When taxation becomes plundering ....

Jerry Pournelle presents an important insight into the present political situation even though he wrote the material in 1983:

There are other pressures. Republics stand until the citizens begin to vote
themselves largess from the public treasury. When the plunder begins, those
plundered feel no loyalty to the nation—and the beneficiaries demand ever more,
until few are left unplundered. Eventually everyone plunders everyone, the state
serving as little more than an agency for collecting and dispensing largess. The
economy falters. Inflation begins. Deficits mount. Something must be done.
Strong measures are demanded, but nothing can be agreed to.

The present administration threatens to provide its constituents with a greater largess from the public treasury while exempting most of them from the taxes that fund the payments. Doing so will require taking greater sums from the decreasing numbers who pay the taxes. The recipients will demand ever more "circuses" since they will not pay any of the costs.

This will destroy both the economy and democracy. Our tax system requires the willing acceptance of those taxed. As the tax rate increases to support the ever increasing level of expenditures, acceptance will turn to revolt as people begin to view tax, not as supporting the needs of the country, but as theft, a taking from productive elements of society to fund the unproductive elements to win their votes for the political class.

People will take their income underground or move their investments overseas. As the economy falters, control of the government will bestow the greatest source of income. That will transform elections into life or death struggles as the political class fights for control of government as the source of an increasing portion of the national income.

The Obama administration is already proposing budget deficits of $1 trillion+ annually for years to come. That will lead to massive inflation that will eventually require a recession to regain control of budget deficits and inflation. If that sounds familiar, it describes President Reagan following years of Jimmy Carter's runaway inflation.

We will be lucky if that is all that happens. Obama inflation may rise to such levels that it will lead to the person on the white horse who destroys democracy to "save" the country.