Thursday, September 30, 2010

"Thin Strips of Objectivist Jerky"

John Scalzi absolutely knocks it out of the park on the whinging by the wealthy about their supposedly (read: not at all) high taxes. He notes that many don't even seem to understand how marginal taxation works, but then goes on to talk about another group...

There is another answer as well, which can be paired with the above or stand on its own, and it’s that there’s a certain sort of person who believes that all taxation (or all taxation outside of one or two very specific things of which they approve) is theft. Naturally that sort of person will fly to the defense of any who bleat about their taxes being too high, even if in point of fact, the wealthy in the US are currently being taxed at historically low rates (“but they’re still too high!”).

I really don’t know what you do about the “taxes are theft” crowd, except possibly enter a gambling pool regarding just how long after their no-tax utopia comes true that their generally white, generally entitled, generally soft and pudgy asses are turned into thin strips of Objectivist Jerky by the sort of pitiless sociopath who is actually prepped and ready to live in the world that logically follows these people’s fondest desires. Sorry, guys. I know you all thought you were going to be one of those paying a nickel for your cigarettes in Galt Gulch. That’ll be a fine last thought for you as the starving remnants of the society of takers closes in with their flensing tools.
Sure, we've all heard it before. "If you want to live in Libertopia, move to Somalia" and suchlike. Damned if Scalzi doesn't make it vivid, though.

I don't want to live in libertopia—and rest assured, neither do you.

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