>Are you free to quit your job? Maybe...but since its
>pretty hard to save money when you're shelling out 60% to the
>overall tax burden you probably wouldn't be able to keep a
>roof over your head and food on your plate for more than 3
>months or so.
>
>If you don't want to do useful labor and still have that roof
>and food, the style of government you are looking for is
>Marxist communism. You're, what, 25 years old? And you want
>to not work anymore and still have a home, food, and other
>necessities?

Heh, no I don't want to retire. I'm actually looking at it from my parent's perspectives. They are significantly older than 25.

>You are completely free to quit any job in this country,
>possibly with civil penalties if you signed a contract of your
>own free will to the contrary. You would definitely be free
>of the great majority of your tax responsibility if you did
>this. If you did this, you would either need to be
>independently wealthy, or else you would have to rely on
>taxpayer-funded programs which would provide subsistence-level
>resources for you.

That's more or less what I mean. The rate of inflation is largely influenced by income tax. It wasn't such a huge problem until we implemented income tax and deficit spending. That and property taxes create the need to constantly require an income. My total spending, FYI, is primarily centered around rent and income tax (15% of my earnings go to rent, 30% of my earnings go to income tax and roughly 30% of my rent is my share of my landlord's land taxes, and that's with a salary that's higher than Joe Average). Utilities, entertainment and food make up a very small amount of my overall spending. Healthcare is a whole other issue which we've debated ad nauseum, but frankly due to the way the system works its not feasible to pay for it out of pocket when you're old.

>Freedom doesn't mean "I can do whatever I want without
>consequences." You're free to quit your job, and everyone
>else (except the government, ironically) is generally free to
>stop providing you with food and money. You may be of the
>opinion that your decade or so of employment entitles you to a
>lifetime of support, but reality may not agree.

Here's a quick definition of freedom :

the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
exemption: immunity from an obligation or duty

- I would say that property taxes (and most regressive taxes) serve as a pretty good example of an 'externally imposed restraint'.

>valguarnera@carrionfields.com