When the government takes your money – whether via the robbery called “taxation” or via the subtler form of theft styled “inflation” – there’s not much you can do to get it back. But you can save it back – by not spending money on things the government says you must but which you can still “get away” with not paying for.
There are many such, including not spending money on “health insurance,” which of course is no such thing in that it’s not possible to “insure” health. What used to be called medical insurance was exactly that – in that you paid for a policy that provided coverage in the event you got sick or hurt. Paying the premium did not mean you would be “healthy.” That being largely a question of age, genetic, habits and good – or bad – fortune. 
The government says you must buy “health insurance” – which means the government says you must accept being robbed by the insurance mafia, which is exactly what it is in that a mafia is a for-profit racket that uses threats to coerce people into giving up their money for a “service” they neither want nor need. The only difference between the “family” of Don Corleone and the “family” of Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross, et al being that the latter are legalized mafias that use the threat of government to make you pay.
The good news is you can avoid paying – by just not paying. One of the good things the Orange Man did before the Orange Man did things that undid most of the good things he did was to cancel what the government styled the “shared responsibility” payment. This being another of the government’s ways of rephrasing robbery-theft. The government demanded money – a lot of money – as punishment for not paying the insurance mafia money. Observe that paying the “shared responsibility” payment provided zero insurance coverage – establishing that the actual object of the exercise is to make you pay rather than to “cover” you.
The typical payment being about $800 for the year, increasing with each year the victim did not pay the insurance mafia. The Supreme Court, acting as consigliere for the insurance mafia, deemed this business not only legal but – hold on to your helmet – “constitutional.” 
They held that the government could act as the Luca Brasi (Don Corleone’s enforcer) of the insurance mafia. That being forced to hand over money to a private, for-profit business for “services” you neither asked for nor use is within the scope of federal power authorized by the Constitution. And they may well be right – in that the Constitution was written in such an expansive manner – “general welfare,” “necessary and proper” – as to encompass any power the federal government decides to assert it has and which is then anointed as “constitutional” by the amen-chorus of the federal government’s power; i.e., the Supreme Court. 
Those are the brutal facts – notwithstanding the fact that the Constitution was sold to the people as a constraint upon the powers of federal authority. Nor the fact that it probably would never have been ratified by the people if the people understood that by ratifying it, they were ceding to the federal government – to the handful of federal office-holders who are the federal government – essentially unlimited power to do as they like, so long as they deem it “necessary and proper” and in the interests of the “general welfare.”
And so they deemed it “necessary and proper” and in the interests of the “general welfare” to have the government act as the Luca Brasi enforcer on behalf of private businesses.
On the upside – and yes, thanks to the Orange Man – the government is currently somewhat unable to collect on behalf of the insurance mafia. The “shared responsibility” payment is in abeyance, for now. And if you “owed” any “shared responsibility” payments prior to the Orange Man rescinding the authority of the government to impose future payments (for now) the only way the government can collect is via thieving away your annual tax-theft “refund” – another etymological abuse of government. How does it constitute a “refund” when a thief returns a portion of what he stole? We’re supposed to be grateful for this, of course. Many actually think they are getting a “refund” – rather than a portion of their own money, previously stolen. 
Anyhow, the government can only steal-back what it says you “owe” in “shared responsibility” payments if you are not careful to avoid being in a position to receive a “refund.” If you are smart enough to structure what you’re forced to hand over to the thief such that you are not owed a “refund,” then Luca Brasi cannot steal any more from you.
How long this “loophole” – yet another example of government etymological abuse – remains open is, of course, an open question. It will probably be closed, with the help of the same Republicans who initially talked of repealing this business of the government forcing us to hand over money to the insurance mafia – but then transitioned into talking about replacing it, with a “plan” of their own.
My plan is to not pay – either the government or the mafia – to the extent that “loopholes” (and end-runs) allow.
More about that soon.
. . .
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I heard that if you refuse Medicare, you forgo ever collecting the social security you paid all your working life.
How tragic. I won’t be able to collect the “benefits” (i.e. the incentive for the system to
murdereuthanize me) that I didn’t ask for, don’t want, can’t opt out of, and that won’t exist anyway by the time I get to be old enough to collect.Eric,
Have you received your annual IRS letter saying to pay up? I just received 3 from the feds, all on one day, one for each year I didn’t pay! Right after Trump cancelled the ISR penalty, Greasy Gavin here in California reinstated it. I researched the Cali law and found that it’s all bark and no bite just like the federal law, for how long, we’ll see. So yeah, I get letters from from 2 Luca’s! Cali’s letters are much more threatening though.
Here’s the Cali law, section (b), 1,2 & 3;
61025. (a) The Franchise Tax Board’s civil authority and procedures for purposes of compliance with notice and other due process requirements imposed by law to collect income taxes shall be applicable to the collection of the Individual Shared Responsibility Penalty.
(b) The Individual Shared Responsibility Penalty shall be paid upon notice and demand by the Franchise Tax Board, and shall be assessed and collected pursuant to Part 10.2 (commencing with Section 18401), except as follows:
(1) If an applicable individual fails to timely pay the Individual Shared Responsibility Penalty, the applicable individual shall not be subject to a criminal prosecution or penalty with respect to that failure.
(2) The Franchise Tax Board shall not file a notice of lien with respect to any real property of an applicable individual by reason of any failure to pay the Individual Shared Responsibility Penalty, or levy any real property with respect to that failure.
(3) For the purpose of collecting the Individual Shared Responsibility Penalty, Article 1 (commencing with Section 19201) of Chapter 5 of Part 10.2 shall not apply.
(c) The Franchise Tax Board shall integrate enforcement of the Individual Shared Responsibility Penalty into existing activities, protocols, and procedures, including audits, enforcement actions, and taxpayer education efforts.
Hi William!
Just the one for me… so far…
Unfortunately there are instances as you grow older -in my experience- you cannot avoid a medical visit. One was where my ear clogged with wax and twice in ten years I have had food stuck in my throat. Without insurance the costs to correct the situations would be ridiculous.. If group insurance is available to you then you should absolutely take it. If not, then weigh the costs of an asshole blowing a stoplight and putting you into the ER and what that entails. No easy answer there.
Stuck food may not seem like a big deal but uncorrected you’ll die in a few days. It’s terrible and corrected by a simple endoscopy.
Ok, but ear wax? Debrox is like $5.99 at the grocery store, still. Yeah, it takes a few days, but it works.
No arguements there, MArk. I have this thing where I sometimes get what I call an esophageal spasm sometimes when eating certain things- It’s like a one-way hiccup where it gets stuck one way and I can’t breathe for a while. Doesn’t happen as much these days, as I learned to avoid the few things that seemed to trigger it. Had a few bad instances where it was scary. Ya learn to deal with it……
Had I gone to a doctor, I can only imagine the draconian procedures(tests) and remedies i’d be offered…not to mention the cost- and probably drugs which would cause other maladies…. I’ve learned that throwing my head way back and sticking my arms up in the air helps relieve it faster…probably better than anything a barber-surgeon would prescribe.
One of those little IEM silicone covers came off the IEM and got caught in my ear canal while i was mowing once. How to get it out? It had slipped in there pretty good. Be damned if I was gonna waste my day and my money going to some cartel practitioner. Ended up digging it out with a toothpick (The tweezers I have wouldn’t fit/weren’t long enough).
You learn as you go…. Main thing is to keep calm, and resolve not to be a victim of the barber-surgeons.
A lot of jobs require you to take a physical as part of the onboarding process, and sometimes annually after that. Sometimes it’s rather cursory; sometimes it’s more in-depth.
I’ve had a few sports / activity – related injuries over the years. Shoulder, knee, back–nothing too unusual, but have needed attention (mostly PT). I may need the knee replaced eventually but we are trying to delay that as long as possible — the main key is to stay active & keep using it.
I have had to have a LOT of dental work done over the years and will likely need more but as long as I stay on top of that I should be able to keep what’s left of my teeth (lots of fillings & 2 crowns) for a long time.
As for the rest of it, it’s not that big a deal. I know what I want, I know what I don’t want, I communicate that pretty clearly, and I stay out of the Dr.’s office unless I actually need something. Work made me go in for a covid test one time, when I called in sick after getting woozy and nearly passing out in front of my boss. I couldn’t really say no, even though I didn’t want it. That’s never happening again, though. Having done it once, I now have ammunition if they try to push the issue should it come up again. But, it probably won’t. Smart companies figured out a long time ago that this was more of a test-demic than anything else, and that constant positive tests were causing them to be short-staffed when people weren’t actually sick so most of them gave that up a long time ago.
Hi Mark,
Yes, but consider: If you avoid paying for “coverage” every month, you save that sum every month. Put that aside and you will have money at hand for all but catastrophic problems. Certainly, those can (and do) happen. But I won’t be spending myself into the poorhouse to “cover” against the possibility.
‘for all but catastrophic problems’ — eric
For some years I had $1 million in catastrophic medical coverage, with a $30,000 deductible, through a professional organization.
Initially the cost was reasonable — somewhere in the $200 to $300 range annually. But then the premium began to escalate, as emergency room charges in the tens of thousands became a common event.
Americans live under multiple cartels — physicians, hospitals, health ‘insurance,’ and Big Pharma. This results in absurdly high discriminatory prices and … bankruptcies.
Over half a million Americans file for bankruptcy each year, and two-thirds of those involve unpayable medical bills. Obamacare did NOTHING to change this.
The US fedgov is run entirely by cartels. Lowly citizens who are either careless enough or unlucky enough to need costly care get run through a meat grinder. It’s an ugly system, for a country with ugly, demonic leadership.
I agree, Jim –
I’ve decided (long ago) that I will just live my life and not pay these SOBs, to the extent possible. I have no “coverage” but remain healthy. If I should have a “catastrophic” problem I cannot pay for, so be it. I’d rather end up broke than be broke all my life. I have no children so if I croak no one will be left dependent that I am responsible for. My girlfriend can have everything except the TA, which goes to my niece!
Oh, he reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
Said, I’ve got no further use for these
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home
And he gave her one last kiss and died
And he gave her his Vincent to ride
— Richard Thompson, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yw2yKNLEPc
Eric,
It’s not like you are going to live forever if you get medical services. Especially given the fact that the Medical Industrial Complex is the number three cause of death in the US that never shows on a death certificate. Around 250k per year in medical error and malpractice. Even more if “cause of death” were accurately recorded.
Aside from broken bones and gushing gashes, I’m no longer in need of their services. Maybe not then.
Amen, John! The medical mafia maintains it’s stranglehold over most people these days the same way tat other forms of organized crime such as government and the Mafia do- by inducing fear in it’s potential customers/victims.
“Get that tetanus shot or you’ll die a horrible death from that cut on your finger!”
“Get that rabies shot or you’ll die from where FiFi (who lives on a pillow in a penthouse) nipped your ass!”
“Get Fifi vaccinated, or she’ll almost definitely contact rabies- even though rabies is very rare in nature, and Fifi lives in a house and never goes anywhere except her suburban backyard….”
“Go to the hospi’l when ya break your rib! There’s nothing we can do, you’ll just have to let it heal and we’ll tell you to take Tylenol…but you’ll have the satisfaction of having a ‘professional’ look at it and expose you to some X-rays, and oooooo and ahhh over it, which will make you feel safer while helping him pay for his nmew boat”.
“And we’ll keep you completely ignorant regarding any truly useful self-help, and poo-poo all natural remedies, so that you’;ll have no option but to rush to the nearest ER for any little injury…”
Mark, you’d be surprised how much ‘healthcare’ can easily be done DIY. A little knowledge; a few basic tools…(Like an ear syringe and mineral oil)…. And if someone plows (into) you at a light…they get the bill…or your own car insurance will pay. Plus, when ya genuinely need a ‘medical service’ you be surprised how cheap it can be if you negotiate and tell them that no insurance is involved. I’m talking 75-90% off the phony ‘billed’ price. Even at full price…it’s a lot cheaper to pay for the occasional service than to pay insurance premiums and co-pays and deductibles for years, for something that you may use on rare occasions.
I’m 60, and have been doing this for over 40 years now… Worst thing was i had to pay $4K for something once that would have been billed at about $20K if it were a standard insurance job….with the result being that if I had had insurance, it likely would have cost me the same or more than the $4K, PLUS a few hundred grand in insurance premiums over the years…..
The insurance companies don’t make huge profits by giving you (and everyone else) more than the value of what you pay.
In an emergency, you can even negotiate after the fact (Never done this personally, as I’ve always avoided ERs and such…buit I know people who have- When they get the bloated ‘show’ bill, they go to the medical center’s administrator and negotiate a cash payment…and it usually comes out to about 10% of the ‘show’ bill. Those bloated bnills are only to maintain the illusion that insurance is necessary…but in reality, the insurance co. doesn’t pay anywhere near that ‘;show’ price, and you don’t have to either.)
The public health bureaucrats and Big Media may well stir up ANOTHER fear porn campaign…..this time, over the flu……
https://www.eugyppius.com/p/the-covidification-of-influenza
‘My plan is to not pay – either the government or the mafia – to the extent that “loopholes” (and end-runs) allow.’ — eric
New micromanagement rules, thanks to Clowngress:
‘Before 2022, the federal Form 1099-K reporting threshold was for taxpayers with more than 200 transactions worth an aggregate above $20,000. However, Congress slashed the limit as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and a single transaction over $600 may now trigger the form.
‘It’s possible you’ll receive Form 1099-K for transactions you don’t expect, such as reselling Taylor Swift tickets at a profit, for example. But selling items at a loss, such as used furniture, may be less clear.
“Obviously, if you sell a $2,000 couch for $1,000, there’s not taxable transaction there,” Markowitz said. “You don’t get a capital loss for it, and you don’t have a gain.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/23/heres-why-you-may-get-form-1099-k-for-third-party-payments-in-2022.html
Actually, this raises the lovely possibility of issuing bogus 1099-K forms to members of Clowngress, and other annoying people. Sic the IRS on them, using an anonymous corporate identity for reporting their phantom ‘income.’ It’s the next best thing to salting their vehicle with crack, or installing child porn on their computer.
The Biden Thing has handed America over to the Biodefense/ Big Pharma cartel via Executive Order…..
https://www.technocracy.news/biden-has-handed-america-over-to-the-biodefense-cartel/
Never had health insurance, never will. Its one of those red lines for me. As long as illegal aliens, who never paid a dime in tax get everything free, why should I fund their corrupt medical industrial complex. I have an HSA I contribute pretax dollars to occasionally. I use it to buy aspirin, vitamins, and other medical supplies we may need .
As to the whole O blah blah tax, if they ever get around to using force to compel, thats the day I hoist the black flag.
There is one upside to the Pure Tyrannical Lawlessness. The curtain is now pulled back. Everyone can now see their deeds, done in the dark. No way to unsee it, unless you are a pathological sheep. Its a sorting process.
In New York state you must purchase insurance and prove it before they will register your vehicle, link below. In other states you may have to check a box saying you have insurance. Being an outlaw, I faked my own insurance cards for years.
———————
https://dmv.ny.gov/insurance/insurance-requirements
“New York State Insurance Requirements
Do I need insurance?
Yes. To register a vehicle in New York State you must have New York State issued automobile liability insurance coverage. If you do not maintain the coverage, the DMV can suspend your vehicle registration and your driver license. ”
“… your insurance company will issue proof of insurance in two ways. … send an electronic notice of insurance coverage to the DMV”
————————
You must purchase the mafia insurance before the state will even register your vehicle.
Here in Taxachusetts the DMV is tied by computer to the insurance mafia so if your insurance lapses or your saaaaaaaafety inspection expires they will cancel your registration. Probably have to pay a fine to reinstate it as well, just because they can.
I buy insurance, but not the state of Idaho’s registration. I don’t want it.
I’m in favor of a tax cut for anybody, anywhere, anytime.
People who cheer when politicians blabber about closing loopholes are morons.
There is no such thing as a “general welfare clause”. Such clause is instead an apology for the assumption of authority to collect taxes, and nothing more.
That is, if the current US Constitution was valid at all. It is not. The convention was convened to possibly modify the Articles of Confederation, not to replace it.
Which is why my founding father hero is Aaron Burr, for shooting Alexander Hamilton dead in a duel. In spite of Hamilton cheating.
Eric,
There’s a problem. Comments fail to post, and when I try to re-post them, I’m told they have already been posted, while they have not been.
Thanks, John – working on it now…
There is no such thing as a “general welfare clause”. Such clause is instead an apology for the assumption of authority to collect taxes, and nothing more.
That is, if the current US Constitution was valid at all. It is not. The convention was convened to possibly modify the Articles of Confederation, not to replace it.
Which is why my founding father hero is Aaron Burr, for shooting Alexander Hamilton dead in a duel. In spite of Hamilton cheating.
Hey John, I need to study up on all of that. The few things I have read, said the Constitutional Convention being called to come together was illegal and that the Articles of Confederation were much better.
From my ignorance I do agree with you on Burr, wasn’t he more for states rights? Hamilton wanted a strong central government—-and that’s our problem now.
Wasn’t Andrew Jackson big on state’s rights? I really need to do some reading on all of this.
Another good article. Insurance of any kind is a racket.
Hi Elaine,
I’ve been a critic of forced insurance for many years. Fundamentally, for the same reason I have been a critic of forced electric cars. No one should be forced to buy or “help” buy (via taxes/subsidies) anything. The fact that people are is proof that the item in question is not of value to those being forced to buy/subsidize it.
With regard to insurance: Mandating it also makes it a terrible deal for prudent/responsible people, who are compelled to pay prices they would otherwise refuse to pay – which would force the insurance companies to lower their costs.
I maintain that all of this “coverage” is among the top three reasons why so many of us are stretched thin, financially. The other two being taxes and “inflation.”
Thanks for the kind words!
And the “coverage” is only really there until you actually need it, at which point in time it magically disappears if at all possible.
Hi Publius
I was just thinking about that… I must have the best “coverage” of all (none) because I am healthy, have no ills and take no pills. And my premium is zero.
You got that right Eric. The ‘coverage’ is killing us and the taxes and inflation. Have got to pay my yearly ‘rent’ (property taxes) in the next few days so I don’t get kicked out of the house I think I own.
Sometimes I envy the people that lived in the way back time. I guess I’m talking about 1900 and backward. They had so much more freedom than us.
Hi Elaine,
The tax on property – our homes – particularly outrages me. They eliminate the possibility of ever being “free and clear.” Of owning your home, no matter how long ago you paid for it. Because you must continue paying the government else be kicked out of it. Sickening.
Make sure you see the Musical “Hamilton”. If you are familiar with history it will make you vomit.
Hey Elaine,
You’ll probably find this interestingl.
https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Counter-Revolution-Constitution-Sheldon-Richman/dp/0692687912/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1463586491&ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=thomacom-20&linkId=5660c1041b11ec6c4e714ceebd95d0aa
Sheldon Richman discusses the book here.
https://tomwoods.com/ep-663-is-the-constitution-an-enemy-of-liberty/
Cheers,
Jeremy
Elaine,
Burr was otherwise no saint, but putting a lethal hole in Hamilton abrogated much of his sin.
Hey John and Jeremy—thanks Jeremy, I will check that out. John, I know he wasn’t a saint. What politician is—none. Like you say, he did do the young country a service.
Now to go look up that info on this rainy Saturday. Good day for hibernating.
Also – I agree re Burr. He did a service; the shame of it is he didn’t do it in time.
Short of scorched bloody earth I don’t see any way to “fix” the entrenched current system. Not even a little bit.
Tobacco is legal, it is also the most addictive substance on the planet. Tobacco claims more than 480,000 lives each year in the US alone.
Tobacco farmers aren’t fined and forced out of business, they are subsidized, in fact. When 480,000 people hooked on tobacco each year die, they are no longer in the workforce, won’t be collecting any social security benefits, maybe a few survivors might benefit, if there are any.
You can’t ban tobacco, it ain’t gonna work.
The gov wants as many tobacco users as they can possibly hook, they’ll be out of luck before the age of 65/67.
The gov benefits to have tobacco legal.
You can make laws to limit the number of tobacco buyers, but you won’t eliminate hardcore tobacco users, they’re hooked.
I read a comment on the internet maybe 20 years ago now, it concerned health insurance and the need for it. The words I read in the comment was the commenter had a doctor’s appointment for a checkup. The doctor said to the person who wrote the comment that he was in such good health, he didn’t need to buy health insurance.
Something seriously wrong with the doctor’s mental state.
I bought a policy for a year’s coverage in ca. 1990. I payed 1328 USD for the policy. The amount of coverage received and the amount payed was audited by the state insurance commissioner, I received a refund from the health insurer for 578 dollars.
Oddly enough, the insurance commissioner was offered a healthy sum of money to move to a new job in another state.
You can’t trust the gov, period.
Go to YT and listen to Robert Kiyosaki.
drumphish,
I can personally attest to the fact that nicotine is by far the most addictive substance there is. In my youth I experimented with a number of drugs, many of them “addictive”. And alcohol of course. It did not take significant effort to stop using any of them, except nicotine. Which at 68 years old, I’ve pretty much given up on.
To any who are considering giving it up, you should endeavor to do so NOW. The longer you go the harder it gets.
John,
Sorry to hear that you have given up. I was able to end a 39 year habit in my late 50’s. It wasn’t that hard, you just have to really want to stop! I found these disposable vape pens at a 7/11, 3 in a pack, looked just like a cig, $2 a pack. 3 packs later and I had weaned myself off that disgusting habit. I can’t even stand the smell of cigs anymore!
Keep trying, you won’t regret it!!!
If you can keep your income around $40K per year (married), you can get a “free” crummy OCare bronze plan with a huge deductible that pays for nothing except a cheap yearly physical. Deductibles are around $15K for a married couple. An unsubsidized plan costs about $1500 a month. No drug benefit is included.
Like war, healthcare is a racket.
I just had an idea.
Can we get a state–any state, but most likely it would have to be a red one–to pass an “insurance freedom” bill prohibiting O’bamacare?
I’d love to pop popcorn for that one. Especially if it takes off like wildfire.
Why stop at guns and marijuana? Nullify it all. Resurrect the 9A and 10A. Go for the jugular.
No, Publius. The Republicrats are just as much in the pocket of the insurance industry and the globalist/WHO agenda to control people via ‘medicine’ as are the Dumbocraps. They couldn’t have passed Obozocare without the Repugnantcans. Hell, IIRC, Nixon ‘gave us’ HMOs right on the heels of LBJ’s Medicare/Medicaid…. Don’t ya get it? They’re all in on it.
Spot on, Nunz!
The likes of Mitt Romney, et al, will always reliably vote for whatever the Left tells them to. Because they are of the Left – but like to pretend they are something else.
Interesting thing is that the Orange Doofus threw us this one cruimb via executive order, and as such could easily be revoked by Creep Biden at any time with the stroke of a pen- yet he is allowing it to stand (Probably just can’t find a pen!).
I’ve never had “health insurance” and never will. I see so many people who make exponentially more money than I do, and yet never seem to have any money and are always pleading poverty, likely because between taxes, health insurance, life insurance, homeowner’s insurance, disability insurance, retirement plans and the interest they pay by buying everything on credit, truly have only a pittance left to actually LIVE on.
A surmise that a good part of the reason I’ve stayed healthy for these 6 decades is because I don’t kill myself by trying to earn all the money necessary to pay for all the above-mentioned luxuries of dubious value, and thus lead a life of no stress, and don’t have to live in proximately to disgusting “metropolitan area” nor have a commute.
Lead a simple pleasant life, like our ancestors did, and you will have true riches.
I’m disgusted when I see so many rural-dwellers around me these days commuting an hour or two each way, every day, to work somewhere where they can make ‘good money’ to pay for new cars and a big house- they get little sleep, and they’re not there for their kids….. I mean, what good is the money if they can’t enjoy the life they are trying to buy? All they have are the accoutrements of a good life, without the quality that such a life should afford. I may live in trailer (err…”mobile home”), but DAYUM, I can actually enjoy my life, and no amount of money can compensate for that.
Sounds like there is a certain amount of jealousy directed at us “rural dwellers” who chose to commute to “the big city” in order to maintain a rural lifestyle. The commute is worth it.
Rural life, especially for children is much healthier than “big city life”.
In traditional households of the 1960s and earlier, the husband was absent for much of the day and even longer as he was busy providing for his family. At the time, a family could live on one income.
The wife was expected to handle the household, carefully allocating the money brought in by the husband. I realize that the division of labor has changed due to both parents working with “day care” taking over much of the responsibility for child-rearing, to society’s detriment.
My children and grandchildren are able to observe nature, see and play with frogs, turtles, and other wildlife. Gardening and seeing the results of their labor is always a positive experience. Fishing is fun, especially for little ones who are excited when they hook a fish.
I have my “little piece of paradise” of acreage and could never be happier.
Anarch, I have my little place in the sticks too (28 acres, to be exact- free and clear)….but increasingly, more people around me are opting for the commuting lifestyle, rather than living modestly and enjoying true country life. If that’s what they want…fine- but I just don’t see the sense to it because they do not have the time nor the calmness of mind to enjoy anything about the country; they just live here…when they’re home- nights and weekends. It’s just the suburban lifestyle in places that have no big city or suburbs.
It doesn’t ave to be that way, at least in places like here where land is cheap and there is no zoning or anything, and one can erect a modest dwelling, or trailer, etc. quite cheaply…unless people consider it worth it for the luxuries, or don’t mind giving up the majority of their time of the best years of their lives.
People complain that this rural way of life is dying out- but that is precisely why it is, and why the small towns are dying (Because they’re ghost towns now, because everyone’s off to the bigger towns and cities to work and do everything else)- And they can’t blame ‘corporations’ or Uncle for that- but sadly, the woprk-in-the-city sleep-in-the-country folks ARE trhemselves making that way of life more inaccessible to others, as their competing for the real estate and swelling numbers lead to higher RE costs and higher property taxes which would have been impossible to command among a population who live solely off of the local economy/micro-farming, etc.
PS. Hehe, I just had to laugh thinking about this: I’m originally from NYC, but you’ll often see me discing my neighbor’s field or bush-hogging his acreage, etc. while he, being born and raised here, is off to a city job every day now (Apparently the price he has to pay to keep a woman around these days…)
When I first relocated to rural life, one of the first things I did was to introduce myself to my farmer neighbors assuring them that agricultural operations were absolutely not a problem and there would never be any complaints from me about farm operations (odors, dust and dirt, etc.)
I DO have a problem with people who move to rural areas and then complain. The same goes for people who move next to airports or shooting ranges.
Regards,
Same here, Anarchyst. Shame though, that now with so many of even the farmers working corporate city jobs during the day, they’re out there cutting and raking hay at 1:30AM. It kinda sucks that even in the middle of nowhere now it can’t even be quiet in the middle of the night. Said neighbor’s brother died from a heart attack aged 50. They literally get 2 hours of sleep. We’re becoming a work culture, like Japan.
Nunzio,
Indeed, things will not make you “happy”. I did the commute thing for many years. Not to acquire new and shinier things (that was my ex-wife’s thing), but to acquire capital. Which I did. So now I live on SS alone, and it’s a saving wage for me. My son recently commented on my extreme generosity with my capital toward him and his family. I told him “I don’t need it”. Just like cars, the simpler the better.
Zactly, John! I lived in a studio apartment in NY and slept on the floor for 8 years so I could save some cash to get a place free and clear in the sticks. I live “below the poverty line”- which is a fine living for me here in the country- much more so than when I made three times as much money in NY. I do like to keep some cash around, for when genuinely needed, which is no problemo, since I have absolutely no use for new cars nor any ofd the gadgets and gizmos of modern life. I can’t believe all the crap I see so many people wasting their money on- especially these days, and the time they throw away in order to pay for said crap. There can’t be any time to enjoy the finer things in life when one’s life is so occupied with so much garbage- whether it be junk gadgets from Walmart and the dollar store, or Ferraris…it’s all just a distraction that ads no value, but rather robs one of time of thought and experience.
So many of the guys I worked with regarded their tax refund as some kind of gift. It really bummed me out that they couldn’t see they were just giving govco an interest free loan of some of their stolen money. Like you Eric I always calculated my withholding so that come April 15th I owed Uncle instead of the other way around.
Also note if you don’t pay Uncle exactly on time you’ll be whacked with additional fees, interest charges, etc. Too bad for everyone still waiting for “refunds” from their 2021 taxes that it doesn’t work both ways, the usual rules for thee but not for me.
Mike,
With holding tax is the worst abomination delivered upon us. To “help finance WWII”. Somehow, as always, it didn’t go away after the war. If people had to pay their tax per annum, this psyop would have ended long ago.
Hi John,
“With holding tax is the worst abomination delivered upon us”.
We should not forget that Milton Friedman, who stated that “nothing is more permanent than a temporary government program”, helped establish this abomination. Friedman was an efficiency fetishist more than a principled libertarian.
Cheers,
Jeremy
We all need to do what Eric is doing and make our own small yet meaningful protest of what this country has become. If we watch 2024 get stolen, then we need a national strike. Maybe sooner than 2024.
At least the people of Brazil value their freedom and are willing to risk what they have to make their redress of grievance known. Some people in China are going to the gulag for their protests. We need to courage like they have.
I know some of you are frustrated and refuse to participate in voting as a useless exercise. I agree in principle you are highly likely right. However, we need to engage in guerrilla warfare and vote and also defeat their cheating mechanisms cleverer than they do. Clean up the voter rolls in your county. Demand an accounting of all printed ballots vs legal voters. Protest when needed.
Hans,
I sympathize, but you cannot use a corrupt system to fix a corrupt system. The downfall of the “Libertarian Party”.
It’s boiled down to physical resistance.
Choose your battles carefully.
I pay property tax because I don’t want to kill a deputy. If it gets high enough, of course I will.
I don’t pay income tax, because my income does not make me “liable”, even though no one is.
And on down the line.
If the past few years doesn’t prove that the federal government is a corporatocracy, I don’t know what does. We had the FDA approving or granting EUA to ineffective drugs such as Aduhelm and the COVID “vaccines” (and boosters). We also had the Biden Thing and authoritarian governors telling employees in certain sectors they MUST take an experimental mRNA injection or be FIRED from their jobs, which begs the question “How much money does Pfizer and Moderna make from every COVID jab government succeeds in FORCING people to take?”
And now, with this war on gas powered vehicles, government is telling people they MUST get an electric vehicle despite the problems we KNOW they have. What’s next, telling people they MUST eat bugs or artificial meat grown in a lab to satisfy Klaus Schwab or help Bill Gates make even MORE money?
If the past few years doesn’t prove that the federal government is a corporatocracy, I don’t know what does, as there are numerous industries that control the alphabet soup agencies that purportedly regulate them. For example, the FDA, approving or granting EUA to ineffective drugs like Aduhelm and the COVID “vaccines”, and the CDC voting to add the COVID jabs to the childhood vaccination schedule despite the fact that COVID was never really that much of a threat to them, and public health bureaucrats ADMIT the jabs CAN cause side effects to young people. There are other things that are harmful to humans such as 5G and glyphosate, but the feds don’t make the companies pull them off the market.