Pretty convincing, huh? 
I bet you, too, have been forced to lock up your credit cards after seeing those smiles.
Very. I’m wondering if Joel would accept a trade-in on my alarm clock.
It’s pretty lame all right. I’m surprised he didn’t include a “call 911 in case of falls” function.
Actually, I think there’s something to this.
Now I know why Joel is always smiling.
Put words in my mouth however you like. But them’s your words, not mine. I never claimed taxation is a form of punishment. You did.
That’s fair, but …
… I claimed that your idea would be an example of using tax law to punish churches that do not meet various criteria you have in mind. I did not say that you claimed it as punishment; I do.
Maybe a subtle difference, but it’s there.
Taiwan and UAE have the lowest crime rates.
These comparisons are dumb.
Also, you’ve endogeneity problems too. All that rainfall in Washington sinks people into depression and causes them to lose their faith.
This is true. I grew up in Vancouver, B.C. and realized when I went to work in the Prairies why people are more religious. The coast is mountainous, forested, and has constant cloud cover- you can hide. The prairies are open, flat, and the skies are usually clear- God can see you! When you’re driving out there, you can imagine a Big Thumb coming down and squashing you like a bug
No, they are not. I’m not saying this is because of religion- it’s because of poverty and lack of education.
It’s not that countries are poor and uneducated because they are religious. They are religious because they are poor and uneducated. This goes hand-in-hand with lack of female empowerment and high fertility rates.
If you are in that situation, your life is basically bad, and out of your control, so it makes more sense to put things in somebody else’s hands- preferably someone bigger and stronger (if invisible).
If you live in a wealthy society, you don’t have to ask God for favours. They come from that society, and so you don’t need God (or at least, don’t think you do).
You haven’t demonstrated poor and uneducated people are more religious. You only used state- and country-level data, not actual surveys of poor people. Again, that’s the ecological fallacy.
The fact is, poor/uneducated people don’t exhibit high levels of religious devotion.
Data from Robert Putnam’s American Grace.
There is a non-monotonic relationship between income and religiosity.
Those making less $20K and middle class people (almost everybody) are the most religious.
However a pub and a church are different. My point there is a church is basically an extension of its community, in the same sense you don’t tax money contributed by partners in a small business
Yes you do. Churches are untaxed because they’re presumed to be good for the community, like a charity. For-profit private businesses are taxed no matter what their size (they can avoid the tax if they don’t actually make a profit).
I don’t see the big difference. Anyway I believe whoever offer a service or product should pay their taxes. That includes Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft and your local church. I don’t care if the owner is Satan, Muhammad, Jesus, Moses or myself.
I mean when they contribute money to the business i.e. business owner moves his money from his bank account to his businesses bank account
Does that list include the boy scouts and local greek community centre?
Of course they should pay VAT on the cookies and kefalotyri!
I don’t necessarily think sending kids to the scouts makes you a bad parent. However I don’t agree that the scouts should be able to run the organisation legally as a charity. PlayStation, Disney or your local play centre also wants your kids money and time, should they pay tax?
Where did that come from? I know, I know…
My funds for the bill at say, a restaurant, has already been taxed. Why should a restaurant be forced to pay tax when they’re doing a public service of feeding humans ?
At least the owner of a restaurant can’t molest innocent boys in the back room under the garb of god and get away with it.
Yes. Just as churches are in the west. Its not even argued, it is a well known fact. Everyone in business in taiwan knows there are so many temples due to there being so much business. Whatever noble and kind intentions religious people my have, note that religions are often corporations and its sad watching devout people be taken for fools so often 