Curbing tax evasion with license plate scanners

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Something I heard a couple of decades ago...

...concerning one of the many government "Cut Government Waste!!" campaigns. The National Park Service, instructed to find ways to cut their budget, promptly proposed, not cutting the least essential of their expenses, but the most essential, highest profile, services they could find. Top of the list: close the Washington Monument. Of course, no politician wanted to be responsible for closing one of Washington's highest-draw tourist attractions.

From a bureaucrat's perspective, everyone won. The politicians got to publicly pat themselves on the back for "trying to control expenses," the Park services could say, "We tried, we really did..." and keep their budget largely intact. The only loser was the taxpayer, and from a bureaucrat's perspective, that's no loss at all.

My point is that every time I state my opposition to some tax, someone always, invariably, comes up with some high-profile, useful, thing allegedly paid for by that tax and accuses me of wanting to do away with it.

Don't be ridiculous.

Is everything paid for by your taxes absolutely, drop-dead, essential? Does the highway department really have to spend tax money to plant flowers in the highway medians? Does Raleigh, North Carolina, popuation about 350,000, really need yet another circumferential road about as big as the one enclosing the several million people who live in and around Washington, DC?

To specifics: sure, smooth roads are nice. But I'm not really getting them--there are potholes on Kildaire Farm Road (despite its name, it's a major road) near my house that have been there for several years. I don't mind a few traffic lights, but I resent like hell those automatic cameras they use to spy on people in intersections. I don't want police traffic patrols at all--if I need a cop, it's a simple matter to push a few buttons on my cell phone.

I'm perfectly willing to pay for necessities. Unfortunately, politicians seem to take that as license to rob me blind for every bit of idiocy that will get them re-elected or fatten their wallets with "campaign contributions" from soon-to-be-grateful "constituents."

Taxation is (mostly) theft.

Posted by: Henrik Moller Posted on: 06/20/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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