Well, you're using a secular argument while I was dealing with what the Bible says about the issue. I'm OK with doing both but I just want to make a clear distinction here. THe point I was arguing before is that the Bible doesn't necessarily command that taxes should be paid. That's not the point I'm going to argue here (since you aren't a Christian by your own admission and thus it wouldn't matter to you.)
The world is a much different place now than when the bible was written. Culture isn't static and things advance, especially on a technological level. How do you know Jesus wouldn't want you to pay your taxes so that the bridge across the river, to the hospital, stays functional so the ambulance can get sick people to the hospital? How do you know he wouldn't want a defense system to keep murdering radicals from dropping planes out of the sky to take innocent lives? Would Jesus not want police and fire departments who have obligations to the entire public? You're arguing archaic views of government in a complex age like the 21st century.
I see a couple of problems with the "you should pay taxes because you use the services" logic. Three to be precise.
Alright.
First of all, as you say, not all of the money goes to infrastructure. People are also charged for SS that they won't get if they are young, wasteful military spending, and so forth. So, I'd say at least half of government spending, if not more, doesn't even actually benefit the payer. If (say) 10% taxation pays for all the things we actually use and the rest is just waste and useless programs, why is there a moral obligation to pay the whole thing? "Because its the law" isn't going to do it for me.
I've long thought an opt-in/out tax system would fix a lot of the issues driving the schism between the population and its elected officials.
More importantly, tax-provided services are paid for by theft and maintained by legally enforced monopolies. The government didn't actually pay for the roads with their hard earned money.
First of all, its not theft but rather obligation of citizenship. If you don't think its morally right for the government to take taxes
period, you can always go live off the grid. You won't have to pay a thing if you don't want. The government is not "them" . They are made of us, people like you and me who get elected by people like you and me. They pay their taxes as well. An opt in/out option for taxes might be good, to help people with minority views feel less oppressed but it should be set up so that people who don't pay taxes can't use things that they don't pay for.
Today we have objects like cars, planes, boats and rails that provide us transportation and faster than ever shipment of goods. Infrastructure is important when it comes to maintaining a healthy population and a vibrant economy, I know you know that. One of the roles of our elected representatives (what is supposed to be one) is that they keep all of it operating. However, they ignore it and slap patches to the budget for it and waste the money on other unnecessary ideas. The problem isn't with the system but rather with us, the people. We should hold these politicians accountable to do their job. They're only held accountable at election time and by committees of their own peers. That's like having mobsters evaluate mobsters. They work for us but instead we elect them, send them to the capital, treat them like rock stars and watch the drama unfold on C-SPAN. It's our fault.
So, I'm not morally obligated to pay for them the same way I am to pay for something at Wal-Mart. Since the government maintains all of those services by theft, I think its morally acceptable to take advantage of them without paying, until those properties are transferred to private companies that don't have a legally enforced monopoly (note that I'm just dealing with the logical aspects here. I'll deal with "render unto Caesar" later if needed.)
Again, the US isn't Rome and this isn't the age the bible was written in. It may be designed with some of the good ideas romans had for government, but there is no us and them. There's no Caesar here, they are us and we are them. We need to start taking accountability and trimming the insanity out of Washington. The system isn't bad, we're just too complacent. It's become a circus of entertainers instead of a group of public servants. That doesn't mean it has to stay that way.
And finally, even if we are morally obligated to pay taxes, that doesn't make taxes justified.
Our federal government is too bloated, too partisan and too idealistic. It does a lot of wrong things with the revenue it incurs but that doesn't mean the essence of the system is flawed, immoral or unjustified. If our federal tax money went to the things it is supposed to like building and maintaining infrastructure, protecting the borders and settling disputes between states, then I'd imagine not very many would have a problem finding taxation reasonable. Besides, how can moral obligation not be reasonable/justified?
, especially when they pretend to be small government conservatives.
