Thank your lucky stars for taxes!
Stephen Rees, when I asked him to explain why Peter is entitled to Paul’s tax dollars, pointed me to his friend, Arzeena Hamir. I read the article Arzeena wrote, and (surprise, surprise) I’m unconvinced. Arzeena points out many services that she’s happy to pay taxes for, and compares that to societies that don’t have those services and don’t have taxes. She makes a fair point, and one that should be recognized. It doesn’t however, address the question of entitlement to tax.
Put another way:
In other words, we get taxed. Those taxes get used for everything the government wants to do. Transit. Clean water. Motherhood. Apple pie. F-35 Stealth bombers. Undeclared wars against Libya. Lawyers filing briefs against radical environmentalists trying to kill jobs and block pipelines and pesky foreign lesbians seeking divorces.
Shouldn’t this be questioned? Doesn’t it seem like a divide and rule approach to democracy?
Wait…
My name is Rob Chipman and I’m a realtor, pilot and all around Curious George. I really enjoy flying, playing guitar and hockey, real estate and the Chilcotin. I think the internet and Web 2.0 offers all of us a great opportunity to communicate more, and improve the world by calling bullshit on bullshit whenever we are able. Do not hesitate to contact me by email if you have something to tell me, especially if its likely to be interesting.
Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
His name is Edward R. Murrow. He broadcast the words below during the Red Scare in the 1950s.
He was a man with pretty clear sight. When people lived in fear of communist subversion, when the government ruined people’s lives because of their thoughts and when citizen informed on citizen, he called bullshit on it. He’s worth knowing about.
“No one familiar with the history of his country, can deny that congressional committees are useful. It is necessary to investigate before legislating. But the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one, and the Junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly. His primary achievement has been confusing the public mind as between the internal and the external threats of communism. We must not confuse dissent from disloyalty. We must remember always, that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another, we will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason. If we dig deep into our history and our doctrine, we will remember we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular. This is no time for men who oppose Sen. McCarthy’s methods to keep silent or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of the republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom where ever it still exists in the world. But we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The actions of the Junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And who’s fault is that? Not really his; he didn’t create this situation of fear, he merely exploited it, and rather successfully. Cassius was right: the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. Good night, and good luck.”
Fear of communism was a big deal back then. Things haven’t really changed. As Michael Moore pointed out in Bowling For Columbine, fear plays a huge role in modern life. But as Murrow said above, we are not descended from fearful men. He was talking about Americans, perhaps, but the statement is applicable to all Western secular humanists. And yet we fall prey to fear time and time again.
You have to wonder why. And while you’re wondering, think about two other great statements- one by Benjamin Franklin, and one by Bruce Cockburn:
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Don’t let the system fool you All it wants to do is rule you
My name is Rob Chipman and I’m a realtor, pilot and all around Curious George. I really enjoy flying, playing guitar and hockey, real estate and the Chilcotin. I think the internet and Web 2.0 offers all of us a great opportunity to communicate more, and improve the world by calling bullshit on bullshit whenever we are able. Do not hesitate to contact me by email if you have something to tell me, especially if its likely to be interesting.
Taxes as an Educational Tool
Taxes are a reality of modern life. Here’s what I know about them:
- Some of us pay them.
- Some of us do not.
- Of those that do pay taxes, some pay more and some pay less.
Clearly, taxes are not the price of admission to modern society. Anyone is allowed to participate in modern society and enjoy it’s benefits. Only some people have to pay the cost of delivering those benefits.
I don’t think we’re clear on what the benefits are, who’s enjoying them and who’s providing them.
And I think that’s a problem.
The story goes that taxpayers pay taxes voluntarily as part of a social contract. There are a couple problems with that idea. First, I’m not sure what the details of the social contract are, so I’m not sure I agree to them. Second, my payments under that contract aren’t voluntary. Refusal to pay taxes brings government coercion ranging from fines through seizure of property to imprisonment.
To the extent that taxes are coerced they are stolen. The government acts as perpetrator and agent to commit this theft. It’s the perpetrator because it steals to keep itself going. It’s an agent because it steals from some citizens to reward others. This latter activity is extremely complex because of all the ways all of us steal from each other every day.
Justification of the theft may have merit. However, justification of anything is also an admission of it’s existence, even if only an admission of it’s theoretical existence. Whether you argue that coercive taxes are needed to pave roads, buy new fighter jets or feed the poor, arguing for coercive taxes can’t be anything other than an argument for theft.
In this sense taxes serve as a basic litmus test for your politics.
If you believe that:
- All people are created equal, and
- have certain rights, and
- that those rights exist independently and are not dependent on the flavour of the day,
- and that those rights include the rights to
- life,
- personal freedom,
- own property
- create things
- then you can’t believe in coercive taxes without having an irreconcilable conflict between your ears.
If you believe people have a right to create things and own property then you can’t believe that it’s alright to take those creations or property unless you have a very important reason.
If you think that all people are created equal then you can’t simply declare your ideas, beliefs and morals to be superior, and if you can’t make that declaration then you can’t use your self-declared superiority as the very important reason that justifies taking other peoples’ creations or property.
If you think people have a right to personal freedom then you can’t restrict that right unless it is in conflict with another equal person’s right to something. In the case of conflicting rights (which history shows to be unavoidable), you have to (if you’re going to maintain some intellectual consistency) have a mechanism to decide which rights trump which.
That mechanism is very straightforward, but it’s a classic case of simple, not easy. It’s summed up in the phrase “your right to throw a punch ends where my nose begins”. It sounds trite and simplistic, but its really not. If you apply it honestly it almost always provides a satisfactory answer.
Does your right to property trump my right to freedom? In other words, is it acceptable for you to keep me in slavery? To judge that question honestly you’d have to ask if the roles could be reversed with an equally satisfactory outcome. If you believe that the right to property trumps the right to freedom, do you consent to be my slave? Examine slavery throughout history. Supporters of slavery either don’t believe people are created equal, don’t believe people possess a right to freedom, don’t believe slaves are human, or are hypocrites.
We don’t apply that test very often.
I think that’s because we covet our neighbours’ possessions and want them for our own. We don’t want to ask for them, so we consent to them being stolen. We “have to” feed the hungry, and subsidize the shipbuilding, and fund the arts, even if the people paying for those things don’t want to pay for them.
Or do we?
Think about who pays taxes.
Think about what those taxes pay for.
Are taxes theft when they’re subsidizing a corporation? Are they only theft when they’re feeding the poor?
You tell me.
And while you’re at it, tell me why.
My name is Rob Chipman and I’m a realtor, pilot and all around Curious George. I really enjoy flying, playing guitar and hockey, real estate and the Chilcotin. I think the internet and Web 2.0 offers all of us a great opportunity to communicate more, and improve the world by calling bullshit on bullshit whenever we are able. Do not hesitate to contact me by email if you have something to tell me, especially if its likely to be interesting.
Tax Increases
ICBC is asking for a rate increase. Apparently the global financial markets haven’t treated the Corp. well.
As I understand it ICBC collects premiums before it pays out settlements and claims. While it’s waiting it invests the money and makes some profit. That profit get’s used to subsidize premiums paid by drivers.
Except I also understand that when ICBC makes a profit that money can find it’s way into the general revenue account of the provincial government.
That’s a great idea on the surface. We pay ourselves (we own ICBC, right?) and then invest the money in global markets and take the discount and help fund the government with the profits. While we’re investing we have other people working for us and generating wealth that we then get to spend (at least collectively we get to spend it).
What’s not to like? A few things.
First, when the provincial government takes our money it’s taxing us. In this case we are forced, by law, to buy insurance from ICBC. The rate is set high enough to make a profit, which then goes to the provincial government. The profit doesn’t stay with ICBC, it seems, for the proverbial rainy day when claims exceed premiums. When that happens ICBC asks to raise rates to cover the shortfall. So, we get taxed when we buy insurance because we pay more than it costs ICBC to provide it (because the government wants the profit to fund it’s operations) and then we get taxed again when ICBC needs more money because it’s investments didn’t pan out. What’s worse is that it’s hidden taxation. We don’t see it on our tax returns, but it’s money the government is forcing us to pay them.
Second, what happens when the global markets implode? Not that we’ll ever see that happen, right? (Remind anyone of utilities trading power in order to make some profit?)
Third, it just confuses what is already a confusing problem. Every single day we hear someone, somewhere, complaining that they don’t get enough money from the government. Whether it’s teachers, nurses, people in social housing, sick people, whatever, someone always wants more dough. That’s understandable – money is in short supply and we seem to want services from the government while also helping people who need help. The numbers dictate that when lots of people want money and money is in short supply we’ll hear lots of calls for money. That part makes sense.
Where it gets tough is deciding what we want to pay for and how we’ll do it. Numbers don’t lie. Whether you call it bridging a critical funding shortfall or an investment in our future the fact is that we have to pay for what we spend. The more we muddy that picture up the harder it is to make a smart decision. I think most people would agree we have to spend the public’s money wisely, because there’s only one taxpayer, and he’s stretched pretty thin these days. By hiding taxes and chasing returns in order to fund government operations we lose sight of the real goal that we have as a community: deciding how many dogcatchers we need and how much we want to pay them.
So, I’m unhappy with the ICBC rate increase because ICBC should be a standalone enterprise ensuring that everyone on BC highways and byways have enough coverage to keep everyone safe, and that’s all it should be doing. It has a government monopoly on insurance and should not be tasked with bleeding the taxpayer beast.
My name is Rob Chipman and I’m a realtor, pilot and all around Curious George. I really enjoy flying, playing guitar and hockey, real estate and the Chilcotin. I think the internet and Web 2.0 offers all of us a great opportunity to communicate more, and improve the world by calling bullshit on bullshit whenever we are able. Do not hesitate to contact me by email if you have something to tell me, especially if its likely to be interesting.
All Beauty Turns To Dust
I saw this driving along Marine Way….
I love trucks and don’t like driving cars. The one in the middle is a crushed beauty.
Here’s the cherry version:
…and here’s one that’s more my speed:
My name is Rob Chipman and I’m a realtor, pilot and all around Curious George. I really enjoy flying, playing guitar and hockey, real estate and the Chilcotin. I think the internet and Web 2.0 offers all of us a great opportunity to communicate more, and improve the world by calling bullshit on bullshit whenever we are able. Do not hesitate to contact me by email if you have something to tell me, especially if its likely to be interesting.
Occupy Grandview Park
I drove by Grandview Park this morning around 9:30 to see what was happening. There was a first aid flag and three tents being dismantled by city staff. Although I saw some people walking toward the park dragging some possessions in a blue tarp it looked like the protest had run out of steam.
I don’t know if they’re going to settle somewhere, but the challenge is starting to get the better of them.
With no leaders, no structure and no hierarchy it’s tough to run a group. It can be done, but it requires a lot of honesty and selflessness (see 12 Step). The problem is, as I see it, a lot of these people are still very unaware in a lot of ways.
Not all, but a lot, and I’m not being critical. They just need to season. However, if the point is to flex their muscles and prove they can squat somewhere, who cares?
And, if the problems are big, how do they expect a city to fix them, or a province?
In short, how likely is success when the tactic is to turn hold your breathe and turn blue in front of someone who can’t deliver on your demands?
Semi-Sonic words of wisdom…
…every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end…”
My name is Rob Chipman and I’m a realtor, pilot and all around Curious George. I really enjoy flying, playing guitar and hockey, real estate and the Chilcotin. I think the internet and Web 2.0 offers all of us a great opportunity to communicate more, and improve the world by calling bullshit on bullshit whenever we are able. Do not hesitate to contact me by email if you have something to tell me, especially if its likely to be interesting.
Meet The New Boss
Abdel Hakim Belhadj
Belhadj fought with the Taliban until he was captured in 2004, when he was returned to Libya and tortured. Despite denying allegations that he is not an Islamist it’s clear from his past that Belhadj supports violent politics at home and abroad, embraces a pan-Islamic view and rejects Western humanism.
Let this be another lesson to the West – the enemy of my enemy is not always my friend.
My name is Rob Chipman and I’m a realtor, pilot and all around Curious George. I really enjoy flying, playing guitar and hockey, real estate and the Chilcotin. I think the internet and Web 2.0 offers all of us a great opportunity to communicate more, and improve the world by calling bullshit on bullshit whenever we are able. Do not hesitate to contact me by email if you have something to tell me, especially if its likely to be interesting.
REBGV Newsflash
Greater Vancouver at lower end of balanced housing market
With a sales-to-active property listings ratio of 15 per cent, the Greater Vancouver housing market continues to hover at the lower end of a balanced market and has been trending in that direction over the past five months.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties on the region’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) system reached 2,317 in October, a 1 per cent decrease compared to the 2,337 sales in October 2010 and a 3.2 per cent increase compared to the previous month. Those sales rank as the second lowest total for October over the last 10 years.
“Right now, prospective home buyers have a good selection of properties to choose from and more time to make decisions,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “Home sellers should be mindful of local market conditions to ensure they are pricing their properties competitively.”
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 4,374 in October, which is on par with the 10-year average. This represents an 18.3 per cent increase compared to October 2010, when 3,698 properties were listed for sale on the MLS®, and a 23 per cent decrease compared to the 5,680 new listings reported in September 2011.
The total number of properties listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS® system currently sits at 15,377, which is 9.3 per cent higher than the 14,075 properties listed for sale during the same period last year. October was the first month that the total number of property listings showed a decrease this year.
The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 7.5 per cent to $622,955 in October 2011 from $579,349 in October 2010. However, since reaching a peak in June of $630,921, the benchmark price for all residential properties in the region has declined 1.3 per cent.
Sales of detached properties in October reached 974, which represents virtually no change from the 976 detached sales recorded in October 2010, and a 34.5 per cent decrease from the 1,487 units sold in October 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 11 per cent from October 2010 to $884,778, but decreased 1.3 per cent compared to the previous month.
Sales of apartment properties reached 958 in October, a 2.6 per cent decrease compared to the 984 sales in October 2010, and a decrease of 40.4 per cent compared to the 1,607 sales in October 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.2 per cent from October 2010 to $402,702, but decreased 0.7 per cent compared to the previous month.
Attached property sales in October totalled 382, a 1.3 per cent increase compared to the 377 sales in October 2010, and a 37.4 per cent decrease from the 610 attached properties sold in October 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 6.5 per cent between October 2010 and 2011 to $519,455, and increased half a per cent compared to the previous month.
*Download the complete stats package by clicking here.*
Fragmentation Revolution
When he talks about marketing Seth Godin says we are going through the Industrial Revolution of our time. He’s talking about a fragmentation of power, access and control in the marketplace. Specifically he’s talking about the death of that concentration and it’s replacement. So far Godin has been right about a lot of the big picture. He’s also been right about some specific small parts of the picture. He has a proven track record of being a successful early adopter.
But not even Seth Godin knows exactly where we’re going. He doesn’t know what it will look like when we get there. How could he? The future hasn’t been invented yet, and the past hasn’t yet been killed. And out recent history demonstrates conclusively that we can expect surprises every day. Still, Godin detects the pattern in the fabric, and that’s more than most people, even intelligent one, do.
Few people rail against the fragmentation of the market. Instead, we adapt to online purchasing and niche businesses. We don’t mourn the passing of old fashioned businesses for long. We certainly don’t state that the innovators have to stop and get back into the old line. Even if a small minority sheds a tear for the neighbourhood bookstore, nobody sympathizes with the record industry being gutted my online music.
This “fragmentation revolution” is not restricted to business. We see evidence of it in politics as well, but so far it hasn’t been recognized. Occupy Wall Street is the political example. OWS is mostly white, mostly educated and mostly under-employed. They are not radical anti-globalism anarchists. They are not anti-capitalist. They are not radical leftists. They are labelled as all these things, but I think it’s self-evident that if they were able to have a bigger slice of the pie they’d all go home, even if they were not completely satisfied in their fragmented, individual demands.
Much of the criticism of the OWS movement misses this. It also fails to detect the pattern in the fabric, and the fact that it’s identical to what is happening in the marketplace. Anne Applebaum of Slate.com wrote today about the OWS gathering in London, called Occupy the London Stock Exchange. She took issue with the claim made by OWS that “this is what democracy looks like”. Her feeling is that democracy looks like what we’ve had in the past.
She’s wrong. OWS is breaking out of the paradigm, just as online business has broken out of the old mass market paradigm. OWS isn’t radical. It isn’t even completely new. But it is revolutionary in that it’s part of the larger fragmentation revolution. Like the online instances of the revolution, it will change and morph, but it will not go away. Once we recognize that, though, the criticisms that OWS doesn’t have coherent or realistic demands melts away. It doesn’t matter that the protesters don’t have realistic solutions. What matters is that they are playing off the board, and will continue to do so. The activity is the message.
My name is Rob Chipman and I’m a realtor, pilot and all around Curious George. I really enjoy flying, playing guitar and hockey, real estate and the Chilcotin. I think the internet and Web 2.0 offers all of us a great opportunity to communicate more, and improve the world by calling bullshit on bullshit whenever we are able. Do not hesitate to contact me by email if you have something to tell me, especially if its likely to be interesting.
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