Pay Taxes: Individuals' Responsibility to the State - Essay Sample

Introduction

A state has certain responsibilities to its people like keeping them safe and providing for their welfare, however, individuals to have a responsibility to the state .to begin with it is the responsibility of individuals to pay taxes. All the duties of the government including security, provision of health facilities, provision of education facilities as well as transport and other infrastructures require funding, however, the main source of government revenue taxes form individuals living within the territories of that particular state (Nollkaemper 615). It is, therefore, the responsibility of individuals to pay taxes so that the government is able to contribute to the welfare of the people.

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Despite the maintenance of law and order being a primary duty of the state, it is the responsibility of individuals to report any wrongdoers as well as any crimes likely to happen. If people would assume that it is the duty of the state and therefore sit and do nothing as wrongdoers get away with crimes, it is the same individuals who would suffer in the hands of these wrongdoers and not the state and therefore individuals should help the state to maintain law and order in the society in order to create a better living environment.

Nevertheless, it is the duty of individuals to vote but also their responsibility to make sure that they use that vote with the good of the whole country at heart, this means that they should vote for responsible leaders who can lead the nation in accord with the constitution and other statutes of a nation. Voting for irresponsible leaders would mean a less developed country or a less secure country and hence the welfare of the people would not be adequately provided for (Nollkaemper 619).

Different forms of government have different leadership systems (Tseblis xx).To begin with, in a dictatorship government the voice of the people is not heard and what the leaders decide as right for the people should be what they follow without questioning, however it may not be very effective in accomplishing the goals and objectives of the states since the people are not allowed to air their views and therefore their needs may not be adequately provided for.

My form of government provides a platform where individuals can speak out and air their grievances through representatives. The government, therefore, incorporates the needs of the people in the agendas, budget and in passing new legislation to make sure that the people are satisfied and their needs are met. For instance, if there are sections that need to be changed in the constitution, the government does not just make the amends, the first thing is consulting the public through a vote and therefore the changes will be in accordance with the needs of the people (Tseblis xx).

My form of government best provides for the people's needs adequately since there are check and balances which allows the public to give their complaints if a person in government is not performing their duties to the government effectively. This provision of the government allows the people to vote out the leaders who are in the office if they are not representing them in a manner they are pleased with. This has enabled individuals to have a say in government and therefore create a better political environment.

The government has a duty to its citizens in protecting their rights.one of the ways in which the government can protect these rights is guaranteeing them through a written document, for instance, the constitution. According to Fleming (xx) constitutions contains a section of the bill of rights which bears all the rights and freedoms of individuals which includes freedom of speech and religion, rights to live without discrimination, right to public assembly among many others. With a written guaranteed then the citizens have an assurance that government power is limited and that they will enjoy their rights freely

Another role of the government in protecting human rights includes passing laws. The legislation is geared towards keeping people safe as well as protecting their rights. Frey (153) claims that when people do things that are contrary to the law they also threaten the rights of the people and therefore through the provision of the law they are arrested, for instance, when people steal they are violating the law and are also denying us the right to own property hence through the laws passed by the government, when these people are arrested it is a way of safeguarding our rights.

Lastly, the government can also make sure that it protects us when there is an attempt to take away our rights. For instance, when the government is working towards stopping and fighting terrorism it is a way of protecting our rights and freedoms. According to Frey (1953) just like the way many states fought in the first and Second World War to secure democratic governments government fighting any threats that attempt to take away our freedom is a way of executing its duties of protecting and safeguarding the rights of its citizens.

In most countries, rules are passed by the majorities since the winning vote has to bear the weight of two-thirds voices in the population. The minority groups in the society comprise of the racial, class, ethnic, religion and gender minorities (Eisenberg xx). They tend to be very few in the population and therefore their voices may not be heard and they tend to be discriminated and their needs are not adequately provided for.

The government has a responsibility to the minorities by ensuring that they are not overshadowed by the majority population. Minority groups tend to have different cultures, religious practices and they sometimes also have their own language. According to Eisenberg (xx) promoting the rights of the minorities does not mean forcing them to drop their culture in order to fit into the majority groups rather it entails treating them equally and upholding their difference and uniqueness. For them to feel like part of the state, the government should strive to promote their cultures and practices and earn them recognition among the majority groups in the state.

One of the major ways that the government protects the rights of the minorities is by ensuring that their views are heard and that they participate in the social, economic and political welfare that concerns them. To begin with, in most governments there is always an appointed leader from the minority groups to represent them even if they do not win in numbers by voting for or against a motion their leaders can directly air their views. On the other hand, the government should also ensure that they are protected from discrimination and persecution (Eisenberg xx).

The government has a responsibility to protect its citizens and ensure safety for every individual in the state; however, there are instances when the government is prompted to use forces against the citizens. Some of the instances where the government uses force are in case of self-defense when pursuing an armed person. When a policeman is in danger of pursuing an armed person then they are permitted to shot the person in self-defense.

Besides a self- defense, the government can also use force against individuals in the protection of its nationals. In case of a matter threatening the safety of the citizens, the government uses force to eliminate the threat. For instance when there is a terrorist attack the government may order the officers to shoot to kill if live capture threatens their safety (Schachter 1620). United States of America used forces against Grenada in response to a threat of the socialist government which posed a threat to the US nationals. Israel also used excessive force in freeing their nationals who were hijacked in the Entebbe airport.

Another case where the government is prompted to use forces against individuals is in a scenario when a police officer is affecting the arrest of a felon and fears escape. According to Schachter (1620) if the suspect has committed a serious felon and is a threat to others or the officer either death or physical injury the police officer is granted the power to use force to capture the individual. Nevertheless in crimes like murder use of normal procedures may not succeed, are too dangerous, may compromise the testimony or distort the evidence hence hindering a further investigation, in such a case the government may then use excessive force to obtain information from the felon.

Work Cited

Nollkaemper, Andre. "Concurrence between individual responsibility and state responsibility in international law." International & Comparative Law Quarterly 52.3 (2003): 615-640.

Tsebelis, George. Veto players: How political institutions work. Princeton University Press, 2002.

Fleming, James E. Securing Constitutional Democracy: The Case of Autonomy. U of Chicago P, 2006.

Frey, Barbara A. "The legal and ethical responsibilities of transnational corporations in the protection of international human rights." Minn. J. Global Trade 6 (1997): 153.

Eisenberg, Avigail, and Jeff Spinner-Halev. Minorities Within Minorities: Equality, Rights and Diversity. Cambridge UP, 2005.

Schachter, Oscar. "The right of states to use armed force." Mich. L. Rev. 82 (1983): 1620.