Is tax theft?-
If 'yes', cool - we can all agree that every single structure of socialism and communism falls.
If 'no', then I would like to hear your logic...
Socialism CAN and does, work. When the ecosystem is very small, and everybody is known to each other, and personally accountable.
It doesn't scale up.
cheers
I won't pretend to be an expert by any means -- economics isn't my field of study and neither is social economics or politics. But I think there are plenty of examples of countries with wide social services that help a great many number of people. Canada, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, and more, are strong examples of countries with vast welfare programs that keep their people healthy, happy, and productive.
Poorly envisioned and nefariously executed versions of communism and socialism from the early 1900's aside, I think there are plenty of great examples to draw on, and I fail to understand why so many people say it doesn't scale up. Why is it so hard to imagine a system where some people actively give more than they take in some sectors (imagine a strong healthy young man like myself paying into medicare that I don't really use, while my or a friends grandparents benefit -- or property taxes paying for the roads that bring goods and services to your house). If anything, a system like this is the only kind that has any real chance to scale up, rather than a system based on everyone extracting as much as possible, no?
I would argue that tax is theft if you strongly disagree with where the money is going (for example -- endless wars, churches, corporate bailouts, etc..), but if you're contributing to systems that you believe are important, I would disagree (I won't pretend that I agree strongly with how every dollar of my taxes are spent). I would argue though, that being forced to sell your labour on the "free market" or starve is not a far cry from a new form of slavery though. People, from the day they're born, should be taken care of to a degree where they can contribute effectively.
I think the world would be a better place if a single mother had the opportunity to stay at home, maybe do some art, write a book, make ends meet via social services, supplement the childs education, and teach them about how to be a responsible member of society -- rather than mindlessly flip burgers at one or two different minimum wage paying jobs and funnel the money directly into daycare while some other underpaid employee doesn't do anything much for the child other than make sure they're fed.
Ended up writing a bit more than I had planned while I sip my morning coffee... I'm interested to hear why you think that all taxes are theft. I'm sure there's something I'm not understanding.
Taking of one persons labor (or assets produced by that labor) - by force or coercion - is theft (with menaces).
It is not a voluntary exchange, it is one of force.