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Actually the opposite thing happens in the stock market. The shareholders vote on the board of directors and the board of directors pay the CEO mostly based on

Actually the opposite thing happens in the stock market. The shareholders vote on the board of directors and the board of directors pay the CEO mostly based on the stock price going up. One way they do that is buying back shares. Another way is buy making money via positive cashflow and giving dividends to the share holders. Bitcoin has negative cashflow, the only way it goes up is by more people putting money into it. I'm not saying that is a bad thing. Picasso paintings also have negative cashflow when you account for storage and security of the art. The only way a Picasso goes up in value is if more people with more money want to buy one. It is unfair to call Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme because no one calls a Picasso a Ponzi scheme.

manwe150 5y ago
Picasso paintings have possible positive cash flows via tax loopholes. So they don’t call it a Ponzi scheme because they do call it (legal) tax evasion. For example: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-rich-buy-art-divyanshu-goel https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-rich-buy-art-divyanshu...
- tata71 5y ago
  Tax evasion and avoidance are two different things.
  - DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
    this argument is frequently made to defend the shifting profits away from the edge (the supply side, and the retail side) and extract value from the middle (the tax haven¹). Both are immoral but only one is illegal. One can do a double-Irish-Dutch sandwich and rat fuck both employees and suppliers all in the name of creating value for the shareholders. While employees piss into bottles the forward thinking CEO engages in union busting methods to prevent them from organizing. Legal or not, why not, if you can get away by stalling until a court decides and you settle (or purge the board from the toxic elements and restart what you do with a new CEO). ¹ Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Islands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Islands
fnord77 5y ago
funny enough, high value art is used for money laundering all the time
- GuB-42 5y ago
  Not sure about Picassos. Picasso was a world famous artist that even those who are not into fine art know and appreciate. There is kind of a consensus on the value of his work, and even those who find it ugly won't treat it as trash. The way I understand it, the kind art that is most often used in money laundry schemes is the more controversial kind. When some people think that a painting is a waste of perfectly good canvas while some rick collectors think it is the expression of god himself, how can you assign a value? This extreme subjectivity is what makes it ideal for money laundering.
  - gitfan86 5y ago
    I would love to know how the IRS handles this. You report 2M of income from selling your art. Does the IRS ask for details? Or do they try and find out how the person who bought your art got the money? Or they just don't care as long as you pay the income tax on it?

manwe150 5y ago

Picasso paintings have possible positive cash flows via tax loopholes. So they don’t call it a Ponzi scheme because they do call it (legal) tax evasion. For example: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-rich-buy-art-divyanshu-goel https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-rich-buy-art-divyanshu...

tata71 5y ago
Tax evasion and avoidance are two different things.
- DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
  this argument is frequently made to defend the shifting profits away from the edge (the supply side, and the retail side) and extract value from the middle (the tax haven¹). Both are immoral but only one is illegal. One can do a double-Irish-Dutch sandwich and rat fuck both employees and suppliers all in the name of creating value for the shareholders. While employees piss into bottles the forward thinking CEO engages in union busting methods to prevent them from organizing. Legal or not, why not, if you can get away by stalling until a court decides and you settle (or purge the board from the toxic elements and restart what you do with a new CEO). ¹ Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Islands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Islands

fnord77 5y ago

funny enough, high value art is used for money laundering all the time

GuB-42 5y ago
Not sure about Picassos. Picasso was a world famous artist that even those who are not into fine art know and appreciate. There is kind of a consensus on the value of his work, and even those who find it ugly won't treat it as trash. The way I understand it, the kind art that is most often used in money laundry schemes is the more controversial kind. When some people think that a painting is a waste of perfectly good canvas while some rick collectors think it is the expression of god himself, how can you assign a value? This extreme subjectivity is what makes it ideal for money laundering.
- gitfan86 5y ago
  I would love to know how the IRS handles this. You report 2M of income from selling your art. Does the IRS ask for details? Or do they try and find out how the person who bought your art got the money? Or they just don't care as long as you pay the income tax on it?