I just don’t think that most people are “refusing to pay the use tax”, or that they are doing so in an act of rebellion. Most people simply don’t know it exists, and can’t be bothered to find out if they actually owe more money. And those that do know about it are mostly ignoring it because they CAN.
I think we are at a state where people feel like the law is what they can be FORCED to do, not what they feel morally obligated to follow. OK, that is too black-and-white; people don’t murder because they know it is wrong, for example, not simply because they are afraid of getting caught.
But look at a typical riot. A mass of people get together, and suddenly they are burning cars, smashing windows, beating people up, and looting stores. Why? Is it because they are rebelling against stupid laws that don’t allow them to burn cars? Is it because they are compelled by circumstance?
I don’t think so. I think it’s that they can get away with it. This is a depressing thought, because it suggests that there are a good number of people out there who only “behave” because they are afraid of getting caught, and that when they learn we don’t have enough police, they will simply break the law.
Most all of us break the speed limit, at least on superhighways. We wouldn’t if we were guaranteed to get caught, but we know we get away with it, and we mostly disrespect the limit anyway (especially since the federal government imposed 55 mph for totally non-safety purposes, thus removing the moral imperative many people felt to “keep safe”).
I’m not saying it is a slippery slope from there on. But at some point, it seems we did drop over the precipice. I think if the feds didn’t have their own copy of most of our transactions, a sizable minority would refuse to pay any income tax. I think if there was no sales tax collection, few people would file to pay it.
And I think if people could get away with stealing things from stores, millions would. And they’d justify it — “Well, the democrats tell us corporations are evil, and they make too much profit, and they are ripping us off; I’m just getting back what they stole from me in high prices”.
On a general note. You are hanging your hat on law abiding and fairness, I understand. At what point does the govt become so oppressive that we refuse to follow the laws? This was a great debate for our founding fathers. King George represented Gods govt after all.
Through this conversation I have been thinking about revolutions. The French Revolution was a fight against what they didn't want. The American Revolution was a fight for something - freedom and liberty.
I think we will have a french revolution unless we “frame” it in the right way like our founding fathers did. But if I had to bet, it will be on a french revolution, any takers? Now you make me think further, if I really think a french style revolution is coming, what do I do? Preparation for an American style revolution is different.