Doing missionary work among the Libertarians and Anarchists, I came across another video called, “You Can Always Leave”. This video tells two big lies.

First lie: “Taxation depends on a chain of increasingly unpleasant demands and punishments, ultimately backed by deadly force.”

We pay our taxes because they are an ethical and legal obligation. We may not agree on every law or program, but we have agreed on a method for making the decision. We elect a legislature to address common problems. They hear testimony, discuss options, and then vote democratically to create a working rule. Those who voted against the rule may still oppose it, and work to change it in the future, but they respect the rule of law and the agreement on how laws are made. That’s how democracy works.

Moral people do not pay their taxes by threat of force, but because of their ethical obligation. Only the tax evader, who is essentially a thief, must be forced to do what is morally right.

Second lie: The state may not require you to leave, because it’s claim to authority over it’s territory is invalid.

One of key reasons we form a state is to secure the territory against foreign invasion and domestic disturbances. Invasions and empires are a common occurrence throughout world history. The American colonies, for example, joined forces through the Articles of Confederation to throw off British rule. Later, “to form a more perfect Union”, we constituted the United States of America. Even later, Jefferson acquired additional western lands through the Louisiana Purchase.

By the principle of eminent domain, the state may acquire private property, at a fair price, to provide a system of public roads, to build public water reservoirs, public buildings, and other purposes to carry out its constitutional duties.

Telling the Libertarian or the Anarchist that, if they do not like our constitution, they can always leave, remains true. And it was never actually disputed by the video. All the video claimed was that the nation’s ownership of its territory was invalid. And the video’s claim is here proven false.