CAPITALISM'S ACHILLES HEEL Dirty Money and How to

The Anguish of Adam Smith 289
Prevailing Practices and Contrary Offerings by Adam
Common Views Smith in Wealth of Nations
Both legislative acts and Wages should be free to rise together
employer practices serve to with national wealth.
limit workmen’s wages. “Is improvement in the circumstances of
the lower ranks of the people to be
regarded as an advantage or as an
inconvenience to the society? The answer
seems at first sight abundantly plain.
Servants, labourers and workmen of
different kinds make up the far greater
part of every great political society. But
what improves the circumstances of the
greater part can never be regarded as
an inconvenience to the whole. No
society can surely be flourishing and
happy of which the far greater part of
the members are poor and miserable. It
is but equity besides that they who feed,
clothe and lodge the whole body of the
people should have such a share of the
produce of their own labour as to be
themselves tolerably well fed, clothed
and lodged.” 25
Taxation is often arbitrary Taxation should be fixed and known
and unpredictable. in advance.
“The tax which each individual is bound
to pay ought to be certain and not
arbitrary. The time of payment, the
manner of payment, the quantity to be
paid, ought all to be clear and plain to
the contributor and to every other
person. Every tax ought to be levied at
the time or in the manner in which it is
most likely to be convenient for the
contributor to pay.” 26