mmmurf

9 ms·

31.
by mmmurf 18y ago
You're right it doesn't make any difference, but your point is irrelevant. Social security is only as "sound" as the will of future taxpayers to pay the inevitably increased taxes required to keep it going, regardless of whether the money i
32.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Well, the extreme case of non-upkeep is the vacant buildings in NYC, etc. When nobody can make a profit from a building, it gets abandoned. This isn't an overnight process. It starts by using a tarp on the roof instead of fixing the roof
33.
by mmmurf 18y ago
For renovation, it's not just stainless steel appliances, it's little things over time. In 1 or 2 years it's not really noticeable but over 5-10 years it starts to take a toll. Even the building I used to live in used a large tarp on the
34.
by mmmurf 18y ago
I agree that the item you mention is not a particularly strong argument, but I wanted to mention some examples of how rent control blocks a price signal that might even be useful for the beneficiary of rent control. I think it's uncontrove
35.
by mmmurf 18y ago
The idea of breaking up a problem into manageable mini-steps is the essence of Getting Things Done: http://www.davidco.com/what_is_gtd.php
36.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Fair enough. On a slightly tangential note, I think that the idea of "uprooting from homes" is a bit of an unfortunate cliche. In reality, it is home ownership that shackles people to jobs they hate, etc. If you rent, you can move whenev
37.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Do you happen to have a list of these?
38.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Only unprofitable if you decide that everyone deserves the latest, greatest, cutting-edge medical care. Healthcare prices have come way down in the past two decades, the issue is that nobody wants 1990 level care, which could be administere
39.
by mmmurf 18y ago
I have no problem with a program designed to subsidize housing for people with tax dollars. If the democracy decides that people with attributes x, y, and z deserve a $2000/month housing subsidy, that's fine. It's no different than the su
40.
by mmmurf 18y ago
What would an actual libertarian position be? How would it be argued? What regulation (and what bailout(s)) would it favor?
41.
by mmmurf 18y ago
The point is that rent control (over time) drives up the price of rental dwellings, a phenomenon which greatly harms the poor. Here's why: In many cities, new buildings are exempt from rent control if they are "luxury" buildings. So the s
42.
by mmmurf 18y ago
True. I don't think anyone would object to helping the 1% of people who are actually in that category. The problem is that interest groups hijack the programs in order to win handouts for those who don't really need the programs.
43.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Do you think people should be allowed to smoke? Should they be allowed to eat Doritos? Should they be allowed to skydive?
44.
by mmmurf 18y ago
How does opposing the automotive bailout and the financial bailout constitute being a shill for big business? I'd say it's quite the opposite!
45.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Immigration: I don't think you really disagree with Cato. Arguing that immigration restrictions should be eliminated does not necessarily entail that one believes the restrictions should be lifted all at once. Rent Control: Rent control
46.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Examples of how Cato has been discredited?
47.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Roads are about 1% of all taxes... Your tax dollars are paying for a massive war and a massive bailout.
48.
by mmmurf 18y ago
That's a superb analogy :) Zed's a great hacker, but he seems to thrive on bitchy rants. He also seems to relish personal grudges, etc. I think it's entertaining and usually read his rants with a smile, though this seems to be his most i
49.
by mmmurf 18y ago
So the only reason small companies succeed is because Uncle Sam prevents them from being gobbled up by cruel larger firms who want to pay their founders lots of money? Hmm...
50.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Don't underestimate the entrepreneurial spirit that is going on in China. It's just political propaganda that China is oppressive and thwarts entrepreneurship. Sure there are some problems, but China's human rights issues are about on par
51.
by mmmurf 18y ago
No I'm sure it came about because of a tax increase! (if taxes don't matter to investment decisions, then why not raise them to 99%?) If you believe current taxes are right at the "sweet spot", why do you believe that?
52.
by mmmurf 18y ago
The purpose of mark-to-market exceptions are to allow temporary price volatility not to drastically impact a firm's balance sheet. The FASB rule specifies that it's an acceptable practice to suspend mark-to-market in "fire sale" conditions
53.
by mmmurf 18y ago
So true. I'm still waiting for aggregation of update messages so that I can follow way more stuff, but github is one of my favorite sites on the net already...
54.
by mmmurf 18y ago
This hasn't been true for me at all. For me, leaving my 20s has been a great motivator to try/do all kinds of new and different things.
55.
by mmmurf 18y ago
He's right. Derivatives are nothing but mathematical relationships between other things. If those other things have prices, then the derivative has a price in relation to them. Derivatives are useful when you want to design an instrument
56.
by mmmurf 18y ago
tremendously
57.
by mmmurf 18y ago
I agree. I can never really get into IRC as there are always three condescending comments to every helpful one and it's like a high school clique with password protected rooms and inside jokes. I also agree about HN, it seems to have manag
58.
by mmmurf 18y ago
Very interesting, thanks!
59.
by mmmurf 18y ago
I would imagine that someone could also sign up for PayPal's merchant processing account and just use the virtual terminal in the iPhone browser. PayPal also typically approves small merchants for much higher limits than authorize.net resel
60.
by mmmurf 18y ago
(such as hellocreature.com) :)

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