louisthomas a great post but with respect you are wrong and reinforce many neo-liberal myths that enslave us.
The first thing you did not do is differentiate the roll that tax has on a currency sovereign as opposed to a currency user.
For clarification a currency user is a US state (California) or an Australian state (Victoria) and also a country such as Greece who has given up their currency. A currency sovereign is a country that produces its own currency such as the USA, Australia, Britain, China, and Japan.
Let’s be clear from the start my comments relate to ‘currency sovereigns’ unless otherwise specified.
It may come as a bit of a shock but a currency sovereign does not need your tax dollars in order to spend or fund health, education, infrastructure, or any other service. In fact tax receipts are destroyed on receipt reducing total money supply.
The main purpose of tax is to create demand for the currency, but can also be used to control other aspects of society. Your tax dollar does not pay for anything.
This is very simplistic, but think about it; how is it possible to tax a currency before it is created in the first place? In order to tax, a currency sovereign must first spend the currency into existence. You can’t drink from an empty cup.
It’s not tax that enslaves, it is the acceptance of the myth that taxes funds spending that enslaves.
This is a video that Professor Bill Mitchell gave at a NZ university a few months ago, I would strongly encourage you all to spend the time and watch it.
Educative...thanks.