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Comment by zikduruqe | Hacker News Reader

A fine is a tax for doing bad.

A tax is a fine for doing well.

A tax is a subscription fee for the privileges of citizenship. There are many millions of people who would happily become "subscribers" in return for becoming US citizens.

Failing/refusing to pay a subscription fee does not, generally, result in you getting thrown in a cage with rapists and murderers.

> Failing/refusing to pay a subscription fee does not, generally, result in you getting thrown in a cage with rapists and murderers.

If you fail to pay the subscription fee for your gym, but break in to use the equipment anyway, it might.

To take the analogy a step further, a gym subscription is optional. Paying taxes is not.

> To take the analogy a step further, a gym subscription is optional. Paying taxes is not.

You're pushing the analogy too far. You're not an autarky, there's plenty of stuff you have to pay for that isn't optional (e.g. food, shelter, etc.).

Sometimes local mobs force you to pay them protection money. If you don't pay, they will take your property or even commit violence against you, exactly like the state. If you do pay, they will provide valuable services to you such as making sure you don't get robbed. Do you feel it would be reasonable to call this a "subscription fee"?

Hmm,i wonder why i as a non immigrant don't qualify for this citizenship even after paying all taxes, including FICA

Do you use roads, sidewalks and other public infrastructure? If so you should pay into the system.

Do you earn your money from that system?

Salary taxation usually means you are earning your dollars by being part of a functioning society.

There are billions of people who would happily become "subscribers" to a US job market, even if the offer required that 50% of their income was ritually burned for no benefit to the “subscriber”.

Now capital gains are perhaps a different argument…

A tax is (a tax for doing bad) for doing well?

You may have a tautology to clean up there, bud.

If you try to apply the Peano Axioms on pithy aphorisms, you're gonna have a bad time.

At the expense of the pot calling the kettle black, this comment epitomizes behavior that I don't like to see on HN: the condescending and incorrect use of technical jargon in an internet argument that adds no new insight. In what way whatsoever are the natural numbers relevant to the post, let alone parent comment?

Please rethink signal-boosting off-topic comments in the future.

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