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To: Nandu who wrote (14074)	5/10/2001 12:17:40 PM
From: Kirk ©	Respond to of 42834

If not to protect its citizens and their property, what in your opinion is the purpose of government? A Libertarian will tell you this is the ONLY duty of government. An unfortunate fact about democracies is the majority can vote to take money away from the minority. Since the rich have the money, the "not rich" form collations of special interest groups (labor, ethinc minorities, envirnomentalists, feminists, gays, men that like cheeseburgers that drip on their shirts, etc.) where they can trade their vote to a person wanting power for a piece of the pie owned by "the rich". None of these "special interest" paybacks fit the original definition of what is the purpose of government but they make up a majority of government expenditures... until the rich leave as the story suggested. BTW, many of the 'special interests' that get a piece of the pie bankroll the democrats so they can get their own very large slice of the pie and all they have to do is give lip service and say "we want to pay our fair share" as they get $1B contracts to build runways in the SF Bay while their wives are State senators for the democratic party. To them, paying 50% taxes on a $1B deal is nothing compared to not getting the deal in the first place. They'll get labor unions to vote for the runway construction job too as it means jobs... they just have to tell the Sierra club to jump in a lake as their party is the only game in town... In the SF Bay Area, they'll buy off the Sierra Club with some other bone... Kirk out

To: Nandu who wrote (14074)	5/10/2001 12:21:19 PM
From: nasdaqian	Respond to of 42834

It is not the dead, but the heirs that pay the tax. What I don't understand is why my fortnightly payday is inherently a more taxable event than my inheriting my Dad's estate. Because it has already been taxed quite adequately. You apparently don't believe in wealth creation or the concept of property. You are a socialist, I am not. If not to protect its citizens and their property, what in your opinion is the purpose of government? I would agree that's the ideal concept. We're way beyond that. Forget about it. Like I said, tooth fairy.