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YOUR OPINION: Should Only Tax Payers Be Allowed To Vote?

By  //  March 22, 2015

YOUR OPINION: REFLECTIONS ON 'YOU DIDN'T BUILD THAT' AND 'SHARE THE WEALTH'

Are you willing to split what you've earned with those who have never contributed to your had earned success?
Are you willing to split what you’ve earned with those who have never contributed to your had earned success?

“I Personally Think Our Founding Fathers Had It Right — That Only Those Who Paid Taxes Should Be Allowed To Vote.”

Years ago, there was a man in a certain town who started a company.  Through hard work, and a little luck, he created a successful business.  Through the years, he continued to build his business.  He identified new markets.  Expanded his business more, and eventually sold it for something like $100 million.

opinion-1802He never asked anything of the local government other than to be left alone to grow his business. He paid his taxes. He contributed to local charities. He employed local people.

What I remember was how various community and political “leaders,” when he chose not to contribute to their cause or project, would say “he owes us.” Finally, I think he just got fed up with all the beggars asking for a piece of what he had built, with no help from them, and moved.

Now, suppose it would have been legal for a group of locals to put together a petition to require that he split what he had earned equally with everyone who lived in town at the time, regardless of whether they contributed anything to the success of his business.

My guess is just about everyone in town, even some who may have claimed to be his friends, might have been willing to sign that petition.

If you were that man, how would you feel about those people, many of whom are total strangers and contributed nothing to your success, being able to pass a law that would force you to share the fruits of your labor with everyone in town?

More importantly, if you were thinking of starting a business that you hoped would be equally successful, would you want to open it in that town?

Is what Obama and his “share the wealth” buddies proposing really any different?  Is taxing the rich because they were successful, merely to give that money to others who were less successful, any different?

I personally think our founding fathers had it right — that only those who paid taxes should be allowed to vote. I’d go even further and push for what my dad called a “corporate democracy,” where each person had a vote for each dollar they paid in taxes.
I personally think our Founding Fathers had it right — that only those who paid taxes should be allowed to vote. I’d go even further and push for what my dad called a “corporate democracy,” where each person had a vote for each dollar they paid in taxes.

I personally think our Founding Fathers had it right — that only those who paid taxes should be allowed to vote. I’d go even further and push for what my dad called a “corporate democracy,” where each person had a vote for each dollar they paid in taxes.

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”

In closing, I hope you will think about the following statement that has been attributed to several people:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”

And think about a definition of democracy that I’ve found attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “A democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what’s for lunch.”

Is this really the kind of future you want for yourself, or your children or grandchildren?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ilene Davis, CFP
Ilene Davis, CFP

Ilene Davis, a resident of Brevard County since 1971, is a Certified Financial Planner with a bachelors degree in Mathematics from the University of Michigan, a bachelors degree in Accounting from Rollins College, and a Masters in Business Administration from Webster University.  Ms. Davis became a stockbroker in 1982, earned her designation as a Certified Financial Planner in 1984, and with a desire to serve clients more on her own terms, opened her own financial consultant office in Cocoa Village in 1986.   She is committed to helping each client create their own “Financial Freedom Fund,” and believes strongly in free market capitalism and a “hand up rather than a hand-out” as the best path to prosperity.