Stop Saying “Drug Violence”
Drug Policy, Police Statism, Political Correctness, Victimless CrimesStop Saying “Drug Violence” Read Post »
Should Marriage Licenses Be Restricted to Heterosexuals?
Corporatism, Libertarian Theory, Nanny Statism, Political CorrectnessOne of the hot button issues in recent years has been gay marriage. Socially conservative people may well object to calling a gay union “marriage. That is, of course, completely understandable. Marriage and religion have been closely intertwined, and the most popular religions in the world today do not generally regard a same sex union as a marriage. I was considering the various positions taken by libertarians on gay marriage. I have seen opinions from libertarians that marriage licenses should not be issued to gays because a state marriage license enables aggression against third parties. That is true. Also, some, such as Stephan Kinsella, argue that it is a good that gays get the legal protections which come with a marriage license.
Second bests are divisive issues for libertarians. We all wish for the state to leave people alone, but we are all too painfully aware that it frequently does not, and that there are political debates raging around us where policies are promoted which have real world consequences for us all. Many of us seek to minimize the harmful effects of these policies by stating a preference of one over the other. Such is the case with gay marriage. Libertarians of varying stripes, mutualists, paleolibertarians, anarcho-capitalists, all agree that the state should get out of the way and not interfere with free interactions among people. Yet different ideologies among libertarians often cause us to differ wildly on what state policy we would prefer, from the likely choices being supported by the public.
I have long been of the opinion that state licensing should be extended to the point that it is meaningless. However, a license which allows aggression against others should give any libertarian pause. In order to consider the problem more effectively, I did a thought experiment involving a much more severe form of aggression than those normally associated with a marriage license: murder.
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Should Marriage Licenses Be Restricted to Heterosexuals?Read More »
Should Marriage Licenses Be Restricted to Heterosexuals? Read Post »
Article: Is Inequality and Asymmetry Really Problematic?
Featured Articles, Legal System, Libertarian Theory, The Left
In “How Inequality Shapes Our Lives,” Roderick Long argues that asymmetric relationships between services providers and customers or employers and employees are problematic. Some examples he cites include creditor-debtor relationships (e.g., credit cards), service provider-customer relationships (e.g., your ISP), landlord-tenant relationships, and employer-employee relationships. Professor Long’s fundamental objection to these asymmetric relationships is the alleged asymmetry in consequences for failure to meet obligations.
Read the Full Article by David J. Heinrich
Afterwards, discuss the article below.
Article: Is Inequality and Asymmetry Really Problematic? Read Post »
The IRS Continues To Destroy The Internet
Business, TaxationJust when we thought that the “1099 nightmare” was going to be it for 2010, we learn of the new IRS impositions on internet commerce. These rules target folks selling stuff online. People selling 200 items or making $20k on eBay, for example, shall be subject to reporting rules. People who make a living (or complement their income) by selling trinkets online will be particularly hurt by this. I foresee a reduction in business on Etsy and similar cottage industry sites. Personal sales in the open market might take a hit, at least for marginal sellers. Some might just sell less while others will have to distribute their online activity so that they are not as easy to target. To make things worse, Paypal will be required to report online activity, meaning that they will send the IRS 1099 forms that will have to match each individual seller’s information.
The 1099 nightmare extends from small businesses to tiny one-person operations. Of course, I bet that large companies can only cheer. After all, they already have systems and personnel to deal with the flood of paperwork that the money-thirsty IRS has required from society. A great win for corporatism.
The IRS Continues To Destroy The Internet Read Post »
Statism in the UK: Paychecks to be preprocessed by the state
Anti-Statism, Finance, History, Taxation, TotalitarianismHer Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, stressing “the need for employers to provide real-time information to the government so that it can monitor all payments and make a better assessment of whether the correct tax is being paid”, has proposed to modernize the UK’s income tax system. Once employers provide payroll information in real-time, “it further proposes that employers hand over employee salaries to the government first.”
I’m sure that subjects of the Crown have nothing to fear. The state can be trusted to process their paychecks promptly, correctly, and efficiently. Only a crank would object to this modernization plan. After all, everyone fondly remembers the Star Chamber that evolved out of a similar medieval program for keeping tabs on the Jews. Since it worked out so well last time, how could anyone expect things to go wrong now?
Statism in the UK: Paychecks to be preprocessed by the state Read Post »