1913 has been a pivotal year in US history. It was the year when the great theft had been institutionalized by establishing the fed and starting to implement european socialusm step by step.
Take taxation. The trend of household income tax return filings from 1913 to 2008 presents a compelling narrative of state expansion and the erosion of individual liberty. The data, as illustrated in the chart, reveals a stark reality: the growth in tax compliance is not merely a reflection of economic prosperity but rather an indicator of the state's increasing reach into the personal lives of its citizens.
When the 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913, allowing for a federal income tax, the number of households filing returns was negligible. This was a time when the government was relatively minimal in its scope, and individual freedoms were less encumbered by federal mandates. However, as the graph shows, this changed dramatically with the onset of the Great Depression and World War II, where the state's need for revenue escalated, leading to a dramatic increase in tax filings.
From a libertarian standpoint, this surge in compliance is not a victory for societal order but a testament to the coercive power of the state. The spikes in compliance during wartime and economic crises suggest that compliance was driven by necessity or force rather than voluntary participation. The libertarian ethos champions voluntary interactions; yet, here, we see the state imposing its will upon the populace, not through persuasion but through obligation.
The period post-WWII, where the percentage of households filing tax returns peaks before stabilizing, indicates a new norm where the state has embedded itself into the everyday lives of Americans. This normalization of tax filing, reaching near 100% compliance, could be viewed as a loss of freedom, where citizens are not merely participating in a social contract but are compelled to do so under threat of penalty.
This level of state control over personal finances is antithetical to the principles of liberty. The graph does not just show economic history; it reflects the gradual, often forced, expansion of the state's influence over individual lives, where the line between voluntary participation and coercion becomes blurred.