Some Qualifications to Margaret Thatcher's Bon Mot

Bounds, Limitations, Rights and Fundamental Truths

The NZ Taxpayers' Union has a "Quote of the Week" usually reproduced in Kiwiblog. This week's is a doozy which cuts through smoke and mirrors, the lies and deceit, and rams home a fundamental truth:

“Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the State has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves. If the State wishes to spend more is can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. It is no good thinking that someone else will pay – that ‘someone else’ is you. There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers’ money.” 

– Margaret Thatcher

However, a qualification is required.  A Christian qualification.  Well, actually two qualifications.  Upon these two qualifications hang the Christian doctrine of the State--and, therefore, by extenuation, the doctrines of justice and freedom.

First, the original and absolute owner of all money, wealth, property, goods, and kind is the Almighty God, "infinite, eternal, unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth."  The earth is His, and all that it contains.  That's the first fundamental qualification to Thatcher's dictum.
  There is no such thing as peoples' money, except God as has granted it to them.  Herein is the bedrock and buttress to all private property rights.  What God has granted, let not other men (or their contrived corporate institutions) take, by force or theft, without the will or consent of the divinely appointed owner.

The second qualification is this: God has granted to the State a divine right to tax in order to fund [only] its lawful, God-given responsibility of maintaining justice and punishing evildoers.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honour to whom honour is owed.  [Romans 13: 1-7]

We are commanded by God to pay taxes, to sustain rulers doing their duty to punish evildoers and criminals.  Therefore, that part of "our" property does not belong to us, for God, the original bestower of money to us, has commanded we pay our lawful taxes.  That money belongs to rulers, not us--by God's decree.

But, and it is a big but, lawful taxes levied by the State only apply to funding the God-given lawful duties and responsibilities of the State.  It does not extend to the modern State's unlawful activities--such as being the nation's doctor, or educator, or welfare officer.  Such claims and powers amount to a deifying of the State, a rebellion of the State against God Himself, for which He will hold it to account.  Upon these foundations stand the Christian doctrine of a limited State, and the doctrines of freedom and justice. 

What God has ordained, let not the authorities disdain.  If a State (and its people) do not fear and respect the Almighty, His vengeance will eventually fall on both State and people.  We Christians fear God, and therefore pay to the State what is the State's.  But we also pray and strive to restrain the State to its lawful bounds, lest we all be swept into the gaping maw of Moloch.