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It’s pretty easy to see that expecting people to do “the right thing”...when you have poorly defined what “the right thing” is...will result in problems. The I

It’s pretty easy to see that expecting people to do “the right thing”...when you have poorly defined what “the right thing” is...will result in problems. The Irish Dutch sandwich would cease to exist if governments wanted to stop it. It’s the responsibility of the people to vote for politicians who aren’t corrupt and will make laws to properly represent our intentions instead of enriching their buddies. It’s not the companies fault, they are simply following the incentives. All companies have competitors, and if you design a loophole, the nature of competition will force all companies to follow it. Lest your competitor gain a profitable advantage. Fix the game and players will follow the new rules overnight.

gjulianm 6y ago
> will make laws to properly represent our intentions instead of enriching their buddies. Buddies like... the companies that use those loopholes. > if you design a loophole, the nature of competition will force all companies to follow it Does it also force them to lobby to keep that loophole? > Lest your competitor gain a profitable advantage. Is the differential value of Airbnb using tax loopholes? Do you mean to say that if Airbnb stops using tax schemes, a competitor will pop up and be in an advantage? > Fix the game and players will follow the new rules overnight. Players will complain and try to lobby and even blackmail governments trying to fix the game, and will also actively try to find new loopholes. Really, we need to hold companies accountable for these schemes. It's very hypocritical to praise the grit and the motivation of the founders but consider the company an abstract and amoral entity whenever it comes to things like paying taxes. Stop excusing bad behavior.
allendoerfer 6y ago
You are personifying "the people" or "the state". Your argument does not make sense. Everyone has their ownn priorities, resulting in this situation. Not all politians are corrupt, it is just very hard to change things if all the money is so overwhelmingly against it and the topic is not big enough to really enrage the public.
- pembrook 6y ago
  In a representative democracy, the people and the state are the same thing. So effectively, by not caring enough to close these loopholes, the people have sanctioned this behavior as okay. You personally may disagree with it, but apparently a majority of your countrymen do not see it as a big problem. Otherwise it would already be solved.

gjulianm 6y ago

> will make laws to properly represent our intentions instead of enriching their buddies. Buddies like... the companies that use those loopholes. > if you design a loophole, the nature of competition will force all companies to follow it Does it also force them to lobby to keep that loophole? > Lest your competitor gain a profitable advantage. Is the differential value of Airbnb using tax loopholes? Do you mean to say that if Airbnb stops using tax schemes, a competitor will pop up and be in an advantage? > Fix the game and players will follow the new rules overnight. Players will complain and try to lobby and even blackmail governments trying to fix the game, and will also actively try to find new loopholes. Really, we need to hold companies accountable for these schemes. It's very hypocritical to praise the grit and the motivation of the founders but consider the company an abstract and amoral entity whenever it comes to things like paying taxes. Stop excusing bad behavior.

allendoerfer 6y ago

You are personifying "the people" or "the state". Your argument does not make sense. Everyone has their ownn priorities, resulting in this situation. Not all politians are corrupt, it is just very hard to change things if all the money is so overwhelmingly against it and the topic is not big enough to really enrage the public.

pembrook 6y ago
In a representative democracy, the people and the state are the same thing. So effectively, by not caring enough to close these loopholes, the people have sanctioned this behavior as okay. You personally may disagree with it, but apparently a majority of your countrymen do not see it as a big problem. Otherwise it would already be solved.