Here's Stefan Molyneux interviewing the economist Bryan Caplan... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsJhpzyJox8"]The Myth of the Rational Voter - Dr Bryan Caplan on Freedomain Radio - YouTube[/ame] 2:45 This might explain why so many people who don't understand economics use the very popular "taxes are theft" argument. People who do understand economics, for example...the anarcho-capitalist economists Peter Boettke and David Friedman, focus instead on consequentialist arguments. Here's David Friedman's perspective on moral (deontological..."taxes are theft") arguments versus economic (consequentialist) arguments: The short version... The long version... 3:50 Allowing taxpayers to directly allocate their taxes...aka tax choice...would help solve this problem because it would result in a taxpayer division of labor. Taxpayers would determine the distribution of public funds and voters would be able to vote on everything else. For a specific example of how this would work see my post on Universal Suffrage, Pragmatarianism and the War on Drugs. 26:00 - People are strongly attached to their beliefs This applies to all you anarcho-capitalists that choose to ignore me...and who "coincidentally" all use the "taxes are theft" argument. For more on this concept see...Banned From Bleeding Heart Libertarian. 37:00 - They discuss education. The signalling model. Education isn't about what you learn...it's not about the skills you gain...it's about demonstrating your ability to jump through hoops. 41:00 - See the Opportunity Costs of War If you're interested in learning more about economics...check out... 1. this debate on Youtube between [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPm5wDjaOSk&feature=PlayList&p=A99BB35C30592B05&index=0&playnext=1"]Bryan Caplan and Peter Boettke[/ame]. 2. this post on partial knowledge and opportunity costs.
