QUOTE (deaneb @ Jun 25 2012,9:10 PM)

Not sure what planet you live on, but our society functions because of tax. If we all stopped paying tax, we would still have to pay for health, education, roads and all the other services some other way and it would cost a heck of a lot more. So then guess who wins - the Rich !!
No, I don't agree with that Dean. We've become so used to paying tax and having big government, that we don't realise that it doesn't HAVE to be that way. There was a time when the "ordinary people" did a lot of the stuff that governments do now - either as charity, or as a business concern. Example: Let's say the gummint takes $100 from you a year to sort the roads. It comes from your tax. Now lets say that its "user pays" for the roads and a business looks after them - but it only costs you $80 a year - less, if you use the roads less than average, more if you use them more. That way, you pay your share and I pay mine. Otherwise, let's say I never drive. My usage of the roads might be confined to just my own town, with rare trips on a bus. Since most of my trips would be local, that would be covered by rates, since the local council looks after all the local roads. But if I'm paying $100 a year to the gummint for perhaps $5 worth of usage, that means I'm taxed to pay other people's share. That's known as socialism. As you can guess, I'm not a socialist. But don't worry, it won't happen - things will stay as they are, as most NZers are now socialists and would rather have the "gummint" redistribute the worker's wealth, since gummints are so incredibly efficient and well-run...

And all those who work in gummint only have our best interests at heart...

And no one in gummint is looking out for their own butt, the next election or opinion polls...