5 ms·

Patent troll vs the government that enforces patent law, no matter who wins we lose.

jacquesm 9y ago
That is incorrect. If the tax man wins everybody wins. People downvoting this are cordially encouraged to have a look at countries that have no taxes.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- smudgymcscmudge 9y ago
  except that one guy
- JBReefer 9y ago
  I never understood that - why do people brag about cheating the tax man? I have to make up the difference, in either (very slightly) reduced services or higher taxes. It always struck me as odd.
  - jdavis703 9y ago
    It's the same reason people brag about other criminal endeavours, they want to brag about how smart they are and that they beat the system.
  - Dirlewanger 9y ago
    Because it's a "fuck you" to The Man™. A marginal several thousand or whatever is probably a fraction of the amount that's lost daily across the federal government due to negligence.
    - jjawssd 9y ago
      Is it just negligence or is there more to it than that?
  - ocdtrekkie 9y ago
    Presumably because you don't think those services are worth it or that the money is intelligently spent. Personally, despite being aware of those issues, I take some manner of pride in the fact that I declare my side income properly and pay taxes on it, even when the people who paid me make an explicit point to pay with cash. I do my fair share, and that's why I feel entitled to whine about people doing a shoddy job at managing it. ;)
  - mahyarm 9y ago
    America does not spend it's taxes wisely. You can live in Canada for a similar tax load as a lot of people in California, yet not have universal healthcare, drive on roads that are in horrible conditions, deal with a horrible DMV, see a lot of obviously mentally ill people not being taken care of and live in unsafe conditions with a lot of bad school systems. There are also a lot of tax rules that are not nice to deal with that you don't have to deal with in Canada. I think people don't mind taxes nearly as much if they feel like they are getting good value for their money. In the USA, you feel like your just getting shafted by the government half the time. In Canada not so much.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- tomcam 9y ago
  I respect you greatly. I fear you do not understand the United States government very well. Would you tell me why the USA needs more in taxes and where it excels in using those taxes?
  - r00fus 9y ago
    Taxation is policy. It matters not just in quantity (which you can rightfully question) but (more importantly) quality. Would you say that legitimately pursuing a law-evader somehow inevitably leads to a police-state?
    - testvox 9y ago
      Not invariably, but it very well could. It depends on what the laws are. Same as here it depends on what the taxes are and how they are spent.
  - taysic 9y ago
    I don't think the US needs more taxes - just the opposite. But those we have should be evenly enforced.
  - kromem 9y ago
    I'll answer, though not OP. Medicare is a pretty good example. As best I'm aware, that program's negotiated rate is less than the average private insurer for any given procedure, which is pretty impressive. Public broadcasting tends to do quite a lot on a continually reduced budget. There are a number of programs that are generally inefficient, and while I'd very much like to see greater efficiency, I'd also be very much ok seeing those existing programs have more money: education, infrastructure, Medicaid. And I feel like most people who malign the government's inefficiency have either never been exposed to the inefficiencies in the private sector, or willfully turn a blind eye to those inefficiencies to make a point. In my experience, all large organizations/projects suffer from an incredible amount of waste - the government is just the poor jerk that deals with some of the largest possible organizations/projects and then has publish that inefficiency for everyone to point at and critique.
- strictnein 9y ago
  > People downvoting this are cordially encouraged to have a look at countries that have no taxes. No one is thinking there should be no taxation, just that there's a sizable chance here that the government is in the wrong. To reverse your argument: please point me to this magical utopia where the government is always right and they never abuse their powers.
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    Switzerland is doing pretty good. It is the only country where I know the citizens say we have decided instead of the government has decided. Oh, and they do pay taxes.
    - astrodust 9y ago
      Switzerland is not a model for how to run a typical country.
      - kromem 9y ago
        I never understand how people point to existing systems that are working for a country, and then make the (valid) point that the success of those policies can't necessarily be extrapolated to another country, but then (invalidly) believe that is a suficient statement to end the conversation. Especially because those people often are talking about countries with some form of democratic socialism (where there are a number of strong success cases), and instead frequently put forward libertarianism - which is a completely untested government form in any country.
        kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
        Switzerland sustains itself with a huge influx of foreign money by adopting policies attractive to the wealthy. That strategy can't be pursued by every nation on the planet.
        whoishiring_ch 9y ago
- yellowapple 9y ago
  If the tax man wins at taxing someone outside one's actual jurisdiction, everybody loses. I'm probably going to be in a similar fight (albeit with far less money involved) due to me having moved to Nevada from California this year. I'm not looking forward to a Californian tax man trying to wring me for money despite me residing outside of California for the entire time I've been employed this year.

That is incorrect. If the tax man wins everybody wins. People downvoting this are cordially encouraged to have a look at countries that have no taxes.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
smudgymcscmudge 9y ago
except that one guy
JBReefer 9y ago
I never understood that - why do people brag about cheating the tax man? I have to make up the difference, in either (very slightly) reduced services or higher taxes. It always struck me as odd.
- jdavis703 9y ago
  It's the same reason people brag about other criminal endeavours, they want to brag about how smart they are and that they beat the system.
- Dirlewanger 9y ago
  Because it's a "fuck you" to The Man™. A marginal several thousand or whatever is probably a fraction of the amount that's lost daily across the federal government due to negligence.
  - jjawssd 9y ago
    Is it just negligence or is there more to it than that?
- ocdtrekkie 9y ago
  Presumably because you don't think those services are worth it or that the money is intelligently spent. Personally, despite being aware of those issues, I take some manner of pride in the fact that I declare my side income properly and pay taxes on it, even when the people who paid me make an explicit point to pay with cash. I do my fair share, and that's why I feel entitled to whine about people doing a shoddy job at managing it. ;)
- mahyarm 9y ago
  America does not spend it's taxes wisely. You can live in Canada for a similar tax load as a lot of people in California, yet not have universal healthcare, drive on roads that are in horrible conditions, deal with a horrible DMV, see a lot of obviously mentally ill people not being taken care of and live in unsafe conditions with a lot of bad school systems. There are also a lot of tax rules that are not nice to deal with that you don't have to deal with in Canada. I think people don't mind taxes nearly as much if they feel like they are getting good value for their money. In the USA, you feel like your just getting shafted by the government half the time. In Canada not so much.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
tomcam 9y ago
I respect you greatly. I fear you do not understand the United States government very well. Would you tell me why the USA needs more in taxes and where it excels in using those taxes?
- r00fus 9y ago
  Taxation is policy. It matters not just in quantity (which you can rightfully question) but (more importantly) quality. Would you say that legitimately pursuing a law-evader somehow inevitably leads to a police-state?
  - testvox 9y ago
    Not invariably, but it very well could. It depends on what the laws are. Same as here it depends on what the taxes are and how they are spent.
- taysic 9y ago
  I don't think the US needs more taxes - just the opposite. But those we have should be evenly enforced.
- kromem 9y ago
  I'll answer, though not OP. Medicare is a pretty good example. As best I'm aware, that program's negotiated rate is less than the average private insurer for any given procedure, which is pretty impressive. Public broadcasting tends to do quite a lot on a continually reduced budget. There are a number of programs that are generally inefficient, and while I'd very much like to see greater efficiency, I'd also be very much ok seeing those existing programs have more money: education, infrastructure, Medicaid. And I feel like most people who malign the government's inefficiency have either never been exposed to the inefficiencies in the private sector, or willfully turn a blind eye to those inefficiencies to make a point. In my experience, all large organizations/projects suffer from an incredible amount of waste - the government is just the poor jerk that deals with some of the largest possible organizations/projects and then has publish that inefficiency for everyone to point at and critique.
strictnein 9y ago
> People downvoting this are cordially encouraged to have a look at countries that have no taxes. No one is thinking there should be no taxation, just that there's a sizable chance here that the government is in the wrong. To reverse your argument: please point me to this magical utopia where the government is always right and they never abuse their powers.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Switzerland is doing pretty good. It is the only country where I know the citizens say we have decided instead of the government has decided. Oh, and they do pay taxes.
  - astrodust 9y ago
    Switzerland is not a model for how to run a typical country.
    - kromem 9y ago
      I never understand how people point to existing systems that are working for a country, and then make the (valid) point that the success of those policies can't necessarily be extrapolated to another country, but then (invalidly) believe that is a suficient statement to end the conversation. Especially because those people often are talking about countries with some form of democratic socialism (where there are a number of strong success cases), and instead frequently put forward libertarianism - which is a completely untested government form in any country.
      - kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
        Switzerland sustains itself with a huge influx of foreign money by adopting policies attractive to the wealthy. That strategy can't be pursued by every nation on the planet.
        whoishiring_ch 9y ago
yellowapple 9y ago
If the tax man wins at taxing someone outside one's actual jurisdiction, everybody loses. I'm probably going to be in a similar fight (albeit with far less money involved) due to me having moved to Nevada from California this year. I'm not looking forward to a Californian tax man trying to wring me for money despite me residing outside of California for the entire time I've been employed this year.