Among willing victims perhaps.
I see it as necessary thievery...but thievery nonetheless, since it's taken under threat of force against one's will.
But since it is what it is, the thieving should be minimized & the bounty not squandered.
I can see that, but I don't understand how it's relevant to this particular issue. Are you arguing that progressive taxation is squandering or enlarging thieving?
This is to let Washington off the hook. Johnson was vexed by anti-war protestors precisely because they went after government.
Occupiers are just whizzing into the wind while politicians (eg, Obama) make hay with their theatrics.
Oh, I agree that Washington shouldn't be left off the hook. They have failed in their role as the State, most likely for as long as they have existed. I think the location at Wall Street was largely symbolic as it is associated with "big" capitalism.
They want the government to take care of everything ,cradle to grave, so they don't have to think for themselves or try to solve their own problems. Just sit around and watch Jersey shore and American idle.
The state can build roads and defend the country. That's all they need to do. They should do what they are told and keep their interference to a bare minimum. Come only when they are called.
We take care of the government so it can take care of everyone, including us. We think for ourselves with information provided to us by education, which can only reliably be supplied by the government. We like to pretend we're free and independent, but deep down we know that independence is impossible, so we institutionalize co-dependence.
The State should build roads, defend the country, educate our children, perhaps raise our children, decide who will produce children, eliminate that which is unsafe, purify the water supply, settle our disputes, build our libraries and schools, provide housing, provide us with news (along with a private news system for accountability), distribute resources in an equitable manner, act as the focal point for some people's natural urge to worship something, exterminate threats to the well-being of itself and the People, etc... the list goes on.
The less the State does, the more human people tend to become, and thus the more disordered society becomes, and the less happy most people are. There is sort of a curve, similar to the laffer curve, as to what amount of humanity is best for the well-being of people, and I typically find that we, I, am currently to the right of the apex (is that the right word?) of the curve.
