Friday, May 9, 2008

Representation without taxation

In most countries, people automatically earn their right to vote when they turn 18. I believe, at eighteen, most people don't pay enough taxes to be given a right to vote.

Government functioning is funded by taxes. Why should people who don't pay taxes get representation? This is same as a person who does not own any shares voicing his opinion in a shareholders' meeting. Alright, Government is not a for-profit corporation. But, it operates by tax revenue. People who don't pay taxes don't have much to lose to ask Govt to raise taxes. What if all the non-taxpayers get together to increase taxes to 80% to fund public programs like social security and Medicare?

My proposal is that only people who file tax returns should be given a right to vote. It's not unreasonable to ask people to file tax returns to earn their right to vote. Government needs to ensure that people have filed their tax returns before registering them as voters in every election. This would have a good side benefit of encouraging people to file their tax returns.

It's socialist to allow people who don't file tax returns to be allowed to vote.

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