John Axtell (newlife@theofficenet.com)
Sun, 25 Mar 2001 09:26:21 -0800
Martin,
First and foremost in our country you do not have the right to vote until you are
18 and by the time you are 18, as you said, you have been paying a lot of taxes
without being able to vote. Also you usually have to be able to read to read the
ballot, but it seems, at least in Florida during our last Presidential election the
ability to read was not enough you actually had to be able to following directions
- something many of our fine citizens were unable to do. In our country, in most
states, you do not have the right to drive until you are 16 and have passed a test.
My point is that I am still troubled by the concept of letting individuals who have
little or no knowledge of the realities of life should somehow be part of the
decision making model. Certainly they may express their opinion but to allow them a
vote is a bit much for me.
As to people not owning property being allowed to vote. If they increase taxes that
landowners have to pay the landowner will probably pass on that tax, and more, to
the renters. I have a problem with renters not being allowed to take a deduction
for the rent they pay off of the federal income tax while home owners can. Taxes
are simply a way of social engineering created by those in power to take away money
from those not in power.
John
Martin Wilke wrote:
> John Axtell schrieb:
>
> > I am having a very hard time believing that children, who have done nothing to
> > provide financially for their own well-being, can not feed themselves, nor
> > clothe themselves and have done nothing to provide for the purchase of
> > buildings, facilities, et. have any reason to expect to, all of a sudden, have
> > an equal voice as others in decisions regarding these resources. Rather than
> > taxation without representation it seems this is representation without
> > taxation.
>
> Do you suggest that people with little or no property should be denied
> the right to vote like in the 19th century? Or that people should have
> different amounts of votes depending on how much taxes they pay?
>
> All people in a community (city, state, country) have to bear the
> consequences of the political decisions that are being made. (And not
> all of these decisions involve spending money.) Equality demands that
> all have an equal vote. One person - one vote.
>
> So when you have to pay taxes you can expect to have a vote.
> But even if you don't pay taxes (but you always do, at least VAT) you
> can expect to have a vote, because political decision-making is also
> about other things: rules.
>
> Martin Wilke
> --
> http://www.kraetzae.de
> http://www.demokratische-schule.de
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