagree but it gets us thinking doesn't it?
My thought is that if you eliminate fiat its dead forever because of bitcoin. And fiat is MUCH harder to fight than taxes.
Taxes are not invisible and if you take away the fiat tool to fund spending and special interests you take away a LOT of power from the state and its cronies. Then you have a situation where taxes will become more pressured as the source of funding things. People are far more likely to push back on that vs. the complex and largely invisible fiat system.
I will add though that one of the worst things about Democracy is how it clouds our thinking about taxes. Under a king people have no illusion what is happening. The King is levying taxes to do what he wants. Much easier to see that it is a forcible taking. Theft.
But we are propagandized to believe that WE are the government in a democracy(or whatever you think the US is). We the people and all that. How can the people steal from themselves? Unless you kill democracy and instead have a voluntary free society its gonna be hard to get rid of taxes.
This is why I don't think this question is an easy one.
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And another thing people have a hard time thinking through is that eliminating taxes doesn't mean you don't pay for services the state is now providing. Its just not gonna be theft.
Its not theft when I voluntarily pay for someone to take away my garbage. That is a fee for service.
Those of us who have studied some econ probably could agree that some things the government provides would be more expensive under a free system. But most if not all would be better and we'd have choice instead of fear of imprisonment.
This is the interesting interpretation here... taxes are objectively worse than broken fiat, but relative to the population's expectations and knowledge, fiat is the bigger culprit
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Maybe the 2 are related?
Federal Reserve was created in 1913.
Income Tax amendment passed in 1913.
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For sure they are. But taxes weren't invented in the US nor was fiat.
I was meaning on earth too. Not the US alone.
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When did fiat start in USA?
1776?
1789?
1865?
1877?
1913?
1933?
1971?
Even during the gold standard, banks would issue notes for gold deposits but they were fractional.
A fiat system can work better without a central bank and without fractional reserve banking.
Currencies collapse because governments spend and waste tax dollars.
Fiat is imperfect like most things but taxation is worse
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Notes and free banking are not fiat. I'm referring to central bank era. The FED era. Money by decree where supply is controlled as it is today. Where currency is tied to nothing. Untethered.
Of course you can make good arguments for tax being worse. Its why I posed the question. Looking at the Cantillon Effect coupled with the inflation of money supply admitted by the FED should open the eyes of people. It doesn't. Its hard to see the unseen.
Currencies collapse because governments spend and waste tax dollars.
How do governments spend so much money? Its not just taxes. Its the money printer as well. Removing this ability (bitcoin could do this) will force the state to do the harder thing. Increase taxes which leads to more conflict with the taxed. Which might be what we need to wake more people up.
In an ideal world you'd get rid of both. Today the state can print to fund their adventures. They don't have to raise tax as they did when governments of the world were on gold standards.
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Inflation is a hidden tax
All government spending is funded via explicit taxation, borrowing and inflation. Of course borrowing is also paid for via taxation. The real tax is what government spends. Ultimately the taxpayer has to pay for it, all of it.
Since the Fed was created in 1913, price stability has decreased and bank closures have increased. They can't fulfill their mandate or raison d'etre
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