Taxation with Representation

In a recent Facebook argument I was called out for equating taxation to theft and calling it an act of aggression.  "That was the way of the Kings and of taxation without representation," I was told.  Any reader of my blog will recognize that I don't care if taxation is with or without representation because the root feature of taxation is the extraction of wealth from individuals with or without their consent.  My blog post with the R.C. Hoiles quote is particularly relevant.  The absurdity of representation seems so obvious to me that I have to give the state a gold star in propagandizing the Boobus Americanus.

There are roughly 300,000,000 people in the United States and there are 435 members of congress.  I could expand this to 536 if we include all elected federal politicians, but since congress has the power of the purse let's start with them.  That means that roughly one member of congress represents over a half-million citizens.  Some are minors but the congressman has no qualms about spending their tax money without representation via deficit spending.  Some are criminals and have lost their "right" to vote.  But there are many political prisoners (non-violent drug users and tax evaders) who have not violated natural law so denying criminals a vote further pushes the agenda of those in power.  So lets say 200,000 citizens come out to vote for a representative.  The winner does not need a majority to claim power, just a plurality.  Those who disagreed with his policies are now out of luck and are at the mercy of this new overlord.  But even then, this is a federal official so if you're lucky to get a liberty fighting congressman you're now doing battle with the other 434 congressmen representing the other 299.5 million other citizens (but mostly the representatives).

Making matters worse in this lonely fight against the horde is that the congressman has no obligation to fulfill his campaign promise.  Sure impeachment is an option, but no congressman has ever been impeached ... ever, yet approval of congress is around 12%.  Additionally, each voter probably made his decision between two (very) imperfect candidates on a small handful of policy stances, or maybe just one.  Yet, the voter must suffer through all the policies he disagrees with because that's how our system "works".

This is "representation", an Orwellian term if I've ever heard one, and it sucks.  It's a tool of the state, and as with all means of the state it's an abomination of civilized man.

Oh, but we have very strong protections for the minority.  This is the second part of the argument as to why taxation is not theft.  The same people who say this also claim that the constitution is a living document and many call themselves "believers in mob rule" i.e. democrats.  (I realize that "believers in mob rule" is hyperbolic to most, but "rule of the people" does not capture the point that this "rule" includes legitimized theft and murder which is indicative of a mob, not of a civilized people)  These democrats have Nancy Pelosi as one of their representatives who openly mock questions of constitutional authority.  They also abuse the general welfare clause until it's ashamed and crying in a ditch.

But what minorities are they talking about?  The rich are a minority and every democrat I know is willing to get line with a Louisville slugger to make sure this minority pays "their fair share".  What about the minority (majority?) of drug users who get their civil liberties trampled?  Non-citizens foreign and domestic are a minority/majority that are routinely imprisoned, robbed, or killed by the state.

I've done an amateur job describing the absurdity of the state as a representation of the people's will, for a brilliant analysis please read "How to Win an Election" by Mark Brandly.

Ironically, this facebook argument concluded by acknowledging that my ideas will never be represented because I'm part of a minority.  I'm part of a minority that believes in liberty, that believes in unanimous representation as happens in the market.  I am against aggression of any form and would seek restitution in a free or in an un-free society.  It sucks to be in a powerless minority in the United States of Fascialist America.