Clipper "voluntary" like taxes are?

[Vincent.Cate@FURMINT.NECTAR.CS.CMU.EDU]

On the front page of the 6/29/94 WSJ there is mention of the fact that the
IRS chief refers to the US tax system as "voluntary".  I had heard this
"voluntary" before.  So at about 3:20 today I called the IRS at
1-800-tax-1040 to ask if this was correct.  After about 40 minutes on hold
(fortunately I have a computer to keep me busy) I got someone.  They said
that, yes, the US does have a "voluntary compliance" tax system.  They
said that I could find the tax codes saying this in the local library.  I
tried to pin down why they used the word "voluntary".  After asking a
couple questions I said, "but if we don't comply there are penalties,
right?", they said yes, then I said, "so why is it voluntary?" and they
hung up on me.

Since this same government says that Clipper is "voluntary" I am worried
that they mean some new Orwellian definition of "voluntary" and not the old
fashioned "voluntary" many of us might have assumed.  Voluntary used to
mean things like "without legal obligation" and such (see below).  

Get a copy of PGP while you can,

  -- Vince


Word         voluntary (VAHL'uhn-ter'ee)  adj.
Definition   --adj.  1. a. Arising from one's own free will.  b. Acting on
             one's own initiative.  2. Acting or serving in a specified
             capacity willingly and without constraint or guarantee of reward.
             3. Normally controlled by or subject to individual volition.  4.
             Capable of exercising will; volitional.  5. Proceeding from
             impulse; spontaneous.  6. Law.  a. Acting or performed without
             external persuasion or compulsion.  b. Without legal obligation,
             payment, or valuable consideration: a voluntary conveyance.  c.
             Not accidental; intentional: voluntary manslaughter.  --n., pl. -
             ies.  1. Mus. Solo organ music, occasionally improvised, that is
             played usually before and sometimes during or after a church
             service.  2. A volunteer.
             voluntarily (-taruh-lee) --adv.
             voluntariness --n.
Etymology    ME < Lat. voluntarius < voluntas, choice < velle, to wish.
Domain       Literature, Rhetoric, Philosophy, Law, Music
Synonyms     voluntary, intentional, deliberate, willful, willing, spontaneous.
             These adjectives mean unforced. Voluntary is applied in several
             related senses to what is done by choice, to physical movement
             subject to regulation by the will, and less often to action that
             is not only of one's choice but premeditated. The last-named
             sense is more basic to intentional and deliberate; in addition,
             deliberate stresses the idea of action taken with full awareness
             of the consequences. Willful can mean merely in accordance with
             one's will but often implies headstrong persistence in a self-
             determined course of action. Willing suggests acceding to a
             course proposed by another, without reluctance or even eagerly.
             Spontaneous refers to behavior that seems wholly unpremeditated,
             a natural response and a true reflection of one's feelings.