king@kestrel.arpa (09/21/86)
From: "Keith F. Lynch" <KFL%MX.LCS.MIT.EDU@MC.LCS.MIT.EDU> > As for taxes themselves, the Fifth Amendment says "No person >shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due >process of law". For "life" and "liberty" this is universally >interpreted as meaning that those can be taken away only if a >person is convicted of a crime or found liable in a civil trial. >What is the justification for interpreting "property" in a >different way? Depends on what one means by "due process of law". Is a legislature enacting legislation "due process of law"? I would think so. So a legislative body can pass laws saying "you have to pay this tax we just dreamt up", but some government official cannot call you up and say "hey, you have to pay this tax that i just dreamt up". Being "deprived of liberty" doesn't require being found guilty of a crime -- at least it didn't -- what about the military draft? (note that i am NOT arguing the merits of the draft; this is just an example) Many people, myself and probably Keith included, consider the draft at least as bogus as taxation. Life is also mentioned in the amendment, coequally with liberty and property. Please comment on the constitutionality of a law requiring, for example, infantacide of those babies with an extra Y chromosome. -dick -------