UK Elections

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
To operate, a government needs to employ people (directly and indirectly) and therefore any and all governments "take [a] cut of a person's labors."

Education systems vary greatly throughout Europe but it makes sense to me that someone has to be qualified in order to teach students.

For many years the US operated without an income tax. It is the direct taxation of labor that smacks of European serfdom.

So you are saying that if a person does not hold a teaching certificate the person is unqualified to teach? I've seen people with teaching certificates who have no business teaching and people who do not hold a certificate who make a great teacher.

Originally posted by twhitehead
My own opinion is that democracy is far from perfect but does have some upsides. Further, I think it can be improved with a few tweaks, and greatly improved with a few more tweaks.
My own wish list includes:
1. Better voting systems that result in better representation. (Several good systems exist but haven't been implemented widely)
2. The removal of ...[text shortened]... case). (also culture varies as to how much focus is put on local democracy even when it exists).

Your point on local democracy is one that Alexis DeTouqueville made in "Democracy in America". he marveled at the strength of local democratic government in the early years of the USA, when the national government stuck to the few duties given it under our Constitution.