Starving the beast, or to put it another way, doing everything possible to not give the state any money does work.
It works extremely well and the state is simply unable to do anything about it. The state could put up taxes more, in fact they already do this every budget but the law of diminishing returns means that their taxes bring in less every year and high taxes simply lower investment so growth in future years is less anyway. The state really is between a rock and a hard place.
Consider this new report by the Tax Payers Alliance. Clearly £28bn is one hell of a lot of money that the govt hasn't managed to get its rapacious hands on.
But remember, this only covers the black market. It doesn't include those who for example grow their own tobacco, brew their own booze and walk to work instead of taking the car.
The govt is still going to borrow an additional £120bn this year despite all the cuts. (In reality there hasn't been any cuts, govt spending is still growing year on year).
This situation cannot last forever and every pound that we keep safe from the state brings our victory closer.
Gaius.
22 comments:
I thought starving the beast was about removing your savings from banks with trading arms.
O/T (sort of): surely Lawful Rebellion only worked for powerful barons? Peasant rebellions have always been ruthlessly crushed.
Sacky,
Starving the beast (to me) means to withhold as much as you can from this inept government.
How many banks do not have trading arms anyway? Can't be many of them.
WRT Lawful Rebellion: back in the 13th century, peasants were uneducated. Things are very different today. The 80-odd barons (the Peers who formed the Baron's Committee in 2001) represent us modern peasants.
If enough people got angry enough, how would our police force defeat them? 30M against less than 100,000 (assuming they could/would fire on their own countrymen) would end badly for them.
No need for that though. Just saying no is enough to break the machine.
CR.
The beast is very much into devouring itself using EU jaws!
The people won't rise up - as soon as they get scared they'll vote for a real tyrant.
It's not government that's the problem, but big business & finance with its hand up government's back.
Use the commercial route. Try building societies and credit unions. If everybody did it the banks wouldn't have the money to buy sinecures for Blair and co.
Yet more silly labels "Starving the beast" indeed.
It's dead easy to keep as much cash as humanly possible out of the grasp of the state (which is in reality government/banker/corporations/psychopaths/religious nutters/righteous nutters all rolled into one)
Live within your means.
Use cash as much as possible.
Avoid taxation wherever possible.
Don't store cash in banks, buy precious metals or shares in precious metal companies with your savings/spare cash instead.
Try your hand at bartering or 'off balance sheet' transactions. It is surprising what people will do for 'things' other than money. HMRC is one part of the state that is universally reviled.
Reject ALL offers of 'state benefits'.
Accept some tax is currently unavoidable due to the need for certain commodities such as fuel, leccy gas etc.
But what else does the state take from you by force?
Your consent to be shafted at every opportunity in return for.... wait for it.... for..... your vote. That's right by voting you register your consent to be a slave of the state.
So keep as much cash as possible away from the hands in your pockets. Withdraw your consent by dropping off the electoral roll. Stop signing bits of paper that masquerade as contracts. Never admit you are your name. This last one is a biggie because even if you are off the roll accepting surety for your name means you again consent to be shafted.
The numbers doing these things to bring about fundamental change are not large. The tipping pint is closer to one than it is to 70,000,000!
All this of course is shit I've discovered and is my opinions based on the shit I've discovered so it may well be total bollocks so don't believe a word of it. Go find something out for yourself and then try it to see what happens. Never forget though we live in the moment, we cannot change the past and a billion, billion plus futures are heading our way and one day death will demand our bodies So live life, have fun and create a moment you want to exist in.
Sackerson
1. You thought wrong. Government is the problem, therefore starve the (govt) beast.
2. trading arms (I assume you mean Merchant/Investment banking) is not the problem. Lloyds had no trsding arm and needed state financing, barclays had (and still has) a massive trading arm and never needed to go begging to the govt.
3. This isn't about Lawful Rebellion.
4, The people dont need to rise up (which is why i dont talk about Freemen/LR), all they need to do was stop beleiving that the state had legitamate authority. Most people didn't rise up in Tunisia, Eygpt or Lybia only a few did.
5. It is ONLY govt that is the problem. Big business can only get away with what they do because the govt let them. Remember we don't have capitalism in this country, only corporatism, the govt have simply loaded the rules in favour of large corporations.
Let me ask you a question, why do large corporations pay large amounts of money in lobbying. The answer is of course that the govt has all the power. To think otherwise is simply stupid and singles YOU out as an individual who is part of the problem not the solution.
Hi Gaius:
1. There will always be a government of sorts, problem or not. You can't do away with it, but you may possibly be able to restrain or reform it, to some extent.
2. Barclays didn't come running to this government, true, but instead took £7 billion from the Arabs. I'll accept your point re Lloyds, though Lloyds bought HBOS without sufficient due diligence and the latter was known to be managing risk badly, so with Lloyds (as with RBS' purchase of ABN AMRO) it was another case of big-deal-itis instead of sticking to their knitting.
3. I did say O/T to start with, I'm querying the Freeman movement's invocation of Magna Carta's Lawful Rebellion provision because those rebels were sufficiently powerful to force terms on the King.
4. I'm not sure we know quite enough about Arab politics or covert Western interference in the same. I suspect a modern version of the Great Game is being played.
5. Revolving doors. I agree with you that it's the high-level collusion that is damaging. The whole democratic feedback system has failed, so our votes have not much effect, what with the skewed electoral boundaries, computer-assisted psephology, the party system etc.
I don't think any of the hotter heads here need trouble themselves to try to bring it all down, the whole shebang looks like it's going to shek itself to pieces anyway, like a machine without a "governor". In which case we should turn our attention to survival preparations, and preventing the rise of another dangerous demagogue saviour.
Tax avoidance is a sacred duty. I do all that I can to minimise my tax bill even though it is but a drop in the ocean. Those pennies are better off in my account than being pissed up the wall on some deranged political scheme.
Good replies by all. Must be my shortest post ever! lol
regards
Harbinger
William - great comment and I completely agree. I fully intend dropping off the Electoral Shafting Roll when I move house.
They don't give a monkey's bollock whether you actually vote or not but by God they need you to sign up to their shamocracy.
They NEED your name on that piece of paper to legitimise their authority over you and anyone who gives it to them is consenting to be represented - or shafted, as it turns out.
It occurred to me a couple of years ago that the £1000 fine they threaten is a desperate measure to coerce people into signing up to the sham. This in itself is forcing people to do something under duress, which is unlawful, as is not making it totally clear that you are entering into a contract (illegal AND unlawful).
I've voted all my life and told myself that 2010 would be the last time, unless a new Government turned things around pronto after Labour's treasonous and disgusting 13 year reign of terror.
Ergo, 2010 will be the last time I consented. From now on they can all get fcuked.
David
Sackerson, "starving the beast" also means starving global corporations. That includes banks, supermarkets, furniture stores - everything.
Why?
Because these corporations have bigger balance sheets than governments and so, hold our governments to ransom.
They are very much the "vested interests", along with the civil service, QUANGOs, trades unions, welfare recipients ... etc.
The difference between trades unions and vast corporations, though, is that the latter has unbelievable amounts to money to throw at our politicos. Or to crash markets.
So let's crash THEM. A 10% drop in their sales should be enough to get them to start closing outlets.
Instead, give your custom to your locally-owned shops - even if you have to go out of your way or pay a bit more to do so.
They need your help because the government is killing them, while subsidising the corporations.
Corporations write the laws that enslave us - for the sole purpose of gaining market share over everyone else. The big losers are small businesses and startups.
Corporations are the problem.
Oh, and pay cash, wherever possible and pay the government as late as possible.
Data via your debit cards, credit cards, store cards, Paypal, etc., are mined by banks and thence government. This allows them to target groups for further taxation.
It's also an infringement of your privacy. Cash deprives them of all that.
We think along similar lines, Fausty, I'm using cash more now and "forgetting" rhe loyalty card.
I just posted a comment on the TPA report in response to someone who thought the govt should employ more staff in HMRC :-)
https://www.assemblywales.org/epetition-list-of-signatories.htm?pet_id=661
Thanks for the comments guys and gals.
Just a wee admin note: I am off to London today and will not return until tomorrow evening so all comments will sit in the moderation queue until then.
Number One Son is a semi-finalist in a national stand-up competition in Brixton tonight. We will pop down, do the gig, hope for success (he has to beat 11 others for a slot in the final), and fly home Friday night.
Play nice until I get back.
CR.
I've slept now and it is obvious that the only way to delete the state is to withdraw consent at every opportunity.
Money is an illusion whose sole purpose has become to keep the slaves looking at at the wrong hand. The state people don't crave money. They know it is worthless. They crave control but they have to have 'justified control' or they cannot make their peace with their gods...hence the vote and constant 'sign here' requests.
Say no.
Ask questions.
Ask for proof of anything (seriously scary for the state drones this one)
Sign nothing.
Never consent to be your name.
Don't vote
Don't fill in the electoral roll invite
For those who want to withdraw consent using money..
Don't pay whatever the state demands you pay
Delay payment.
Don't accept any limited benefit whatsoever at all.
Pay for essentials in cash whenever possible.
Work for things or cash whenever possible.
Make sure you waste as little of your money as possible on tax.
This is a starter list but whatever you decide you can do just DO IT because doing nothing is the ultimate form of consenting.
Just one final point...
You don't have to be a freeman or a lawful rebel or an alien to do these things. The thing is with labels like these is they give the state something to attack and undermine (look what the yankee state is doing to self proclaimed 'sovereigns' turning them into terrorists dontcha know).
You have to simply be yourself and if at the end of the day you decide that despite everything you will be in a better place if you consent to slavery then that is fine. Not everyone can be free, not everyone can be a slave master in the state but whatever position you hold today may change tomorrow when the state rogers you rigid in a new way tomorrow... they have form in this area!
Youtube " Tell Me That We're Human - Single " worth a listen I think.
- richard
good luck to number 1
Good post. I've been living a minimalist lifestyle for several years. Fortunately we have a daughter who commutes between Britain and France so she keeps us stocked with wine and on her return journey via Zebrugge detours though Luxembourg and throws a few dozen beers in the Subaru.
And following my Granny's wisdom of "buy cheap, buy twice" has equipped us with good quality stuff that will last a lifetime.
Beyond that it's surprising what you can get on flea markets and car boot sales.
Yeah, it is posible to hit government and corporate interests where it hutts.
But let's not rule out a bit of civil disobedience. Everyone needs some fun occasionally. And as I've been saying for years, "they can't put us all in prison."
People somehow find a way to relegate state even nine year olds!
http://cainesarcade.com/
Do have a watch it's worth it.
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