Should the USA adopt a poll tax for its elections?

[Risna]

as much as i love taxes.... many people wont vote because of all the extra hassle and a smaller minority will gain power over votes.

[Farnhamia]

No.

This. And anyway, poll taxes are illegal.

[Georgism]

No.

[Germericance]

No, we should be able to vote freely. The deficit is because there is too much spending. Solution? Cut government spending.

[Farnhamia]

No, we should be able to vote freely. The deficit is because there is too much spending. Solution? Cut government spending.

As the late HL Mencken wrote, "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

[Big Jim P]

No, we should be able to vote freely. The deficit is because there is too much spending. Solution? Cut government spending.

As the late HL Mencken wrote, "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

Too bad that quote doesn't apply here.

[Farnhamia]

As the late HL Mencken wrote, "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

Too bad that quote doesn't apply here.

That people think simply cutting spending is the fast, easy way to solve the monetary problems of the government is part of the problem.

[The Floridian Coast]

If there was some way to weigh votes on intellectual merit, I would be all for it. Unfortunately, it is 100% impractical to even think that's possible. So one person, one free vote. Votes absolutely shouldn't be weighed based on money.

[Big Jim P]

Too bad that quote doesn't apply here.

That people think simply cutting spending is the fast, easy way to solve the monetary problems of the government is part of the problem.

Not really. In fact the exact opposite. When you don't have enough money in the bank, you quit spending or go into debt.

[Shrillland]

It's interesting to me that no one's mentioning that we did have Poll taxes in the past, they were part of the Jim Crow Laws that kept Blacks from voting in this country. That above all is why we shouldn't reinstate them, for they will be used to keep Blacks and Hispanics from voting. We might as well reinstate Literacy Tests while we're at it.

[Farnhamia]

That people think simply cutting spending is the fast, easy way to solve the monetary problems of the government is part of the problem.

Not really. In fact the exact opposite. When you don't have enough money in the bank, you quit spending or go into debt.

The government isn't a person and the Treasury isn't a checking account. It's a bit more complicated than that.

[Wesibaden]

NO! HELL NO! FUCK NO! No more damn fuckin' taxes. Taxes do NOT solve problems, they create them.

Okay, here is proof that you are wrong.

First, lets say the deficit was 1 trillion dollars. To help eradicate it, we increase taxes, or add a poll tax. Over time, the tax comes in, ergo eradicating said deficit, and then after a period of time (say, 4 years), there would be no more deficit.

Now, you know why your own statement ran away.

And here is where your wrong:
America = Freedom
Voting = Freedom
that is all i have to say

[Georgism]

America = Freedom

[Big Jim P]

Not really. In fact the exact opposite. When you don't have enough money in the bank, you quit spending or go into debt.

The government isn't a person and the Treasury isn't a checking account. It's a bit more complicated than that.

Only because the people with a vest interest in making things more complicated than they need to be (read lawyers) are the ones making the laws.

[Big Jim P]

It's interesting to me that no one's mentioning that we did have Poll taxes in the past, they were part of the Jim Crow Laws that kept Blacks from voting in this country. That above all is why we shouldn't reinstate them, for they will be used to keep Blacks and Hispanics from voting. We might as well reinstate Literacy Tests while we're at it.

Literacy tests hell, I'd settle for intelligence tests at this point. Face it, some people just should not be allowed to vote.

[SD_Film Artists]

Yes, so yess!!

[Syvorji]

You don't understand Juche. They're a perfect democracy and they circumvened Arrow's impossibility theorem.

The point is that the set of all electors (the demos) contains only three people: Kim Yong-Il, the Eternal Leader (voting through the present Kimmie avatar), and a random NK citizen.

Unrestricted domain: the outcome of the elections depends only on the preferences. Check.
Non-dictatorship: it's not based on the preferences of a single person. It's just that the Eternal Leader and the present Kimmie avatar always happen to agree. Check.
Pareto efficiency: Juche is what makes North Korea BEST Korea, and you can't get better than best. Check.
Indipendence of irrelevant alternatives: any alternative to the ideas of the Eternal Leader is considered irrelevant. Check.

Brilliant. Probably saves the country money too, and does away with all that unnecessary "debate" and "legislating" that the Western imperialists are always going on about.

And after all, while everyone votes, they somehow vote for us, because they knew we can go the right way. Sure, there is only one front, but that is because all the parties want to be in said front.

[Naurobia]

No that will only make elections less fair by making it harder for the underprivileged to vote.

[Meridian Point]

If we want to go a step backwards, certainly.

[Lackland]

It should be noted that the Twenty Forth amendment of the U.S. constitution explicitly prohibits poll taxation. This is a voting rights issue, and poll taxes are discriminatory in nature against minorities and the poor. Upon passage in 1962 the amendment made poll taxation unconstitutional at the federal level. The Twenty Forth Amendment is one of the so called voting rights Amendments, and the Supreme Court Decision of Harper V. Virginia Board of Elections ( 1966 ) affirmed by a 6-3 decision that poll taxation was indeed unconstitutional at all levels. The 6-3 ruling on Harper V. Virgina Board of Elections ( 1966 ), noted that poll taxes also violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States constitution.

Any attempt to reinstate poll taxes would require the United States to strike the Twenty Forth Amendment from the constitution, along with the possibility of removing the Fourteenth amendment. This will not happen of course, as any politician who attempts such will be driven from office by a large and angry majority who will not take kindly to the possibility of their voting rights possibly being stripped away. It's likely that such an individual will be lynched and killed by said mob as well.

[Syvorji]

It should be noted that the Twenty Forth amendment of the U.S. constitution explicitly prohibits poll taxation. This is a voting rights issue, and poll taxes are discriminatory in nature against minorities and the poor. Upon passage in 1962 the amendment made poll taxation unconstitutional at the federal level. The Twenty Forth Amendment is one of the so called voting rights Amendments, and the Supreme Court Decision of Harper V. Virginia Board of Elections ( 1966 ) affirmed by a 6-3 decision that poll taxation was indeed unconstitutional at all levels. The 6-3 ruling on Harper V. Virgina Board of Elections ( 1966 ), noted that poll taxes also violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States constitution.

Any attempt to reinstate poll taxes would require the United States to strike the Twenty Forth Amendment from the constitution, along with the possibility of removing the Fourteenth amendment. This will not happen of course, as any politician who attempts such will be driven from office by a large and angry majority who will not take kindly to the possibility of their voting rights possibly being stripped away. It's likely that such an individual will be lynched and killed by said mob as well.

But, then the electoral tax could give a reason why Americans are imperialists, right?

[Terra Agora]

NO! HELL NO! FUCK NO! No more damn fuckin' taxes. Taxes do NOT solve problems, they create them.

Okay, here is proof that you are wrong.

First, lets say the deficit was 1 trillion dollars. To help eradicate it, we increase taxes, or add a poll tax. Over time, the tax comes in, ergo eradicating said deficit, and then after a period of time (say, 4 years), there would be no more deficit.

Now, you know why your own statement ran away.

Or you can cut spending until you are making money.

[Rokartian States]

No way. We've already got enough of a problem with voter turnout.

[South Norwega]

Okay, here is proof that you are wrong.

First, lets say the deficit was 1 trillion dollars. To help eradicate it, we increase taxes, or add a poll tax. Over time, the tax comes in, ergo eradicating said deficit, and then after a period of time (say, 4 years), there would be no more deficit.

Now, you know why your own statement ran away.

And here is where your wrong:
America = Freedom
Voting = Freedom
that is all i have to say

Therefore America = Voting!

[Lackland]

But, then the electoral tax could give a reason why Americans are imperialistsruled by a monarchy, right?

There ya go all fixed. Now we've just got to get rid of those NRA folks .