Re: So Why is Stealing Wrong Again?
During the presedential elections the 3 candidates views on this issue were quite different.
Bush: Lets keep health care the same. (Maintain current level of theft)
Kerry: Lets give everyone the same level of health care that the house and Senate enjoy. (Increase level of theft considerably)
Badrock: If I have $6000 in my safe that I plan to spend on health care and a burglar breaks in and steals it he has robbed me of my health.
If a tax agent charges me $6000 in taxes so that I can no longer afford health care the goverment is equally a burglar. (Decrease theft)
Being a libitarian I of course side with the last. This is by no means the norm however. Most people want theft in thier lives.
A good definition for money is "a future claim on other peoples goods and services." Now for sure the guy who is a millionaire who has $10 stolen is not going to affect his standard of living. The guy who stole the $10 from him is going to improve his standard of living quite a bit.
That is not the point however. That temporary rise in the average standard of living between the two is the wrong matrix to measure. It is the rising of the standard of living of everyone in the world that matters. That can only improve through trade and innovation. Theses are crushed through theft either through a government, church, or individual.
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