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Comment by mLuby | Hacker News Reader

I've seen estimates of 40-60% of all households not paying anything in taxes even if they are filing them. Conditioning voting rights on having paid taxes would disenfranchise a huge swath of low income people as well as people with accounting strategies to minimize their taxes. It'd certainly wouldn't help the US's underwhelming voter turnout.

I agree with your overall point about rights without duties.

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The 50% number is for people who don't pay federal income tax (because their refund exceeds the income tax amount). Most of those still have payroll tax, ssn and Medicare deducted from their paychecks, and also pay sales tax.

I am sure those low income people are still expected to die for their betters on a foreign battlefield?

  Teacher: Why are only [veterans] allowed to vote?
  Student: It's a reward for doing government service.
  Teacher: No. No! Something given has no value.

  Teacher: What's the moral difference between a civilian and [veteran]?
  Student: A veteran accepts personal responsibility for safety of the body politic, defending it with his life. A civilian does not.

-Starship Troopers classroom scene https://youtu.be/EBxgrr0wL8M (Heinlein had some weird ideas and the movie's satire isn't obvious enough to those who most need it to be.)

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