Oddbean new post about | logout
 That is not true. My ancestors lived in a world where the tax was 9% there was no VAT or sales tax and zero property tax. The government had no say on whatever you were building on your property, there was no forced insurance or forced medical tax. Still there were police and fire Marshalls. Those were handled locally and they were doing their job like anybody else. The idea that you have to choose between being a slave or live  in the total chaos is false.
If you mean that I should refuse public help to be coherent, well yes I'm already doing that. Me and my children have no doctor, the government doesn't know they are homeschooled and I do not expect to live over a retirement one day. Still I need to pay for owning my stuff and I need a driver licence plus I need a passport to move. The cost of forfeit the government structure is high. 
 If you look at my profile picture, you'll understand where I come from and my stance on the whole thing. 

Unfortunately, in 2024, we don't live in that world anymore. We're global. We have import and export duties, global commodity pricing, hedged futures and all sorts of tomfoolery that explicitly connects the human capital to an enslaved system.  
 You can refuse that as much as you can. I keep old cars and fix them where I could buy a new one every year. I have stuff in different places on the planet so I will never lose all. And most important I have real friends and if the government tries to punish me, I will receive help.
It will be harder with a digital currency but I still can exchange my ability for things I cannot produce and I will try in the short term to use their own regulations against them with companies, trusts, precious metals and crypto only when I will have developed a way to be 100% anonimous