[Jogger]

Everyone,

How much trouble will the IRS have in collecting taxes when the oil supply starts dwindling and the economy is hit hard? Will the tax laws be changed?

[NTBKtrader]

I wouldn't be surprised...

[Fergus]

This is something I wondered.

I can not imagine the government just packing up and saying 'ok the worlds over, you dont need us and every man for himself'. But also I cant imagine them being able to assist us in any way thats meaningful. They wont be able to control us without huge amounts of man power and money and places to put us.

This is one question I wonder about the most I think. What form of government will be living under. No government, Maybe feudal lords will pop up and govern a provence. But the days of big government and butting into our business on a daily basis will have to cease or slow down to a crawl. They wont have the energy, resources or man power to maintain the control they have now. Can they?

[KhanCEO]

67ish million americans don't even file their income taxes. Secondly, the IRS only goes after poor people who can't afford a tax lawyer. Lastly, the IRS is a fraud.

http://www.freedomtofascism.com/

[RonMN]

I've heard that the post-nuke plan for tax collection is a simple 70% sales tax...maybe the IRS would try something like that post-PO.

[SoothSayer]

Just give 1 in 10 of your neighbours a uniform, a badge and a cheap pistol, a basic salary and within days you will have an "IRS Enforcement Service".

Plenty of people will sell their soul to the devil to protect their families.

They will justify it by saying "We are helping ensure the stability of the country in the face of severe adversity".


BTW the cheap pistol comment is real ... Iraq bought MILLIONS of these for its "secret service" i.e. poxy informants around 1980.

I knew the seller ... he said that the pistols were NOT to be used ... but were a status symbol, just like a badge.

[gego]

You certainly are optimistic to think that the US government will itself survive the chaos from a post peak economic/social/population crash.

Even if the government does still function at all, they will just create their own credit and spend it as they do today to meet the shortfall between what taxes are collected and what is spent.

And if the electrical system fails as predicted by Richard Duncan, then what records with the government have of anything?

[AZpeaker]

Okay, this is an interesting topic. This is a scary topic. Government and the tax dollars it spends are an integral part of our survival and organization. Here is the question that scares me about this.

How many people will be instantly out of work and roaming the streets stealing from lifeboat builders when you and I stop paying taxes?
a. All the Bureaucrats sitting in state, local and federal buildings?
b. Answer a plus all the fine folks in the military?
c. Answer a and b plus all the folks who work for companies that depend heavily on government contracts. IBM, Halliburton, Boeing etc.
d. Answer a, b and c plus all the farmers who will no longer be able to weather a drought becuase subsidies are no longer available.

What percentage of the population is answer d. These are the roaming bands of thieves we will encounter when TSHTF.

[nth]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Fergus', 'T')his is something I wondered.

I can not imagine the government just packing up and saying 'ok the worlds over, you dont need us and every man for himself'. But also I cant imagine them being able to assist us in any way thats meaningful. They wont be able to control us without huge amounts of man power and money and places to put us.

[nth]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gego', 'Y')ou certainly are optimistic to think that the US government will itself survive the chaos from a post peak economic/social/population crash.

[SoothSayer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nth', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Fergus', 'T')his is something I wondered.

I can not imagine the government just packing up and saying 'ok the worlds over, you dont need us and every man for himself'. But also I cant imagine them being able to assist us in any way thats meaningful. They wont be able to control us without huge amounts of man power and money and places to put us.

[Fergus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nth', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Fergus', 'T')his is something I wondered.

I can not imagine the government just packing up and saying 'ok the worlds over, you dont need us and every man for himself'. But also I cant imagine them being able to assist us in any way thats meaningful. They wont be able to control us without huge amounts of man power and money and places to put us.

[gego]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nth', '
')
Wow.
The government will not be what it is today, but it sure will be there. Just look at world war 2 and great depression for examples on what happens when economy crashes or when things are ration due to limited availability.

[Jack]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jogger', 'E')veryone,

How much trouble will the IRS have in collecting taxes when the oil supply starts dwindling and the economy is hit hard? Will the tax laws be changed?

[Kingcoal]

In a doomer scenario you'll see a return to peasantry. Most people would be worthless and have nothing to offer but their servitude. This is England, circa 1400 and it could be the USA circa 2050. In this system, the starving wretch kneels before the landlord (government) and swears an oath of fealty. From that point forward, the government literally owns the peasant, who has sworn away all his rights. This peasant is now useful for doing extremely hard physical labor in return for some food, shelter and protection from bandits, thieves, etc. If the peasant gets out of line, he can be flogged, imprisoned, etc, without trial.

The tax paid by the peasant is his/her own self. No need to tax the peasant as he really owns nothing, everything including his ass belongs to the government.

[paoniapbud]

The way our country is armed to the gills I highly doubt a peasant/lord situation. I'm about as bleeding liberal save the whales as you can get, but guess what? I own guns and know how to use them. When the Gestapo squads come I will be waiting for them! HA!

[Daculling]

The way I see it the concept of State will return. It already has in terms of immigration. Look around, there are states and local communities now passing legislation concerning illegal immigration. They have realized that the fed will do nothing in their interest and have taken charge. Will this eventually extend to energy? Security? Will the fed just say... OK you take care of it or will there be a conflict? (Starts in the courts BTW) I don't know. I agree with the previous poster though... too armed for feudalism.