FDR 99: TAking back from the state, Where is the Line?

[amos]

Hi FDR Community

 

I just came across podcast 99. I dont only listen in chronological order, so ive heared a couple of hundred podcasts probably. The question is: "is it moral to take back money from a state program?"

Stef argues, that if you have been forced to pay into the state and you can get some money back, then do it. Else the money is just going to go to some socialist. For example if you can get a tax refund, sure take it. if you wanna go somewhere you use public roads. your university is subsidized etc.. Of course i aggree that there is nothing wrong with taking some money back or trying to get robbed (taxed) less.

He also argues, that the act of robbery is wrong, but once a big pile of robbed money is lying at the center of society and everyone is grabbing at it, it is in a state of nature. I see the argunemt and i tend to aggree,

 

however where is the line?

 

because if we want to make the argument from morality we have to live by our values. not just talk about them but live them!

imagine the following example:

i live on a social program all my life and take back massive ammounts of money from the state and use my time to podcast about how taxation is theft. Probably everybody would rightly call me a hypocrit. because my actions dont match my words. So even though i dont advocate taxation and dont vote to increase taxation and dont give my consent to other people beeing robbed, im still just a parasite that feeds of the money that gets extracted from working men through violence.

 

I cant formulate for myself a good rule that consistently works to separate actions like going to school or using public roads or taking tax cuts from actions like living on social programs or work directly for the government or taking farm subsidies of business subsidies...

 

Any one have a good suggestion?

 

[ValueOfBrevity]

I agree that taking money back in  the form of state programs is not immoral.

If it were possible to give excess benefits back to more heavily taxed citizens, that would be even better.

However, income tax is the real issue. We are only discussing the symptoms of a problem.