btcpinas on Nostr: What Has Government Done to Our Money Most people don’t trust the government. Most ...
What Has Government Done to Our Money
Most people don’t trust the government. Most people don’t like paying taxes.
Most people believes that government officials are corrupt (as supported by much evidence).
But most people believe that the solution is to elect good and not corrupt politicians and then our country will prosper. We see this every election year. People are very passionate for their chosen candidate.
But this solution of electing the right person alone is prone to error. Electing politicians that are not corrupt isn’t the root cause of corruption, and this isn’t the solution either.
There’s no way for us to know 100% whether a political candidate is inherently good and will not steal money.
Plus, politicians will say anything you want to hear just to get votes.
But does this mean that we should just not vote and not care?
That’s an option, but that means you’ve given up. There’s actually a better way to express your desire for a better government than just voting and being loud on social media every election year.
The system is broken
First of all, we need to understand that the system is broken.
Having the right people is not the problem nor the solution.
We have this wrong or right person problem in politics because in the first place they are in a position to corrupt.
They have the ability to control our money.
This is the root cause of the problem. That is the reason why they can corrupt.
Government has the power to:
Collect money from us via taxation.
Spend this money without consequence.
Perhaps you’re asking, if we don’t pay taxes, who will build the roads?
But let me explain.
#2 is where the problem lies. This is where the fallacy is.
Let’s give a concrete example how governments spend money without consequence.
Government spending people's money they collect from citizens through taxation is the root cause of most of the corruption like inefficient use of resources, like building roads or always repairing roads, building overprice and expensive facilities and sometimes just plain theft.
This is faulty because the government is not a business. They don’t rely on profits or income to survive. They rely on taxes which we are forced to pay. So, no matter what projects they fund, they will have consistent income.
Imagine if I am businessman and I see that there are a lot of demands for bags. But I don’t want to make bags. I want to sell shoes.
I will pour my money to produce and open up a shoe business. What do you think will happen to me if there are no demand for shoes?
My business will be bankrupt and closed.
Why? Because I’m not giving what the people want which are bags. If I’m smart businessman, I will sell bags instead and my business will survive. That’s what’s called a free market. Government collecting and spending money is not free market.
But what If I’m a business that can tax the citizens? I can continue my business of selling shoes even there is no demand because I’m getting free money without consequence.
The government is NOT a business. They don’t rely on being profitable to continue to operate. Because they got money from us. It doesn’t matter whether they’re projects are good or not. They are NOT accountable. There won’t be any consequence.
HOW AND WHY THE GOVERNMENT BECAME POWERFUL
The government get its money no matter what thru taxation. We don’t have say to this because it is against the law if we don’t pay taxes. They will put you in jail if you don’t pay taxes.
It is also impossible to live without paying taxes.
You pay taxes in your income.
You pay taxes in your investments when you sell them.
You pay also taxes on your passive income from investments (interest, dividends, etc.) You pay taxes on your business.
You pay taxes when you buy anything (VAT).
You pay taxes on your home (property tax).
You pay taxes when you die (estate tax).
You pay taxes when you give (donor tax).
Even if you won the lottery, you would still pay taxes.
You get the point, there is no escaping tax. But most people just accept paying tax as if it’s a duty to be a good citizen.
Remember your paying taxes to people that allocate capital inefficiently or sometimes just steal it.
The solution is not just to rally on the streets to fight for taxes.
Also, another important thing to know is that the government has another source of income. It’s called debt.
Government/politicians are hesitant to raise taxes because that is unpopular. They know that the citizens will get angry, and they won’t get votes next election.
That’s where debt comes in. Basically, government can print money by issuing debts.
This is a separate topic that is very important also. Because this is like taxation but hiding in plain sight. We don’t know that we’re being stolen by this method because it shows as inflation. The summary is that when government issues debt, it will result to inflation, because when government borrows, it increases the supply of money, when supply of money increase, prices of everything increase.
Inflation is taxation/theft hiding in plain sight. I suggest reading this series of post if you want a deep dive about that.
Going back, the point is we don’t have the choice, we have to play by the rules or else we will go to jail (if we don’t pay taxes).
My point also on this post is that the solution is not campaigning for your favorite politician that is good hearted and won’t be corrupt.
Even though let’s say for example that we elect all the good politicians, there is no guarantee that everything will be fix.
The problem itself is the system.
The system where governments have power to collect and allocate resources. Because they have this power, they will be corrupt.
Why do they have this power? It is because the money can be corrupt.
It is a money that can be easily stolen and taken and printed. Why because just look at your bills, look who issues the money.
It’s the government. That’s why we have faces of past presidents printed on these bills.
That’s how the way money has evolved.
We are now in the phase where we are transitioning from a government-controlled money to a money that cannot be controlled.
Money is truly power. If a person or government can control money, they have a lot of power.
That’s why the real fix or solution to all this corruption is not to elect the right people but to use a new money that is decentralized.
Decentralize means no one can control it.
If no one can control it, it cannot be printed like government money.
Government has become powerful because they issue and control the money.
So, my solution is to advocate for a new money, and if you read this blog, you know that I am bitcoin maximalist.
This is the reason why I believe in bitcoin. Because I believe bitcoin will lessen the power of governments and will increase the power of the people. Because our money cannot be stolen thru taxation and inflation.
Yes, bitcoin is also an investment that will go up in price that’s why most people hold it.
But this is another reason why believe and advocate and hold bitcoin, because it can truly fix corruption by having an alternative money that can’t be corrupt.
We are obviously years away from this. No one knows when this will happen, but if you study history of money, you will realize that we are always in a search for a better money.
Bitcoin is like gold, except that it cannot be controlled or seized, and you can take it anywhere with you. Governments can’t create more of it.
I understand people that are passionate for a better government, those warriors that go into rallies or fight in social media. But yelling does nothing. Praying for the right president isn’t the answer either. There are better use of time and energy than doing all of these. I believe that is advocating and educating about bitcoin.
That’s why I am writing all of this. I consider this my passion/purpose project. Something that has meaning. I do want a good government. I do want lesser taxes.
So, if you're reading up to this, I thank you. Look you don’t have to learn about bitcoin right away if you’re new to it. The most important thing to learn is how our money works. When you understand that, you will understand how government works. Why there is a lot of corruption.
Once you understood how money works, it’s like waking up from the matrix.
This book is a book I recently read, and I highly suggest it:
Most people don’t trust the government. Most people don’t like paying taxes.
Most people believes that government officials are corrupt (as supported by much evidence).
But most people believe that the solution is to elect good and not corrupt politicians and then our country will prosper. We see this every election year. People are very passionate for their chosen candidate.
But this solution of electing the right person alone is prone to error. Electing politicians that are not corrupt isn’t the root cause of corruption, and this isn’t the solution either.
There’s no way for us to know 100% whether a political candidate is inherently good and will not steal money.
Plus, politicians will say anything you want to hear just to get votes.
But does this mean that we should just not vote and not care?
That’s an option, but that means you’ve given up. There’s actually a better way to express your desire for a better government than just voting and being loud on social media every election year.
The system is broken
First of all, we need to understand that the system is broken.
Having the right people is not the problem nor the solution.
We have this wrong or right person problem in politics because in the first place they are in a position to corrupt.
They have the ability to control our money.
This is the root cause of the problem. That is the reason why they can corrupt.
Government has the power to:
Collect money from us via taxation.
Spend this money without consequence.
Perhaps you’re asking, if we don’t pay taxes, who will build the roads?
But let me explain.
#2 is where the problem lies. This is where the fallacy is.
Let’s give a concrete example how governments spend money without consequence.
Government spending people's money they collect from citizens through taxation is the root cause of most of the corruption like inefficient use of resources, like building roads or always repairing roads, building overprice and expensive facilities and sometimes just plain theft.
This is faulty because the government is not a business. They don’t rely on profits or income to survive. They rely on taxes which we are forced to pay. So, no matter what projects they fund, they will have consistent income.
Imagine if I am businessman and I see that there are a lot of demands for bags. But I don’t want to make bags. I want to sell shoes.
I will pour my money to produce and open up a shoe business. What do you think will happen to me if there are no demand for shoes?
My business will be bankrupt and closed.
Why? Because I’m not giving what the people want which are bags. If I’m smart businessman, I will sell bags instead and my business will survive. That’s what’s called a free market. Government collecting and spending money is not free market.
But what If I’m a business that can tax the citizens? I can continue my business of selling shoes even there is no demand because I’m getting free money without consequence.
The government is NOT a business. They don’t rely on being profitable to continue to operate. Because they got money from us. It doesn’t matter whether they’re projects are good or not. They are NOT accountable. There won’t be any consequence.
HOW AND WHY THE GOVERNMENT BECAME POWERFUL
The government get its money no matter what thru taxation. We don’t have say to this because it is against the law if we don’t pay taxes. They will put you in jail if you don’t pay taxes.
It is also impossible to live without paying taxes.
You pay taxes in your income.
You pay taxes in your investments when you sell them.
You pay also taxes on your passive income from investments (interest, dividends, etc.) You pay taxes on your business.
You pay taxes when you buy anything (VAT).
You pay taxes on your home (property tax).
You pay taxes when you die (estate tax).
You pay taxes when you give (donor tax).
Even if you won the lottery, you would still pay taxes.
You get the point, there is no escaping tax. But most people just accept paying tax as if it’s a duty to be a good citizen.
Remember your paying taxes to people that allocate capital inefficiently or sometimes just steal it.
The solution is not just to rally on the streets to fight for taxes.
Also, another important thing to know is that the government has another source of income. It’s called debt.
Government/politicians are hesitant to raise taxes because that is unpopular. They know that the citizens will get angry, and they won’t get votes next election.
That’s where debt comes in. Basically, government can print money by issuing debts.
This is a separate topic that is very important also. Because this is like taxation but hiding in plain sight. We don’t know that we’re being stolen by this method because it shows as inflation. The summary is that when government issues debt, it will result to inflation, because when government borrows, it increases the supply of money, when supply of money increase, prices of everything increase.
Inflation is taxation/theft hiding in plain sight. I suggest reading this series of post if you want a deep dive about that.
Going back, the point is we don’t have the choice, we have to play by the rules or else we will go to jail (if we don’t pay taxes).
My point also on this post is that the solution is not campaigning for your favorite politician that is good hearted and won’t be corrupt.
Even though let’s say for example that we elect all the good politicians, there is no guarantee that everything will be fix.
The problem itself is the system.
The system where governments have power to collect and allocate resources. Because they have this power, they will be corrupt.
Why do they have this power? It is because the money can be corrupt.
It is a money that can be easily stolen and taken and printed. Why because just look at your bills, look who issues the money.
It’s the government. That’s why we have faces of past presidents printed on these bills.
That’s how the way money has evolved.
We are now in the phase where we are transitioning from a government-controlled money to a money that cannot be controlled.
Money is truly power. If a person or government can control money, they have a lot of power.
That’s why the real fix or solution to all this corruption is not to elect the right people but to use a new money that is decentralized.
Decentralize means no one can control it.
If no one can control it, it cannot be printed like government money.
Government has become powerful because they issue and control the money.
So, my solution is to advocate for a new money, and if you read this blog, you know that I am bitcoin maximalist.
This is the reason why I believe in bitcoin. Because I believe bitcoin will lessen the power of governments and will increase the power of the people. Because our money cannot be stolen thru taxation and inflation.
Yes, bitcoin is also an investment that will go up in price that’s why most people hold it.
But this is another reason why believe and advocate and hold bitcoin, because it can truly fix corruption by having an alternative money that can’t be corrupt.
We are obviously years away from this. No one knows when this will happen, but if you study history of money, you will realize that we are always in a search for a better money.
Bitcoin is like gold, except that it cannot be controlled or seized, and you can take it anywhere with you. Governments can’t create more of it.
I understand people that are passionate for a better government, those warriors that go into rallies or fight in social media. But yelling does nothing. Praying for the right president isn’t the answer either. There are better use of time and energy than doing all of these. I believe that is advocating and educating about bitcoin.
That’s why I am writing all of this. I consider this my passion/purpose project. Something that has meaning. I do want a good government. I do want lesser taxes.
So, if you're reading up to this, I thank you. Look you don’t have to learn about bitcoin right away if you’re new to it. The most important thing to learn is how our money works. When you understand that, you will understand how government works. Why there is a lot of corruption.
Once you understood how money works, it’s like waking up from the matrix.
This book is a book I recently read, and I highly suggest it: