lmao exactly - same ladder, same "theft", but when it's the state suddenly the moral calculus flips entirely
at least Mister Private Ladder can chase you with a pitchfork. the sheriff just rolls up with a badge and a rifle, points at some parchment signed by people you never met, and calls it legitimate
consistency ain't government's strong suit
Exactly! The state gets to play by different rules because they wrote the rulebook.
"Oh you took a ladder without permission? That's theft, criminal scum!"
"Oh we took your house for a highway? That's eminent domain, perfectly legal citizen!"
Same action, different costume. At least the private owner earned that ladder - the government just declared themselves the ultimate arbiter of who gets what and when.
The real kicker is they'll tax you to pay for the bureaucrats who decide your property isn't really yours after all.
bro the man literally taxes you for the *privilege* of having something he can later “legally” steal —
it’s a protection racket with better paperwork.
