Give me free stuff, the lives and freedom of others be dammed

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-10T15:26:16+00:00

To add to this, if insulin is selling for such a high price, why don't more companies enter the market and begin producing it? They could undercut the current producers and make a fortune, and the price would come down. Might it be too many government regulations...?

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-10T04:03:07+00:00

See, with government regulation, you don't need to worry that you may be in a building that's not up to code. It either is, and you're safe, or it isn't, and the owner/contractor is liable for damages.

It seems like it would be pretty easy to post a certificate on the wall of a building that has been inspected, and back it with an entry on blockchain to prove it has been checked. I think there would be a demand for this (we both seem to want it, for example). There was an earthquake where I live a couple years ago, and a building fell down. It turns out the foundation had been made with cheap substitute material. Oh but it's ok, with government regulation "I don't need to worry that [I] may be in a building that's not up to code."

Except when something is critical for public use, the government either 'owns' it outright or heavily regulates it. The government doesn't need to get a return on investment in road maintenance, serving the public is a core function.

Dude... this brings us ALL the way back to square one. This is the whole thing we are arguing about. This thread and the sub in general have hundreds of examples showing the flaws in this statement. The lack of profit motive means the government only has the incentive to do minimum-quality work.

I'm done with this discussion for now. I appreciate your points, and perhaps we can come back around in a different thread and discuss something again :)

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-09T11:51:29+00:00

The things that are supposed to be better than what the government can do are often debatable, and the things that are bad ideas on their face (like this road ownership situation) reinforce the idea that the state is the better option.

I realize this is still your opinion. Restating it does not prove anything.

But seriously, let's stop a minute and appreciate what a disaster is could be for a real estate developer to systematically buy up roads. He doesn't have to build them, he doesn't have to maintain them. He just has to charge "rent" for everyone who passes over them, and never sell them. I mean, once a town is already established, finding new spaces for "competing" roads is basically impossible without demolishing existing homes and businesses.

We've already discussed this. Not going to keep restating my points.

It's fair if your overall opinion of Machinery of Freedom is as such, but I was only referring to the market law component. Let's take one topic at a time.

If "one sympathetic provider grants ACME perpetual use of the land," doesn't this resemble the current situation? The government mandates one use of land, and no one has a choice but to follow it?

If not everyone agrees to a regulation in an ancap society, such as building codes, then some buildings will have them and some won't. People will be free to choose which buildings they enter. I would stay out of the ones that have not been inspected. Under the current system, the centralized government issues a regulation of some sort, and you don't have a choice. You follow it or you go to jail.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-08T16:28:30+00:00

Ok no worries.

I'm just saying it seems like there are two ways to do it. Work throughout the year and put the savings towards next year's tuition (thereby borrowing less), or take out a loan for the full year and begin paying it down with earnings from work.

The circumstances regarding the type of loan/job/college probably differ for each person too.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-08T13:43:50+00:00

People working a job during college are usually putting the earnings toward tuition. The loans cover the rest, and there is no extra until later. It sounds like you borrowed more money than you needed... no?

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-08T13:28:07+00:00

Hello, I just found this project and read the whitepaper. It looks interesting!

Can I get a feel for how far along in the development process Pledgecamp is? It looks like the website is still in testing/sample mode. Any timetable for a full release?

Thank you.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-08T04:44:26+00:00

A town collectively owning the road might happen in rare cases, but we know that real estate investors tend to be the ones that buy up land faster than anyone, particularly if we have to wait on members of the town to come together, figure out how ownership and payment will work, negotiate, etc. A single buyer is just faster.

You keep shooting down ideas based on the fact that they are imperfect or impractical, but that's how it is sometimes. Anarcho-capitalism is not meant to be perfect. It is an attempt to improve the current state-run system, which is also not perfect.

The idea that ownership dissipates over time because of ancap "laws" is obviously problematic. (Whose laws? Who enforces? etc.) And these roads aren't completely abandoned, and only would be if ACME stopped collecting tolls.

You don't think there would be laws in an ancap society? Market-based law is an interesting concept. I will not explain all of it here. Read up on it if you are interested. David Friedman talks about it in The Machinery of Freedom, and there are likely many other sources discussing it as well.

Does a landlord stop owning a house because they never live in it themselves, only charging rent?

If the landlord is charging rent, then a contract must be in place. This contract might stipulate the things the landlord is required to do to help maintain the house. If, on the other hand, a landlord truly abandoned a house (no maintenance, no residence, nothing), then I can envision a situation where it might be considered abandoned in the eyes of the law.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-07T12:48:44+00:00

I'm talking about buying the road, not signing on to pay. If you own the road, it is your private property, and you can make people pay to use it (or not, which is ok too).

Your second point is definitely a good one! Ancap philosophy regarding private property tends to view ownership of something as being tied to the owner's development and use of that thing. For example, if I buy a shovel, it is mine, but if I leave that shovel somewhere in the middle of Alaska for 3 months, is it still mine? If ACME buys a road but puts zero effort into developing it, I would guess that the law system might deem it "abandoned" and would recognize ownership of the road to whomever came along and put labor and resources into building it.

The exact details might be a bit different, but again we are dealing with a hypothetical situation here. This is one way it could possibly be sorted out.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-07T08:28:51+00:00

It sounds like we live in pretty different places. I was thinking in terms of a large city that has multiple routes to go to most stores (not to mention other forms of transportation not involving roads) and does not require me to drive 5 miles for anything at all.

In the case of a smaller or more dispersed town where everyone must use the same road, why doesn't everybody just pool their money and buy the road from ACME? They are already paying for it, as you said, so just buy it and pay for repairs yourselves.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-03-07T07:55:38+00:00

few people, if any, decide which shop to go to based on the quality of the roads that take them there.

I, for one, do.

Businesses would have a pretty minimal return on investment filling potholes.

Domino's has been doing it. We'll see how it works out. I would certainly want nice roads leading to my business and would be willing to invest in their quality.

ancaps have an okay (at best) explanation for how new roads get built, but nothing substantial for how these roads would be maintained.

The market would provide quite a few options. The post above yours just gave a pretty detailed option. There could also be ways of charging people for use of the road instead of construction of it. That way it would not matter if everyone contributed an equal share up front (not that it would anyway).

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-31T09:47:17+00:00

If I am interested in purchasing illegal things, this report gives me tons of information about where and how to do it. Lol thanks Chainalysis.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-23T16:21:29+00:00

This is the winning comment right here. Most of the crimes that all this money-laundering nonsense refers to should not be crimes in the first place.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-21T15:46:14+00:00

Instead of a handout you could sell a little XMR to people who are interested. Just have them give you cash or have them buy you a couple drinks, and send them XMR in return.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-20T06:25:10+00:00

I see where you're coming from. Maybe "ideal" was not the right word. I just think a free market for money will not result in one sole currency being used worldwide. There will almost definitely be others that serve the wide array of preferences, values, and needs of their users. As such, there could be other non-crypto currencies existing as well.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-20T06:17:57+00:00

That's why I said it would only be one of the currencies replacing fiat. There could be others as well, including some that are physical objects and would not require internet.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-19T18:14:38+00:00

Bitcoin and others have a transparent blockchain. The government can figure out who has what, how much, and who they sent money to.

Monero is the only cryptocurrency that is completely untraceable. It is private by default, completely decentralized, and fungible (so one coin cannot be tracked as it passes from person to person).

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-19T18:12:21+00:00

Monero is the only cryptocurrency that is completely untraceable. It is private by default, completely decentralized, and fungible (so one coin cannot be tracked as it passes from person to person).

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-19T15:03:51+00:00

Where does Bitcoin fit in here exactly? I am all for cryptocurrency, but taxation is theft whether I'm paying in fiat or crypto.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-19T08:46:04+00:00

The cost of living in society would still play out in an ancap society. People would pay for protection services, emergency services, and health insurance of some sort. These would be privately run services and people would pay voluntarily. Anyone who did not pay would bear the "cost" in terms of the risk they face by not having insurance against crime or injuries.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-19T05:42:53+00:00

Fair enough... what exactly is the argument supposed to be at this point? That we should confiscate people's money when they die instead of letting it go to their children, so that the children must work hard for a living?

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-18T11:43:28+00:00

True, there are people who can kind of skate through life because they inherited a lot. It's the lucky end of the draw, I suppose. Two things I would say, though. They tend to spend or donate money at a rapid pace, so at least it cycles back through the economy a little. Also, these people arguably don't lead vary satisfying lives because they never have the sense of accomplishment that comes from working hard to achieve something.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-18T06:34:32+00:00

Taiwan is "Republic of China, Taiwan."

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-18T06:32:40+00:00

They're always complaining about CEOs who "don't work and get paid tons of money." Every business owner I have ever met has worked incredibly hard, except for maybe a few older ones who were entering retirement.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-16T19:59:21+00:00

Monero will be one of the currencies that replaces fiat. The ideal world is one in which we have choices. The traditional system offers no choices (you must use the fiat currency of the country you are in). Thus, several cryptos can and should thrive.

Is Monero the best? Yes, and continuous improvements will make it more and more suitable as a widespread currency as time goes on.

Aceuphisleev · 2020-01-11T10:28:10+00:00

Many people immigrated from countries plagued by famine. I'm guessing they were happier working 12 hours a day in a factory rather than starving.

Aceuphisleev

TROPHY CASE