Nothing that the government provides is actually 'free'.
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Replying to @primalpoly
Voted "true" — but my steelman argument for "false" would be that some services could reasonably be expected to reduce the government's fiscal obligations elsewhere well beyond their upfront cost, and I do find that fairly convincing
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Replying to @webdevMason
So... some taxes are OK as forced investments to avoid paying higher taxes in the future?
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Replying to @primalpoly
I mean, I'm not against taxation in principle even when there's not a clear calculable **financial** return on investment — gov can reduce its obligations by reducing the scope of its responsibilities to its citizenry, but I like having at least *some* social welfare
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Replying to @webdevMason @primalpoly
Why does it increase the likelihood that the funds are efficiently allocated for social welfare if the money is first forcefully expropriated from private earners, and then allocated by unelected bureaucrats with no skin in the game and strong principal-agent problems?
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Replying to @sovereignfamily @primalpoly
It doesn't. I'm not intending to make an argument for government competency
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I think if government was at least as or more efficient, the arguments for private property would be a lot weaker and hinge on abstract morality ("individual liberty is good"). In that hypothetical, would it be moral to sacrifice overall societal welfare for a little liberty?
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That is to say.. outside this hypothetical we're in the odd spot that government is both less efficient, and more infringing of individual rights. I'm having trouble steel manning that the government should be doing much of anything unless it does it better.
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At ground level, the claim might be "enforcing property rights is cheaper in terms of QOL than not enforcing property rights."
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