Internet Tax Imminent? 505
jhigh writes "Proposals to tax the Internet are gaining steam as state legislators see a giant pot of money just waiting to be dipped into. "At the moment, states and municipalities are frequently barred by federal law from collecting both access and sales taxes. But they're hoping that their new lobbying effort, coordinated by groups including the National Governors Association, will pay off by permitting them to collect billions of dollars in new revenue by next year.""
Where have I seen this before? (Score:5, Informative)
No, you're wrong (Score:3, Informative)
That's more an issue of military waste, rather than military funding. We have the Pentagon wasting billions on obsolete, cold-war era equipment (F-22, B-2, Crusader, etc.) while not funding body armor and new mine-resistant vehicles. Its not that the military doesn't have enough money, its that they're not spending it in a productive fashion. Historically, the Army and Marines have always been screwed when it comes to funding whereas the the Navy and Air Force consistently get funding for new billion dollar toys. Throwing more money at the military is not going to fix this issue.
Re:Wrong. (Score:1, Informative)
What about in China? Estimates go over 40,000,000. Thats far more than the war in Iraq.
As far as corruption goes, at least you are allowed to talk about corruption in democratic governments, in communist governments your not allowed to talk about such things.
Re:Elections have consequences... (Score:3, Informative)
Mind you, I vote independent, and I'm sure there are plenty of Democrats for this measure, so I'm not trying to defend them. That said, what people tend to forget is that a large number of Congressional Republicans are no longer in favour of small government, and low taxes. Most people with that mentality went to the Libertarian party.
Re:Tax on e-mail is unenforceable (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Wrong. (Score:5, Informative)
No, it isn't. That would be Socialism. In theory, Socialism gives way to Communism; i.e., where the means of production are owned and controlled collectively. A government is supposed to be unnecessary.
All those Soviet, Chinese, Cuban, etc Communist parties you hear about aren't actually practicing Communism. Pretty much in the same way the US doesn't actually practice Laissez-Faire Capitalism.
Re:Wrong. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Wrong. (Score:2, Informative)
the definition of communism isn't always the same, Soviet communism, Chinese communism, Vietnamese communism, etc... Its all different and unique in its own way. (some are closer to socialism than communism but they still call themselves communist, and are still considered forms or communism.)
But i do know it has never worked, never will work, and is wrong.
Sure things may seem "free" in a communist society, but they're really not free.
Take housing, It is "free" because everyone pays for it. It's the whole "taxation without representation" thing.
Private property is much better than everything owned by the state (or community).
"therefore, capital is converted into common property, into the property of all members of society." - Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist Manifesto
"In this sense, the theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property." - Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist Manifesto
I work for what I have, and I work hard for it. I do not want to live in a society where I work hard, and everyone gets equal share.