תקפו כהו has nothing to do with this. He had no right to go ahead and grab it since המע"ה once he did some hold that we cannot forcibly take it from him.
Exactly my point. The Torah is allotting a portion of YOUR property to a Kohen. Even if L'chatchila a specific Kohen couldn't grab it, now that he has it some hold you can't take it back, because of his innate RIGHTS to it as a Kohen. Anyhow, this is mild stuff compared to COMPELLING community members to give towards a Kupah.
The Torah does NOT IN ANY WAY believe in redistribution of wealth and "income equality". The torah does believe in a MINIMAL safety net. The only ones who qualify are those who would basically die of starvation without the minimal food given them. If they unjustifiably pamper themselves that they can't eat the coarse food given there is not even a mitzva to give them fancier food. Anything more is not included in the amounts that they are required to give by the community, but is a mitzva. Even current "conservatives" would not do away with such programs.
Who ever brought up "income equality"? That is an ultra-liberal phrase that I entirely disagree with nor have made mention of. I only mentioned redistribution, something which the Torah clearly does hold of.
Do you think food stamps are meant to be abused? They are meant to buy basics for families who can't afford otherwise. The food stamps allotted to a family are meant to be exactly enough to buy food for a month. Guess what, many Frum families RELY on every penny of this, and I'm talking about families who don't abuse it. The food stamp program is EXACTLY like the Kupah, except that it is not monitored as tightly. And yes, I understand the argument of conservatives to crack down on this and monitor it better. (if that's even possible, considering the amount of EBT recipients today.)
Not al pi torah. A Jewish king has restrictions what he may tax for.
Who's talking about a Jewish king? I was responding to an argument made that taxes were once used to support the government and not for redistribution. My point was that redistribution is better than lining the pockets of bureaucrats.
Maybe that should be reigned in somewhat as well.
Stop wasting money invading countries like Iraq? I completely agree.
However, much military spending goes to MAINTAINING the military. Research and development of new weapons, maintenance costs of aircraft carriers, soldier's salaries and veteran's benefits, etc.. When you have threats from the Arab world and Russia like you have today, there is no choice. Cutting back is suicide.
What do healthcare costs have to do with taxes and government?
Ahem. Something like 20% of your tax dollars go toward healthcare spending. Healthcare costs have skyrocketed because of stupid policies, and most normal working-class people can barely afford it.
Also, there were no expensive medical procedures in 1913. No triple bypass's, no Lasik, heck, no $15,000 birthing bill. You visited the doctor what, once a year?
C'mon, you need me to spell this out for you???
What does population have to do with anything. If anything higher population should make taxes lower due to efficiency. It is only when population means more people RECEIVING money that it would make a difference.
Yeah, well the fact is that there are a limited amount of good jobs out there. When I say good jobs, I mean enough to survive on. In 1913 Americans were able to live on a measly salary, and America was building and manufacturing like crazy. It's just not like that anymore today.
Point is, don't waste your time comparing 2014 to 1914. It was a different world then. What worked then will most certainly not work now.
