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Comment by smokeyj | Hacker News Reader

If you sympathize with the tax code it's probably because you've never bootstrapped a start up. It's hard enough to make it, even without financing the government. A high quality of living is enabled by technology and innovation, and the process that stifles innovation - taxes - should be regarded with extreme caution. If trading with each other is a taxable offense you can expect a severe impediment on innovation. Does anyone really need examples of the failures of centralized economies?

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Come on, your post is stupid on it's face. If a high quality of living is enabled by technology and innovation, said technology and innovation is enabled by stuff the government does -- a huge quantity of technology has it's roots in US government spending, and education is one of the 3 big things that states spend money on.

Further, you conflate taxation laws and laws that prohibit things, eg "trading with each other is a taxable offense". In the real world, someone has to pay for the government and businesses pay a piece of the cost.

And you know where the U.S gets those gobs of cash to throw at building new technology? The markets of course! Governments need a marketplace, the marketplace doesn't need the government. The internet is largely unregulated, but we use creative solutions to overcome barriers, and this should be a model for other industries as well. A market solution is always better than a government solution, because with the first you can always opt out.

The richest man in Rome once said that you can't consider yourself truly rich unless you can afford your own private army. ;) Even more interesting is the fact that Crassus acquired his wealth by (1) declaring rich people enemies of the state and seizing their assets and (2) purchasing houses that were burning down and then putting out the fire with his own men. Unless you're an anarcho-capitalist, you'll certainly recognize that a representative government is necessary to put a stop to such behaviors.

the marketplace doesn't need the government

This is also stupid on its face. The market needs the government if only to ensure that bad actors don't corrupt it.

I did not learn to program from Government Education.

The government also promotes bad IT practices overall.

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