4 ms·

What if I paid for all my free software?

25 points by anticorporate 3y ago

vcg3rd 3y ago
People shouldn't have to work. UBI and social services should be funded by high tax rates so people can go to school and think and produce free stuff made from free stuff that was developed, mined, harvested, produced and transported by free stuff with free energy and production costs. Governments get taxes from...? Edit: And for those who were alive to experience it the high tax rates under Eisenhower were sustainable by the only first world economy in the aftermath of a global conflagration when the US was rebuilding W. Europe and Japan and had abundant access to energy. They continued into the 60s, dropped to 70% for a long time and led to Stagflation at the same time OPEC formed. Basing anything on the pretty unique anomaly of the US in the 50s is a mistake. It's a lot of words to write "From each according to his abilities to each according to his needs," which if you belive is fine--"A least it's an Ethos"--but argue for it instead of smoke and mirrors. Mega-taxing the rich is as much short-term thinking as maximize shareholder value.
- chollida1 3y ago
  > People shouldn't have to work. So if everyone decides to produce fee stuff then who is paying tax to fund all of it?
  - mulmen 3y ago
    If nobody works who produces things?
    - chollida1 3y ago
      According the the op, it’s people working for free Read above to see their comment
      - mulmen 3y ago
        Well they said: > People shouldn't have to work. If people aren’t working how does anything get produced? Maybe they mean “people should only work if they want to” but why would they if there are high taxes and prices are literally zero? I honestly can’t follow the post. There is apparently still a concept of money but the only source is UBI because goods and services are free. But if everything is free I’m not sure what the UBI is for or how the taxes on zero fund the UBI. It makes no sense to me.
phendrenad2 3y ago
IMO free software exists at the noise floor where the value of software fluctuates around zero. Give a large but finite number of bored monkeys typewriters and they'll eventually write a really great guide to swinging on vines. But they won't create King Lear.
roenxi 3y ago
I suspect this fellow is just getting his ideas out onto paper so he can look at them. There are a couple of internal inconsistencies that I can't explain otherwise. > What makes us corruptible though? My bet's on a lack of money. This was a good example. This bet is then followed by a compelling evidence that lack of money is not the problem, and proposes education as a solution. Money is a lot of things, but lacking it as a cause of corruption is hard to put. Poor people are not known for being corrupt, they don't have enough power to wield it corruptly. Ditto taxes, where he wants people to pay a fair share but I can't figure out what that is or what the justification is for it being fair. Taxes are, from top to tail, completely artificial and there is no inherent moral issue with tax avoidance. Some taxes - like a tax on alcohol - is often explicitly to trigger tax avoidance. The fairness of taxes is a complex question that is independent of the law. (Although the answer usually seems to be "the fair option is people who aren't me pay more!" and people fail to see the irony). And since we're talk about tax fairness, this gentleman would probably enjoy researching land taxation. That is the most promising way towards everyone paying their fair share.

25 points by anticorporate 3y ago

People shouldn't have to work. UBI and social services should be funded by high tax rates so people can go to school and think and produce free stuff made from free stuff that was developed, mined, harvested, produced and transported by free stuff with free energy and production costs. Governments get taxes from...? Edit: And for those who were alive to experience it the high tax rates under Eisenhower were sustainable by the only first world economy in the aftermath of a global conflagration when the US was rebuilding W. Europe and Japan and had abundant access to energy. They continued into the 60s, dropped to 70% for a long time and led to Stagflation at the same time OPEC formed. Basing anything on the pretty unique anomaly of the US in the 50s is a mistake. It's a lot of words to write "From each according to his abilities to each according to his needs," which if you belive is fine--"A least it's an Ethos"--but argue for it instead of smoke and mirrors. Mega-taxing the rich is as much short-term thinking as maximize shareholder value.

chollida1 3y ago
> People shouldn't have to work. So if everyone decides to produce fee stuff then who is paying tax to fund all of it?
- mulmen 3y ago
  If nobody works who produces things?
  - chollida1 3y ago
    According the the op, it’s people working for free Read above to see their comment
    - mulmen 3y ago
      Well they said: > People shouldn't have to work. If people aren’t working how does anything get produced? Maybe they mean “people should only work if they want to” but why would they if there are high taxes and prices are literally zero? I honestly can’t follow the post. There is apparently still a concept of money but the only source is UBI because goods and services are free. But if everything is free I’m not sure what the UBI is for or how the taxes on zero fund the UBI. It makes no sense to me.

phendrenad2 3y ago

IMO free software exists at the noise floor where the value of software fluctuates around zero. Give a large but finite number of bored monkeys typewriters and they'll eventually write a really great guide to swinging on vines. But they won't create King Lear.

roenxi 3y ago

I suspect this fellow is just getting his ideas out onto paper so he can look at them. There are a couple of internal inconsistencies that I can't explain otherwise. > What makes us corruptible though? My bet's on a lack of money. This was a good example. This bet is then followed by a compelling evidence that lack of money is not the problem, and proposes education as a solution. Money is a lot of things, but lacking it as a cause of corruption is hard to put. Poor people are not known for being corrupt, they don't have enough power to wield it corruptly. Ditto taxes, where he wants people to pay a fair share but I can't figure out what that is or what the justification is for it being fair. Taxes are, from top to tail, completely artificial and there is no inherent moral issue with tax avoidance. Some taxes - like a tax on alcohol - is often explicitly to trigger tax avoidance. The fairness of taxes is a complex question that is independent of the law. (Although the answer usually seems to be "the fair option is people who aren't me pay more!" and people fail to see the irony). And since we're talk about tax fairness, this gentleman would probably enjoy researching land taxation. That is the most promising way towards everyone paying their fair share.