A common thing I hear from conservatives is that taxation is a form of theft, but those same conservatives make exceptions to that (like law enforcement, military etc) But if taxing is forcibly taking money from one group of people and giving it to another then how can you justify taxes at all--even for the military?
I'm a libertarian, and we don't make exceptions. All taxation is theft.
Majority rule does not constitute consent. if it did, that means the poor Negro hanging from a tree "consented" when the lynch mob strung him up.
The situation can be compared to a private club that charges a membership fee in exchange for providing benefits and amenities to its members. Obviously, the club is within its rights to charge whatever price it believes fair in exchange for this. If you believe the price is too high, you’re free to renounce your membership and leave the club. What you’re not free to do is to refuse to pay, but demand that you still be allowed to sit in the club and use its facilities
ROFL! That has got to be the dumbest rationalization for taxation ever posted. Government bares no resemblance to a private club whatsoever. When did a private club ever use guns to collect dues from its members? When did a club ever put people in concentration camps? Employ forced labor? Murder people? Enforce slavery? Spy on its members? When did anyone become a member of a private club simply by being born or living in a given geographical area? Has a private club ever done any of these things? No it hasn't, because the minute it did we would call it a criminal gang. So doing anything governments are known for doing makes an organization a criminal gang, not a club.
The comparison with a private club isn't just wrong, it's positively absurd. In almost every detail government resembles a criminal gang, not a private club. It pursues its enterprises and enforces its whims over a specific geographical area. It has monopoly "services" that it offers at inflated prices. Gangs offer drugs, high interest loans, protection and prostitution. Government offers roads, infrastructure, education, social programs and regulation. In both cases, competition to provide these services is not permitted. Pablo Escobar even built low income housing for the poor living in Medellin, and he also paid for the city's sewage and water treatment plant. Medellin is the only city in Colombia where it's safe to drink the water. I defy you to find any organization that more closely resembles government than that. Criminal gangs also have their minions and favored special interests, just like government. Al Capone gave generously to numerous charities and was very popular with the people Chicago. He had numerous city officials on his payroll.
Private clubs are entirely voluntary. To become a member you have to explicitly consent to the rules by signing a contract. No one ever consented to government. No one ever signed a contract agreeing to pay taxes. You can stop your club membership any time you like without relocating. Not so with government.
I realize the truth about government is distressing to bootlicking drones like yourself. It has no ethical or moral justification. Government is a vicious, brutal unethical means to organize society. It's understandable that you, as one of its minions, would attempt to give it some respectability by comparing it with an institution that is respectable and not hated by most of humanity.