The Constitutional and Legal Basis of Public Finance in the Philippines

John Locke and Karl Marx, two of the most renowned political philosophers, had many contrasting views when it came the field of political philosophy. Most notably, private property rights ranked high among the plethora of disparities between these two individuals. The main issue at hand was whether or not private property was a natural right. Locke firmly believed that private property was an inherent right, whereas Marx argued otherwise. This essay will examine the views of both Locke and Marx on the subject of private property and will render insight on whose principles appear more credible.

“I think government is the worker that works for the people who tell them what they want them to do by the way they vote at the election poll. I don’t like it when people in the congress don’t do what the constitution said.”

Charles Beard lived in a time when a vast majority of politicians and economists considered the views of the founding fathers to be infallible. In fact, many people nowadays still believe that to be the case. Beard, however, held a different opinion in regards to their writing of the Constitution. Whereas most people believe that it was written entirely due to the pressing issues concerning the economic state and unity of the country, Beard believed that it was at least in part due to those same politician’s selfish economic interests since all of them were wealthy men. He argued in An Economic Interpretation of the Constitutionthat the way the Constitution’s system of power and representation “were devices for keeping power in the hands of the rich” [1]. He makes an interesting case in his highly controversial book, but one

Americans.” This proves that the tax money was acclimated to pay off the wealthy’s investments in lieu of improve their credit. In addition, the government won’t let the people appeal to the court to make sure their confinement is rightful. Not allowing people to petition to the court is tyranny and an unlawful penalization. Consequently, the government was not securing the citizen’ rights and

b. State laws may not violate the U.S. Constitution and all state courts must uphold (through

The definition of public goods is: A public good is an item consumed by society as a whole and not necessarily by an individual consumer. Public goods are financed by tax revenues. All public goods must be consumed

(doc 4). This quote shows how the Government through heavy taxation onto civilians to try and fix a problem that was the government's fault in the first place. Its “solution” solved even more problems than before. The heavy taxation caused men to lose heart, and leave their jobs and flee to welfare off the government. These used to be hard working men, but they learned “to expect something from nothing.”

In his Second Treatise of Government, John Locke creates an argument that details how individuals attain private property and how some can end up with more property than others. He attempts to justify the resulting economic inequality, but is unsuccessful, failing to address many of the problematic issues that arise from his claim.

Taxes have always been a contentious issue of debate in the United States; furthermore it is exacerbated by the specific philosophy of individuals, states, and regions. Too be clearer, nobody enjoys paying taxes, however it is the cost we pay for having civilization. Nevertheless, selfishness creeps in to many individuals who feel no particular benefit. Taxes have a real way of polarizing many people from different socio-economic backgrounds, because a tax is inexorably linked to a person’s belief-system. For instance, in the context of social welfare policy liberals are inclined to feel that the tax-burden should be heaped on individuals who have benefited the most from “the system”. On the other hand, we have conservatives who feel they did not receive any support, and all that is necessary is hard work and perseverance to succeed. I am not suggesting either one is correct; it is only a simple illustration to show the relation between pocketbook and personal belief. I hope studying the tax structures of New Jersey and Alabama will give me insight they both reconcile their political beliefs with their individual tax structures.

In order for these governments to function there was a need for revenue to meet the expenses incurred by these governments. This need for revenue was met by levying taxes on individuals and businesses. It has always been a question to the population being taxed as to whether or not the government was doing a good job in assessing and managing the money it collected from taxes.

In the book’s introduction, she harkens back to economist Mancur Olson’s belief (likely referring to his “Power and Prosperity” text) that as the state transitions from “roving” to “stationary” banditry, it provides security to its populace from self-induced, domestic, and foreign threats. According to Olson, in return, the state collects taxes, since wealth accumulation

2 The tax which each individual is bound to pay ought to be certain, and not arbitrary.

II. Whether or not the Legislature has the ancillary or incidental power to make provision for the levy and collection of such tax.

When the government gets involved and taxes goods and services, it raises revenue for the government, decreases the quantity of goods produced and consumed and therefore, both consumers and the producer of the good will pay, splitting the costs of the tax and leveling up with society’s.

Looking back to the previous government systems in different periods in Philippine history, we can see that our present government system is somehow shaped and patterned from the previous systems that prevailed in our country. Pre – historically we have seen how they established their government and basically, we can say that it is far more primitive than the present system that we have. However, the basic principles like the consultation of the datus to the elders can somehow be seen in the present by the presence of political advisers where our president consults aside from the members of the senate and the congress. The barangay system