I don’t know how I slept on this one, but my tardiness to this party is no excuse for silence.
What am I talking about?
I’m talking about the Robin Hood Tax, which on the twitter page that bears its name, describes the tax as follows …
The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax of 0.5% on Wall Street financial transactions that would generate $300 Billion annually to fund human needs.
My initial reaction …
First of all, saying something is a tiny tax is like saying that someone who steals a dollar from your wallet only “stole a little.”
Yes, there are definitely varying degrees of theft.
A kid stealing a pack of gum is far different than a guy stealing a car. And a guy stealing a car is far different than some asshole fund manger stealing millions of dollars from his clients. But there’s one thing all of these situations have in common: They all involve someone taking something from someone else without permission. It’s called stealing, and no matter how big or how small the booty, it’s still unethical, and of course, illegal.
Whether or not the Robin Hood tax is a tiny tax or a massive tax, such a thing would still be taking money from other people without their consent, and done so under the threat of violence.
Of course, by saying that it’s a tiny tax on Wall Street financial transactions makes it acceptable for an awful lot of people. But can you imagine if this “tiny tax” was imposed on local barbershops, food co-ops, or book stores? People would be losing their shit. But because this tax is suggested to only affect rich people working on Wall Street – quite a few of whom are despicable human beings – it’s OK.
Look, I hate the fast-talking Wall Street hustler as much as the next guy, but folks who believe stealing from them is acceptable makes them no different than the fork-tongued whores that they seem to loathe with such vigor.
But nothing about all of this is more absurd than the claim that the funds raised from this “tiny tax” would be used to fund human needs.
What the fuck are human needs?
I have a need for quality cannabis, crossfit, and access to the Donald Trump pee-pee tape. So do I get some of that action?
Sarcasm aside, taxing rich people to fund “human needs,” sounds like the kind of thing that guys like Che Guevara and Vladimir Lenin would’ve pitched to “the people.”
Eat the rich, right?
And when you’re done eating them, who’s next?
Because someone’s always going to have more money than you. And someone’s always going to do things with that money that you may not approve of. Moreover, you may not even approve of how that person makes money.
But what starts out as little more than a “tiny tax on Wall Street transactions” can quickly balloon into major tyranny against anyone – including folks who are just making ends meet.
While I certainly stand with those who seek social justice – which advocates of the Robin Hood Tax say is its purpose – we must not lose sight of the fact there is no social justice when thievery is considered tolerable, and legal.
Social justice is not something that can be brought about my force and violence. Instead, it must be brought about through free and open markets, where politicians don’t dictate who gets special treatment and who doesn’t.
It must be brought about through open and honest dialogue, without the threat of censorship by moral do-gooders and thought police.
And it must be brought about in a way where personal sovereignty is honored for everyone – not just rich white people.
There are a lot of problems in the world that we must face every single day. But allowing the government to steal more money in an effort to bring about social justice – a concept that is denied every single day by the government – will only benefit the same people that continue to get rich off the backs of taxpayers.
No matter how you slice it, taxation is theft. And theft unchecked begets more theft.
