Legislation by Taxation

This topic isn't so much a political rant as a discussion of a specific political technique.  This technique is used in several of the other pages in this group so this particular page might be viewed as a footnote of a sort.

As a people dedicated to freedom, we want to restrict the amount of legislation we create to the minimum required to achieve our desired goals.  Taxation provides a way to direct behavior without requiring it.

Legislation by taxation is voluntary in the sense that there is always a choice between following the government's direction and paying more in taxes.  Granted, most citizens and corporations will follow the tax law in order to reduce taxes, but there is still a choice and the penalty for not following the lead of the government in such matters is not prison.

During the 2008 campaign there was a lot of noise about raising taxes.  The Republican candidates were particularly vocal about removing the incentive to work harder, due to the additional tax burden that would apply at higher income levels.  The best response to this argument came in a quote (sadly the reference has been lost at this point) from a small business owner:

It's OK to have a little more tax on a lot more income.