This is just something I wrote a few weeks ago, on the powers of State. Let me know what you think of it, please. ----On the Powers of the State.---- Table of Contents I. What is the State? II. What are Laws? III. What Should the State Be, in Relation to Laws? IV. What are the Powers of the State? V. What is the Power of the Tax? VI. What Should the State NOT Use Taxes for? VII. What SHOULD the State Use Taxes for? VIII. Should the State Create Laws? IX. In Conclusion. I. What is the State? The State can be many things. The way the mind works, the way the body is, and the way a community or society is shaped. Today, we will examine the third definition, that is, the State is the way a community or society is shaped. The State is you, your neighbor, and your city. the State is also the Government. For the sake of ease, we will call the Government the State, though this is a somewhat archaic definition, stretching way back into Plato's "Republic". However, it will work for our own argument today. II. What are Laws? Crucial to the powers of the State are Laws. We must first define what a law is, before we decide the State's place in it. Laws are, in essence, a contract between all citizens living within the State. They have agreed to, by living there, to follow these laws. Let it be known that in most contemporary societies today, no man is held above the law, as it should be. In an ideal State, that is also how it is. III. What Should be the Relation Between the State and Laws? The State, has we have mentioned in our first section, are people, and the State is made up of not angels, but of men. And are these men not members of the State themselves, and as such they are subject to its laws, and so as such, should it not follow then that the State should abide by these laws too? If an individual cannot take something, then should an agent of the State be allowed to do the same? No. However, it will be pointed out that I support the death penalty, and as such, I contradict myself. I will further clarify this topic, the Death Penalty and similar cases are the repayment for the theft of a property. Do you not pay for your bread? If a man steals a loaf does he not repay the damage he has caused when he is caught by the State? The same is said of the death penalty. A man who takes another's life is a thief in this sense, and when he takes the life, the only repayment he has in return is that of his own life, and even then, that is not always repaying the debt in full, however, it is the closest we can do at this time. IV. What are the Powers of the State? Now that we have defined the relationship between the State and its Laws, we now come to the powers of the State. The State has only three powers, and two of which are depended upon how well the first is projected. The first power is the power to project an illusion of Authority. Through this illusion, they have the power to enforce Laws. As a wise President named Abe Lincoln once said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." This is true, for if the citizens of a State refuse to follow the contracts either forced upon them by the State without their consent, or they refuse to follow contracts which they deem unjust, the State must either correct the contract, or let the Nation destroy itself, and then when the new one is born, it will throw them out. It is also through this illusion of Authority that they have the power to Tax their citizens. V. What is the Power to Tax? Now that I have stated the State may Tax its citizens, I shall define what this power is. The power of Taxation is a social contract between, once again, the citizens of the State to pay x-amount of money to a third party (in this case, the State) for the benefit of the whole State. Taxes however, can be just has bad has they can be good. We shall now examine the abuses before we examine the good, in hopes that you will understand the differences between the two better. VI. What Should Taxes NOT be Used for? Has stated previously, taxes can be harmful to a State. The very first, and most obvious, is the taxes must NOT be used for is the enrichment of the singular. The reasons should be obvious, and I will not go into depth with it. The second is just has obvious, and that is, taxes should not be used for the betterment of the few, and like the first, I will not go into depth about it. The third and final way that taxes are harmful is in the benefit of the many. This is the most dangerous, because the reasons are not always clear and obvious. I shall attempt to explain it thusly: We shall have three citizens, the first shall be a citizen who is poor in money and cannot obtain something he wishes, a "good". The second citizen shall be a citizen who has obtained this "good". The third shall be an agent of the State, such as the police force. Now let us say that the first takes, by force, the second's "good". The third, in doing his duty will arrest the first for the crime of theft. Next, I want you to allow me to put forth the following scenario. Let us say the first is more wily than that, and says to the third, "Sir, it's unfair that he has this, and I have nothing, can we put a vote forth to create a tax which takes his good and gives it to me?" The citizens hold a vote, and the first playing on the third's compassion, manages to get this tax passed. The third now takes from the second and hands it off to the first. The second now has nothing, but the first now has it all. Is this still not theft? Does the changing of the direction of the thief still change the outcome of the crime? No, it does not! It is still theft, even if the thief doing it has a badge to back himself up. Now, allow me to say this. Let's say the scenarios didn't happen, and the second still has his "good". The first asks the second to share, and the second, seeing the first's situation, agrees to help him out. This is CHARITY and should not be mistaken with the scenario presented above, which is still THEFT! And now, allow us to examine the best usage of taxes. VII. What SHOULD Taxes be Used for? Now we have arrived at the question of what Taxes should be used for. If not for the benefit of the many, then what? We should use it to the benefit of the Whole. What does this mean?? Let us say there is a farmer who is struggling to carry his goods because the road to town is bad from his farm. Because the man is a farmer, and the good he produces are food, the Whole will lose out. The State SHOULD use the taxes to improve the road. This will not only benefit the farmer, but it will benefit the whole of society, because he will be able to feed his family, and lower the prices of food elsewhere, thus putting more food into the mouths of the State. Allow us now, to part from the subject of Taxes and return back to the subject of the State and Laws. VIII. Should the State Create Laws? Now that we have returned our attention to the State and the Laws, we must address a new question. This question is, "Should the State have the sole power to Create Laws?" The answer is obviously no, the State should NOT be able to create laws themselves, rather, an agent of the State should propose a Law. The State should then send the Law's meaning and interpretations to the all citizens of the State and explain how it would affect them. This law should also be explained by a third party with no interest in either the passage of the Law or the non-passage of the Law. Then each citizen should have the choice to let his or her mind be known to their representative in the State. Taxes should be the same. IX. In Conclusion. Examining this document may lead one to a logical, but incorrect belief that I support anarchy. I do not, what I DO support is a small State that watches its people like its people watch it. I want a State that is governed by the same laws that it enforces on its people. I want a State that is has transparent has glass, and most of all, I want a State which will not have has many powers has most current States do, and that is all I have to say on State's Powers.
