Labor Left v. Greens (2 Viewers)

[Graney]

sigh.

hahah yep

 

[Politic]

----_----

 

[scuba_steve2121]

yeah but 7 year olds buying candy at the cornershop pay taxes
foreigners pay taxes
corporations pay taxes
and many citizens don't pay (income) taxes.

thats a dumb stance unless you're living on a robinson crusoe island

Starship Troopers style citizenship is the way to go.

get rid of all taxes except the income tax, have foreigners pay a separate special foreigners tax

problem solved

 

[funkshen]

get rid of all taxes except the income tax, have foreigners pay a separate special foreigners tax

problem solved

okay so men or women who have decided to be homemakers, or volunteer workers, or are living off accumulated earned income don't get to vote.
nor anyone who only pays capital gains tax doesn't get to vote (i suppose this would be abolished though)
servicemen deployed to war zones (tax liability --> 0) don't get to vote
and a bunch of other stupid things

also, should you only be allowed to run for office if you earn an income? because that's the flipside of suffrage - the right to vote and be voted for.

the income based qualification is arbitrary, evidenced by the 'separate income tax for foreigners' addendum. your qualification is explicitly derived from notions of citizenship anyways. there are a whole range of arbitrary ways to delimit suffrage, income isn't special. furthermore, we know that wholesale disenfranchisement through arbitrary qualifications in electoral law isn't really tenable, other than simply being born here or being naturalised (i.e. based on 'national citizenship'). indeed, if people are arbitrarily refused the vote, they will still vote with their feet, fists, dicks, guns, or their millennium falcons.

why not 'progressive' voting, proportional to your income? or would that be "unfair" or "undemocratic"?

the fact is, around 51% of australians (and americans) don't pay income taxes. i do admit that the income tax is possibly less arbitrary than other economic definitions, but perhaps an employment-based tax would be even less so. i don't know why you think the income tax is important. did you read Nevil Shrute's In the Wet, do you think voting should be based on 'contribution to society', or are you motivated by the notion that income-based suffrage might solve a few of the problems of government. regardless, it wouldn't. the income-based vote in particular would be pointless, considering it is middle class welfare (i.e. income earners) that is consuming the welfare state. so such a system would not stop the democratic way of helping yourself to others' property, which is even easier if they aren't able to vote against it (chex'n'balances). in the US low-income voter participation is waning anyways, and many argue partisanship and policy is distributed along income lines anyways.

how about a spelling test-based right to vote?

it isnt going to happen and its dumb

 

[kfnmpah]

depends how long uni students think they're hip

not all uni students, just arts students.

bob brown is a socialist dog

woof woof, gimme your money

^ the greens are pretty much a stones throw away from being red hot commies.

 

[Lolsmith]

watermelon

still my favourite political jibe

 

[zombie omie jay]

confirmed watermelons