5 ms·

I just hope they start banning it everywhere. And follow through with enforcing it.

by bighi 9y ago

GCU-Empiricist 9y ago
"Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please. Rules, laws--always for the other fellow. A murky part of us, something we had before we came down out of the trees, and failed to shuck when we stood up. Because not one of those people said: 'Please pass this so I won't be able to do something I know I should stop.' Nyet, tovarishchee, was always something they hated to see their neighbors doing. Stop them 'for their own good'--not because the speaker claimed to be harmed by it." Manuel Davis O'Kelley The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
- bighi 9y ago
  > Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please When they harm others, then yes. It's the same reason why we ban theft, murder, etc.
milesvp 9y ago
While they're at it they should ban tvs and computer video. video games are definitely a no-no too. They all waste so much electricity! /s Do not presume to dictate what others do. If there really are negative externalities set regulation to price those externalities in. At worst create step functions in pricing to discourage behaviors above some typical threshold. But outright banning something that others find utility in just because reasons is a dangerous game.
- euisKwieoIw28 9y ago
  Reality is under no obligation to abide every fetishists particular emotional capture Society is expected to build more to satisfy every unique experience that requires complex efforts? Laughable.
- itsok_itsnotok 9y ago
  I’ve been pretty bullish on cryptocurrencies for a number of years, but it has to be acknowledged that it’s not if there are externalities, there are legitimate real world externalities that need to be considered. The article says that some residents of Plattsburgh have seen their electric bills go up by $100 or $200. Many of those residents will not see significant offsetting benefits. Plattsburgh, New York as of the census of 2010: “The median income for a household in the city was $28,846 … About 13.6% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.”[0] The income levels in federal poverty guidelines [1] are pretty low so there are very likely a number of households in the city that are above but near the guideline. However, it isn’t necessary to get bogged down by federal poverty definition to acknowledge that some folks are going to have a hard time with unexpected energy bills. For a while I worked as a manager of a program that helps low income households with their utility bills. I can tell you from experience that if a fixed income senior or low income family were to suddenly receive a utility bill that was $200 higher than they were expecting, they would face serious hardship. Even as a somewhat comfortable working family with two incomes, my household finances would be thrown into a bit of disarray if we suddenly had to pay substantially more per month for electricity and I wouldn’t be too happy as rate payer if that increase came with no benefit for me. The utility can’t just decide on a new rate schedule and start billing it, they have to go through a process. The process for setting utility rates is typically a protracted and expensive affair. I am not as familiar with rate cases in the eastern states, but per the NY State website it looks like it takes about a year [2]. If folks can’t pay their utility bills now, it’s not going to get easier. City leaders see that their neighbors are having a difficult time so it seems reasonable to put a hold on mining activities until they can come to an equitable solution. It is unfair to other rate payers if they are being asked to effectively subsidize mining activities. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plattsburgh_(city)%2C_New_York#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plattsburgh_(city)%2C_New_York... [1] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/01/18/2018-00814/annual-update-of-the-hhs-poverty-guidelines https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/01/18/2018-00... [2] http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/0/364D0704BEEC5B7D85257856006C56B3 http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/0/364D0704BEEC5B7D852578...

I just hope they start banning it everywhere. And follow through with enforcing it.

by bighi 9y ago

I just hope they start banning it everywhere. And follow through with enforcing it.

"Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please. Rules, laws--always for the other fellow. A murky part of us, something we had before we came down out of the trees, and failed to shuck when we stood up. Because not one of those people said: 'Please pass this so I won't be able to do something I know I should stop.' Nyet, tovarishchee, was always something they hated to see their neighbors doing. Stop them 'for their own good'--not because the speaker claimed to be harmed by it." Manuel Davis O'Kelley The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

bighi 9y ago
> Must be a yearning deep in human heart to stop other people from doing as they please When they harm others, then yes. It's the same reason why we ban theft, murder, etc.

milesvp 9y ago

While they're at it they should ban tvs and computer video. video games are definitely a no-no too. They all waste so much electricity! /s Do not presume to dictate what others do. If there really are negative externalities set regulation to price those externalities in. At worst create step functions in pricing to discourage behaviors above some typical threshold. But outright banning something that others find utility in just because reasons is a dangerous game.

euisKwieoIw28 9y ago
Reality is under no obligation to abide every fetishists particular emotional capture Society is expected to build more to satisfy every unique experience that requires complex efforts? Laughable.
itsok_itsnotok 9y ago
I’ve been pretty bullish on cryptocurrencies for a number of years, but it has to be acknowledged that it’s not if there are externalities, there are legitimate real world externalities that need to be considered. The article says that some residents of Plattsburgh have seen their electric bills go up by $100 or $200. Many of those residents will not see significant offsetting benefits. Plattsburgh, New York as of the census of 2010: “The median income for a household in the city was $28,846 … About 13.6% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.”[0] The income levels in federal poverty guidelines [1] are pretty low so there are very likely a number of households in the city that are above but near the guideline. However, it isn’t necessary to get bogged down by federal poverty definition to acknowledge that some folks are going to have a hard time with unexpected energy bills. For a while I worked as a manager of a program that helps low income households with their utility bills. I can tell you from experience that if a fixed income senior or low income family were to suddenly receive a utility bill that was $200 higher than they were expecting, they would face serious hardship. Even as a somewhat comfortable working family with two incomes, my household finances would be thrown into a bit of disarray if we suddenly had to pay substantially more per month for electricity and I wouldn’t be too happy as rate payer if that increase came with no benefit for me. The utility can’t just decide on a new rate schedule and start billing it, they have to go through a process. The process for setting utility rates is typically a protracted and expensive affair. I am not as familiar with rate cases in the eastern states, but per the NY State website it looks like it takes about a year [2]. If folks can’t pay their utility bills now, it’s not going to get easier. City leaders see that their neighbors are having a difficult time so it seems reasonable to put a hold on mining activities until they can come to an equitable solution. It is unfair to other rate payers if they are being asked to effectively subsidize mining activities. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plattsburgh_(city)%2C_New_York#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plattsburgh_(city)%2C_New_York... [1] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/01/18/2018-00814/annual-update-of-the-hhs-poverty-guidelines https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/01/18/2018-00... [2] http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/0/364D0704BEEC5B7D85257856006C56B3 http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/0/364D0704BEEC5B7D852578...