March 20, 2024

Episode 60: History vs Religion, Tax subsidies for professional sports, Tesla/Mr. Beast/Government Programs, Taxation without representation?

46 minutes

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The Thought Provoker
First up, Shawn. This week Political Scientist Matthew, “Matty Bird” Miles interviewed LDS history Scholar Patrick Mason on the twim podcast. Matt asked a great question of Mason about how history informs his interpretation of religious doctrine? He answered it helps him be comfortable with change and to be comfortable with the human element in scripture. How does history inform your interpretation of religious doctrine or should the pursuit of historical facts be completely separate from revealed doctrine? Next up, Matt. Utah lawmakers passed a pair of high-profile bills this year — HB562 and SB272 — that set up the framework to build a new ballpark and a new arena that could help the Beehive State land Major League Baseball and/or National Hockey League franchises within the next few years, should the leagues decide on Utah. Gov. Spencer Cox is expected to sign both by his March 21 deadline. In related news, two Utah marathon runners are blowing away the competition and will be competing in the Olympics this summer in large part because of taxpayer money that supports their professional running group. Is it morally wrong for governments to spend taxpayer money on building professional sports stadiums?
Finally, Sam. Tesla has implemented a ‘no resale’ clause for their new cyber truck. The penalty? A lifetime ban from purchasing Tesla vehicles? Is this the right thing to do to limit excessive markups? Should government enact similar restrictions on markups, or is the free market better served allowing supply/demand to govern product pricing? Popular Youtuber ‘Mr. Beast’ recently expressed disgust for any industry that gets excessive markup.
The Thought Provoker. Idaho just passed a new sales tax designed to increase funding for public schools. This is one of many examples of taxes that people are required to pay even if they are not citizens or if they are denied the right to vote. Anyone who purchases anything in Idaho will pay that tax for schools in Idaho. One of the slogans that American colonists chanted to condemn the British was “No taxation without representation.” The cause of this “tyranny” was the Stamp Act, basically a sales tax levied by the British government that colonists did not have a voice to oppose. If sales tax was one of the major causes of the American revolution, perhaps it is morally wrong. Is it wrong for governments to tax people and refuse to give them a voice? If someone pays a tax, do they have the right to representation in government?

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