Recent content by Liberty Ghost

If you don't protect offensive speech, you aren't protecting any speech. Any speech that someone wants to suppress is "offensive" to that person, that is why they want to suppress it.

The whole point of a Constitution is to forge the chains that will serve to bind government most effectively. Part of that is to remind the people what the limits of government are. Ultimately, it is the ideas which live within each individual that defines both the individual and society...

You misunderstand me. I don't disagree with respect to what you are saying. What I mean by a direct tax on government services is that if the government provides a service it can directly tax those who use it, in other words a user fee, but I'm trying to draw the distinction that it is not...

In connection with taxation, the question arises; Can the state force an individual to accept services which he is not interested in. If so, can the state tax him to pay for that service? The Collectivist would say that the state operates in the interest of the "greater good" and that the state...

To the extent that having a gun to your head makes it "voluntary", I agree. I just don't think that is what the Founders intended. But it begs the larger question, what is it about my "activity" that makes it worthy of taxation? If I use your property, I should expect to pay you for that...

I think that a provision that limits the threshold of a user fee to some arbitrary percentage is unworkable and probably unnecessary. If 11% of cases in a period are decided for the defendant, does this nullify the tax? What is the period - in the first year after passage, over a 5 year...

I also think that there is a place for a direct tax on services delivered by the government. I'm not sure if that's included in the idea of public property user fees as you have it stated now. I think there are some legitimate services that government can provide, although I don't think I'm too...

I'm concerned that voluntary contributions will be abused over time. According to the IRS and testimony before Congress, our current tax system is a voluntary one. We "voluntarily" choose to sign our tax returns, which is a voluntary suspension of our 5th amendment rights. Of course, failure...

I think that your ideas about taxation are right on target! Coupled with the repeal of the amendment allowing direct taxation, of course. People cry and moan about the fact that with only these kinds of taxes, we won't be able to afford the vast bureaucracies that we support today, but that is...

This is an excellent approach to cleaning up the ambiguity that exists regarding Constitutional money. I applaud your effort! There are a couple of points that I think may be worth discussing in the context of your proposed amendment: Free seigniorage, or the free coining of metal, as a...