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From: SAPPHO@SRI-NIC.ARPA
Newsgroups: mod.politics
Subject: welfare
Message-ID: <12230587655.47.MCGREW@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Wed, 13-Aug-86 19:44:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: RED.12230587655.47.MCGREW
Posted: Wed Aug 13 19:44:34 1986
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No, I don't know of any government that follows the five criteria I
listed.

Well, ideally I would not completely compel people to pay taxes for
social programs, even though I think that there is some level of
support for the needy which should be provided.  Rather, I would say
that the government should tax people, but allow people to
conscientiously object to paying the taxes.  I myself am compelled to
pay taxes to support a military establishment which I am
conscientiously opposed to, but which others consider to be a public
good.  I could refuse these taxes only by lying to prevent their being
withheld from my paycheck (which also goes against my conscience) as
well as risking being imprisoned.  I would like the opportunity to
object to paying these taxes on grounds of conscience, so I can take
the money and give it to groups which promote nonviolent resolution of
conflicts, or which help to build a juster world.  If the government
will grant me that right, I am happy to grant other people the right
to refuse other taxes on grounds of conscience (with no restriction on
what beliefs they have to hold to qualify to refuse).  People would be
required to pay the tax or explicitly say that they objected to paying
them.  Having the government send statistics on where the money goes
with tax forms would also be good.  But as long as the government
takes large amounts of money from me against my will to spend on
things I don't believe in, I will be sure to argue for some of it to
be spent on things I do believe in.  And I don't object to being
called a liberal, since those places where I want my money which has
been taken from me spent are generally those which liberals support.

Which needy people should the government help?  Well, it should not
help where its help is not likely to do any good or where voluntary
organizations are already doing a better job than the government
would.  Since I have said that the government isn't to try to make us
more moral people, but to prevent the worse kinds of harm, then I
guess that would have to be the only reason for which it should take
money from us for any service, including welfare.  I am not sure how
far that would limit welfare. I don't think it is possible or
desirable for the government to compel everyone to live according to
my moral standards about giving to people who are needy, but I am not
willing to be libertarian because of a belief in an absolute right to
dispose of my property as I please, since I don't in fact hold that
belief.

Lynn Gazis
sappho@sri-nic
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