"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:7kDid.56196$R05.33927@attbi_s53...
Since people being paid by the government (employees, retirees, what have
you) do not generate any income in the purest sense, the "taxes" they
"pay"
are entirely illusory. Same with anyone on the dole.

A perfect example, Jay, of why your "olive branch" of yesterday is
just horse feathers, glued together with spit and bull****.

You--and many others--equate government workers with people on the
dole.

No, they are NOT the same.

However, it is nevertheless true that neither group generates real income,
creates real wealth, or pays taxes in any real sense.

Just think about it a minute, and it will make more sense. It is only the
people working OUTSIDE the government that can create wealth or pay taxes.
How can a government worker pay taxes? The money they are "paying" in
taxes is made from taxes in the first place!

Deducting taxes from government employee's paychecks is quite literally an
illusion. But it's an essential lie that keeps everyone else subdued about
the incredible rip-off we call our "tax code."

You might consider taking a few economics courses at your local community
college. These facts will be covered in the first month or so.

Well, I have a degree in economics, something more than "a few
courses". You're mixing up money, accounting, and wealth. GNP is the
sum total of all productive work in the economy over a year.
Government workers can, and some do, contribute productive work. If
it was not being done by them it would either have to do be done by
someone or we would be poorer as a country.

We track GNP by money, but the money is a just a marker, it's not real
thing. The productive work is the real thing.

Economically a government typically does things that either don't work
or aren't done well by the market system. There ARE things that don't
work in markets - any good general economics textbook will discuss
"market failures". Although some people think that markets solve
everything, they're wrong. Markets are good and solve many things -
but they're not a cure all.

I don't like some government workers, but they I don't like some store
clerks and cashiers I have to deal with at the supermarket either.
The difference is that it's easier for me to change supermarkets than
it is governments. I tried this last election and it didn't work.

-Malcolm Teas