The treatment of taxpayers by governments around the world reminds me of the abuse of human rights that occurred in the 1800s. I am thinking back to the times of Charles Dickins, when London was rife with petty criminals. In 1834 there was an uprising by landless peasants, but this was quashed by 1858. It was not until 1919 that all men were granted the right to vote, and it was 10 years later that women were granted the right to vote.
Another analogous issue is the treatment of children. It was not long ago that it was considered natural that children were just serfs to their parents. Things improved through the 1960s such that children were no longer expected or required to take over the family business, and still later that it was considered good parentage to foster the child's development beyond the needs of their material keep. We now recognise that parents have a role in fostering the child's intellectual development through the provision of more than material keep, but by also considering their opinions and by taking an interest in these kids, so they do feel of value. Some of us grew up in households where we were mere appendages to the lives of parents.
But spare a thought for taxpayers. Is it any wonder that taxpayers are serial evaders, and will take the opportunity to dob in a 'tax cheat'. We have become a clutch of perpetrators and victims, wanting to evade taxes in the once instance, yet exposing cheats who are not entitled to the material rewards of their labour. Who is to say that the expenses are worth it? Who is to say that any man's labour should be the sacrificial fodder of another man. Many a modest man has saved his toil whilst a careless spendthrift retains nothing. I saw plenty of this in the Philippines, and no where is this culture so rife. Who are the greatest opportunists - those in government who force people to sacrifice their labour for their comfort. And comfort it is. I know just how padded the life of the public servant is. We all know the scammers:
1. The military personnel who does 10 years of service, then retires with a lifetime, tax-free pension. I met one in the Philippines with his GF, set to retire in Guam. Never saw a day of military service.
2. The civil servants who work 9-4 jobs, with a flexi-friday, 25% superannuation loading. The culture of course is the problem. How can any healthy person work in such an environment.
3. The university professor who resents the need to teach students, who publishes research on such meaningless and wasteful subjects such as the 'epistemology of the red spotted fruit bat'.
This is just part of the waste and inefficiency of government. There is no question that governments do some useful things, but to the extent that they are useful is the extent to which they will be funded in a real world scenario. At the moment these people are living in the clouds at the expense of taxpayers. A great many taxpayers repress the resentment for this type of behaviour. Others live in the illusion that there is some value in this mirth of material abuse. People are so compartmentalised. They don't grasp that welfare problems can actually be resolved, that education can easily be funded, if only there was a legitimate will, and a realistic standard by which to assess the value or cost of services rendered. Instead the value of human life is reduced that much lower.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
Another analogous issue is the treatment of children. It was not long ago that it was considered natural that children were just serfs to their parents. Things improved through the 1960s such that children were no longer expected or required to take over the family business, and still later that it was considered good parentage to foster the child's development beyond the needs of their material keep. We now recognise that parents have a role in fostering the child's intellectual development through the provision of more than material keep, but by also considering their opinions and by taking an interest in these kids, so they do feel of value. Some of us grew up in households where we were mere appendages to the lives of parents.
But spare a thought for taxpayers. Is it any wonder that taxpayers are serial evaders, and will take the opportunity to dob in a 'tax cheat'. We have become a clutch of perpetrators and victims, wanting to evade taxes in the once instance, yet exposing cheats who are not entitled to the material rewards of their labour. Who is to say that the expenses are worth it? Who is to say that any man's labour should be the sacrificial fodder of another man. Many a modest man has saved his toil whilst a careless spendthrift retains nothing. I saw plenty of this in the Philippines, and no where is this culture so rife. Who are the greatest opportunists - those in government who force people to sacrifice their labour for their comfort. And comfort it is. I know just how padded the life of the public servant is. We all know the scammers:
1. The military personnel who does 10 years of service, then retires with a lifetime, tax-free pension. I met one in the Philippines with his GF, set to retire in Guam. Never saw a day of military service.
2. The civil servants who work 9-4 jobs, with a flexi-friday, 25% superannuation loading. The culture of course is the problem. How can any healthy person work in such an environment.
3. The university professor who resents the need to teach students, who publishes research on such meaningless and wasteful subjects such as the 'epistemology of the red spotted fruit bat'.
This is just part of the waste and inefficiency of government. There is no question that governments do some useful things, but to the extent that they are useful is the extent to which they will be funded in a real world scenario. At the moment these people are living in the clouds at the expense of taxpayers. A great many taxpayers repress the resentment for this type of behaviour. Others live in the illusion that there is some value in this mirth of material abuse. People are so compartmentalised. They don't grasp that welfare problems can actually be resolved, that education can easily be funded, if only there was a legitimate will, and a realistic standard by which to assess the value or cost of services rendered. Instead the value of human life is reduced that much lower.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
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