No Taxation Without Representation
The other day, I was thinking - and note that what I was thinking probably applies to almost any country, not just the USA:
I live as a foreign citizen in the United States of America. Since I am not a citizen of the U.S., I’m not allowed to vote in any elections. Yet, as a resident and worker, I am required to pay taxes on several levels:
- To the Federal Government in Washington
- To the State of California
- To the County of Santa Clara and the VTA
- To other local authorities and districts
Yet I have no say whatsoever in how that money is being spent. Is that fair? Isn’t that totally contrary to one of the major ideas of the American Revolution?
Yes, I do get the “benefits” from most of these taxes - but I cannot help decide whether those are actually benefits that I feel are needed. Or should I feel “represented” by Senators, Congressmen and -women and Assemblymen and -women of my local districts? I didn’t vote for them …
I think the meaning of citizenship - not only here in the U.S. but all over the world - needs to be changed. I would feel ok with not being able to get elected myself, but I would like to be allowed to participate in elections that decide how my tax money is being spent. I think that would only be fair.
At the same time, I don’t feel it’s necessary that I’m able to participate in Swiss elections - I don’t currently live there, I don’t currently pay any taxes there - so why should I be allowed to decide how other people’s monies are being spent?
“No taxation without representation” was a rallying cry of the American Revolutionary War. During the years prior to and during the Revolution, advocates of American independence decried the fact that the American colonies were required to pay taxes to London, yet they had no representatives in Parliament. Therefore, the Americans felt that they were being forced to fund a government into which they had no input.
[No taxation without representation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]
Posted in: Uncategorized | June 22, 2006 10:55 pm
1 Comment »
Randy Charles Morin, on June 23, 2006 @ 7:03 am
Of course that’s fair. You knew how the process worked before you made the decision to work there, or you chose to make the decision without knowing the facts. In both cases, the decision was entirely yours. That qualifies as fair. At least to me.
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