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The number needs to be effectively an unbribeable number. If you're selected for public service, then you're expected to do good for the country, and not just

The number needs to be effectively an unbribeable number. If you're selected for public service, then you're expected to do good for the country, and not just a specific monied interest. And that means not having to worry about money ever again. You win capitalism. Done. Have fun. Live your life. That could also be done with annuities so that they get a "allowance" each month until dead.

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
Why wouldn't you take the money AND the bribes? If you have a system in place that can find and punish bribes - why not pay them a reasonable amount of money - and just eliminate bribes without spending $0.1T per year...
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  Bribes need to increase proportionate to salary to maintain the same risk/reward calculation. Famously, Singapore maintains a very effective, clean civil service by paying market rates, and sometimes for some ministers that is actually millions of dollars a year.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
    Okay, but are they choosing these people at random? Your worth should be based on your skills (meritocracy) - not by winning the lottery and how much people will pay to influence you (luck).
    - noasaservice 4y ago
      > Your worth should be based on your skills (meritocracy) And with deciding "merit" are the kingmakers, or the "meritmakers". Congratulations. You now have created a new class of people who can take bribes and subvert leadership under the term "merit". And, explain how one would calculate "merit"? In my experiences, meritocracies are monocultures that put forth their own biases as "merit".
- altruios 4y ago
  people assume people will be satisfied with any (large) amount of money. 1: money isn't the only form of bribery. 2: people who want more... will always want more and will never stop taking. 3: there is no good way to tell a person from someone who wants to give to help, and someone who wants to give to get something in return. A more effective if morally dark methodology is publicly and viscously execute people who take bribes in this system.
notahacker 4y ago
If winning at capitalism was an antidote to the desire to do dodgy deals, we wouldn't have to worry about the effect of moneyed interests on politics in the first place. As it is, I'm not sure the billion does anything other than ensure that the one policy absolutely every randomly-appointed political figure from the vague woolly liberal to the literal neo-Nazi agrees upon is zero inheritance tax...

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago

Why wouldn't you take the money AND the bribes? If you have a system in place that can find and punish bribes - why not pay them a reasonable amount of money - and just eliminate bribes without spending $0.1T per year...

bobthepanda 4y ago
Bribes need to increase proportionate to salary to maintain the same risk/reward calculation. Famously, Singapore maintains a very effective, clean civil service by paying market rates, and sometimes for some ministers that is actually millions of dollars a year.
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
  Okay, but are they choosing these people at random? Your worth should be based on your skills (meritocracy) - not by winning the lottery and how much people will pay to influence you (luck).
  - noasaservice 4y ago
    > Your worth should be based on your skills (meritocracy) And with deciding "merit" are the kingmakers, or the "meritmakers". Congratulations. You now have created a new class of people who can take bribes and subvert leadership under the term "merit". And, explain how one would calculate "merit"? In my experiences, meritocracies are monocultures that put forth their own biases as "merit".
altruios 4y ago
people assume people will be satisfied with any (large) amount of money. 1: money isn't the only form of bribery. 2: people who want more... will always want more and will never stop taking. 3: there is no good way to tell a person from someone who wants to give to help, and someone who wants to give to get something in return. A more effective if morally dark methodology is publicly and viscously execute people who take bribes in this system.

notahacker 4y ago

If winning at capitalism was an antidote to the desire to do dodgy deals, we wouldn't have to worry about the effect of moneyed interests on politics in the first place. As it is, I'm not sure the billion does anything other than ensure that the one policy absolutely every randomly-appointed political figure from the vague woolly liberal to the literal neo-Nazi agrees upon is zero inheritance tax...