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22 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 11h \ parent \ on: The government says money isn't property—so it can take yours Politics_And_Law
The first point is a non-sequitur, too. People transfer ownership of things they create all the time. That's pretty much the definition of "production" in economics.
The government creates fiat and then transfers ownership when they transact it.
I actually think the second point is less of a non-sequitur. "Ownership" means exclusive right of control. If we grant the legitimacy of taxes, then you do not own your money, because another party has some right of control over it.
Oh, okay. I read the first point as "It's our network, it's our rules. We merely allow/license you use it in a manner that seems fair. Most of the time." An extreme example of "you will own nothing" and the reason why we call fiat a "permissioned system".
And the second one really hinges on whether taxes are considered compulsory or not, I think.
If they are compulsory and the state can take what it thinks is "owed" without a legal process, by a single call to the bank, then yes, you don't own it. And it seems that this is the prevaling interpretation. And the linked story seems to confirm it.
If taxes were voluntary, or at least payable based on a contract, and enforcement required a trial to establish ownership, then that would be a different story.
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