How could Americans strangle their government by denying it their tax payments?

Question

Is there any way that Americans could bring down their own national government by blocking its efforts to siphon revenue away from them? Let's suppose that they really, really wanted to do this. Could they? And, if so, how?

Richard W: I stipulated that Americans in general wanted to strangle their government, including the employers. Not only do I assume they'd take the risk of being "shut down," I further assume that they'd be prepared to shoot dead any government agents who tried to do the shutting down. Revolution is not carried out by half-measures.

What possible good could come out of it? Why, the good that Americans would again be able to work out their own destiny, without a federal authority micromanaging their morals, restricting their freedom, and, of course, taking their money.

Do you really think that elections accomplish significant changes? Have you not noticed that your foreign policy is never debated? Instead, You Are Told What Shall Be. Haven't you seen that the overall direction of policy doesn't depend on who wins elections? Lose a Clinton, get a Bush... is that really much of an improvement? They're both scoundrels. And your next president will be a scoundrel, too, I bet.

phil081943: You can do the authoritarian huff and puff like the Big Bad Wolf, but the fact is that the government won't be able to put ALL of the Americans into prison. There are no taxes to pay for prison guards or maintenance, you see.

And since Americans are armed and outnumber their government's forces, they might be able to win, if they were determined to fight. And a good many of the US police and soldiers might defect to join the popular uprising. So revolution can still work in America, even if it isn't as easy as it once was.

You don't need a big central government to build roads. You only need governments with jurisdictions of an area, say, 20-50 miles wide: the size of a US county or parish. The counties adjacent to each other would have an economic interest in ensuring that the roads link up at the borders.

You don't need to fly, AT ALL. And you can certainly fly without air traffic controllers: it's just a bit riskier, but air planes only need fuel and pilots.

And finally, Phil, if the American public has grown strong enough to defeat the US government, then they'll make short work of any terrorsts they find, assuming that there are any to be found. The biggest reason for the terrorist threat to Americans is the behavior of the US government. Scrapping that government would eliminate most of the reasons for terrorism.

Answer 1

Your taxes are taken before you get your check so no this is not possible.

Answer 2

The American economy and most economies based on the free enterprise system cannot be brought down in such a manner as taxes are constantly being collected and spent on iniatives that the government sponsors. Just getting up and having breakfast in the morning is a manner of paying taxes which are collected when anything involved in consuming is undertaken. Taxes do in a sense make the world go round. They are the reason things get done and the work involved in paying them creates opportunity for more work and therefore more taxes.

Answer 3

First of all many people have tried to get away with not paying their taxes & what happened. They are IN PRISON// You would not get to work because we would have no roads or bridges.You would not be able to fly on a air plane because we would have no air controlers in the towers.You would have no military to protect you from terriost. So think before you leap. You may not like where you land

Answer 4

By not paying taxes we would be strangling the government. We would also be strangling our selves, and committing a crime. Taxes pays Social Security Payments to our seniors, medicare and medicaid payments to doctors and hospitals, pays for repairs on old roads, construction of new roads, police, grade schools-colleges, student loans, subsidies to our farmers, public transportation systems, street lights, libraries, and the list goes on and on. Yes, it stinks to pay taxes, but it is worse to go with out the things that taxes pay for. Our government also pays for many things it should not, and it has been painfully obvious to the entire world that our government is not perfect. It is the best we have though. The best, and legal way, to make a change in our government is to vote, to write letters to news papers, to write letters to our representatives, to stay educated as to what is really going on, and not to blindly accept every thing our government says is correct.

Answer 5

You really think every business in the country is going to risk being shut down by the IRS for not paying their taxes & collecting payroll taxes.
I doubt it.
Even if it was possible, what possible good could come of it?
If it's that bad, the people can vote the politicians out of office.
There is no reason to do what you suggest.

Answer 6

WITHOUT TAX MONEY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COULD NOT PAY THEIR BILLS AND A REVOLUTION WOULD OCCUR.


GOD BLESS