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Following up on this question, where it turns out police dont have any real power citizens dont have, isn't local government just a utilities monopoly?

Property taxes are enforced with utility shutoffs, so it isnt even a true tax. It's just a utilities charge. Furthermore, there are powers the federal government has, that no locals have. For example, the federal government can perform AWG which is necessary for government to exist.

Since local government does not have AWG- and must do everything through courts like any private entity does- is local government actually a private entity?

And even if it can make tax levies without utility shutoffs, isnt the government still a giant HOA?

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    Your question heavily hints at a specific jurisdiction, so if you want a jurisdiction specific answer you should outright say - because local governments work differently all over the world, and I can say that your examples do not fit how local government in the UK works for example.
    – user28517
    Oct 23, 2020 at 10:10
  • Property taxes are true taxes, utilities shutoff is - in Germany - something only the supplier can make for unpaid charges. Without jurisdiction this is unanswerable
    – Trish
    Oct 23, 2020 at 10:11
  • Ok, Clark county nevada
    – user31975
    Oct 23, 2020 at 10:23

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No. Private entities can freely be created by citizens; local governments cannot be created by citizens but only by higher government. Nevada citizens can petition (ask) the county to do so. That means they still can take the initiative, but the decision isn't theirs.

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    HOA, yes. Tax, no. HOA fees do not have the same legal status as taxes.
    – MSalters
    Oct 23, 2020 at 11:26
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    Simply put, the state of Nevada has rules about fees, and different rules for taxes. HOA fees are regulated by the Nevada laws for fees, while county taxes are subject to tax law. But this isn't really what the question is about. The ability for local government to tax follows from the fact that they're not private but public entities, not the other way around. The origin of the local government lies not in tax but in the laws of the higher government (state of Nevada & Federal government).
    – MSalters
    Oct 23, 2020 at 11:35
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    @Mustardd: A HOA that would try to garnish your wages for "unpaid taxes" would get their suit dismissed in court, for that reason alone. They might even be criminally prosecuted for fraud, so big is the legal difference. Real governments really tend to take a dim view of private entities claiming to be governments.
    – MSalters
    Oct 23, 2020 at 11:39
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    @Mustardd: Judges and lawyers tend to also make a difference between words like "fee" and "tax". For instance, there's no need to show a contract to prove that a tax burden exists. As I said before, the different word stands for radically different laws.
    – MSalters
    Oct 23, 2020 at 12:28
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    @Mustardd an HoA that tries to garnish your wages does so for an outstanding debt of fees while the city government instead can order to have the land seized for unpaid taxes and has it sold to cover it. the difference is, that the government can get your land seized, the HoA can't.
    – Trish
    Oct 23, 2020 at 12:30
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This question seems to mix two different levels. First, there is political theory. That belongs on Politics Stack Exchange. Then there is the established legal system. That belongs here.

You might not believe in local government, but the overwhelming majority of the residents seems to believe in local government. This collective belief might be delusional according to some political ideologies, but it is real and widespread enough to give the local government effectively power over you.

How one should act when the two systems of belief do not match is a hard question in moral or political philosophy. Does the situation call for a democratic campaign to change the laws or for armed resistance against tyranny? Nevada has a system of ballot proposals in democratic elections, so resistance seems far-fetched.

The government has a variety of tools to enforce taxes and debts it considers due, ultimately all the way to Federal troops deployed against an insurrection. Which tools it uses doesn't just depend on the nature of the debt but also on the degree of challenge against the rule of law, as interpreted by the government and the courts.

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