Live and let live is a simple thing to say. Would it be popular to say live and let live if other laws were purposedly violated, murder, rape, robbery, and so on. If these are BAD and not in the live and let live category then where does purposely breaking the law become OK? At what level of crime?
Why is it OK to steal in the form of tax evasion? It isn't like the Government is infinitely wealthy and some theoretical entity that isn't harmed by thieves. The Government is us! It is not a victimless crime. All honest tax paying citizens are victims.
I'm reminded of the story about a conversation between a want to be customer of a lady of the evening and a girl at a bar. He enquires about her sleeping with him for a million bucks and she says sure. He says, OK how about for $5. She says, hey what do you take me for, a prostitute? He says we established that fact with the answer to my first question and now we are just haggling over the price!
Are we just haggling over price? Is stealing from all of us just a little bit somehow OK but stealing a lot from just one of us is not? How is tax evasionk more moral than counterfitting money or stamps? Tax evasion is the crime that put Al Capone away. Shoulid he not have been prosecuted?
Are we devolving into a society embued with situational morality and no intrinsic values? Aren't laws intended to apply to everyone all the time unless there are extenuating circumstances, that can be brought out by the legal process? We the people ARE the legal process! I think we are way too far toward the persuasion that it is us against the Government and the police and any thing that any of us can do and get away with is a victory somehow for the common man. That is a slipery slope that we should avoid testing as it is a decivilizing force.
If you don't agree, then what is it that makes us happy to drive in a formation of cars, all traveling at 20-25 MPH above the speed limit as if permission to do so were in the bill of rights and cry like a wounded baby if ticketed?
Why would so many of us here, aparently, ignore if not condone blatant repetitive tax evasion? Well I gotta go. I gotta get to the church and steal some $ from the poor box to help wilth Christmas shopping, after all, stores are getting so uppity about shoplifting I have to actually buy some of the things I get. Then later I'll take my truck and tractor to the county gravel pile and "borrow" some gravel. Then I have to go to the corner hydrant and run a few acre feet of water into one of my ponds. Since all this stuff is not really owed by a single person it makes it OK or at least as OK as cheating on road taxes which apparrently is not such a big deal since it does not directly impact CHILDREN.
Contrary to popular comments, we don't all cheat on our taxes or even get all we are entitled to so as to not get too close to the hassle of a fracas with the IRS. I have a friend who was audited 5 years straight and got a larger refund evey time. I think they were vindictive, he was inconvenienced, and the people had their tax $ wasted trying to squeeze money and having to pay out even more.
I'm not sure about revenuers skulking around parking lots testing fuel tanks. I have a locked tank and concealed carry. It would be an interesting series of events if I caught someone fussing with my fuel cap.
Pat
