Comment by solardev
3 years ago
The military? When was the last time they turned on the citizens? I don't live in Tiananmen, thankfully. Meanwhile it's private companies that oppress most of us: private hospitals, private prisons, private insurances companies, private credit bureaus, private banks, private tech companies, private surveillance companies, private small arms manufacturers and dealers. It ain't the government that's crimping my freedoms.
Taxes? So I get some roads and schools and parks and old people healthcare, and lose some to corruption. Better that than making Bezos and Zucky even richer.
Forget the military, when was the last time the government used force on its own citizens? Probably 1 second ago, and thousands of times a day. Are you really more oppressed by a private hospital today than you are by literally thousands of laws that have penalties that will put you in prison? I'm not pro private hospital, or anti-law, but let's be real about who has ultimate control of your freedom. Even if we grant the threat to your freedom by a private [fill in the blank], that entity only is allowed to exist by dint of the government. Not a coincidence that many of your examples are the most regulated industries, or directly in business with Government (hospitals, firearms manufactures, prisons, insurance companies).
If the question is "are you really more oppressed by the private sector than the government"... then the answer for me is, 100% yes. Healthcare is a big one (the insurance industry, along with Republicans, not wanting single-payer). Tax filing is another one (damn you, Intuit). Hospital pricing opacity another one (until recently).
Meanwhile the government protects many of my "freedoms" from private intrusions when it comes to things like bankruptcy protections, credit bureau limitations, telemarketing, angry gunowners, etc.
I've run into trouble with the law on a few occasions, but it was never terribly oppressive -- probably largely thanks to my race, class, and politics. If I were a poor Black man or a conservative white man, I'd probably have a very different view of government.
Thinking about it some more, I think think this just circles back to the old "freedom from" and "freedom to" debate... not sure that's worth getting too much into here, since we're unlikely to change anyone's minds or reveal new perspectives.
> the government used force on its own citizens
The government is authorized by it's own citizens to use force on some citizens (such as criminals).
That being said, your point might have been when did the government last use force in an unjust manner? That's a matter of constant political debate.
> The military? When was the last time they turned on the citizens?
1970, though I hope we aren't at risk of that happening again anytime soon. The modern military has been pretty good at staying apolitical.
I mean, for all intents and purposes, the US Postal Service subsidizes Bezos.
I prefer to use my deep pockets to lobby for tax loopholes. Easy to do, when the tax code is so convoluted 80,000 bureaucrats can't keep track