MagsJ wrote:A system that fostered indefinite economic stability, low taxation, a realistic living wage for grown people working full time jobs to support their families, affordable essential goods produce and services, and other such essential consumer needs, would be more than well-met I’m sure.
The only tax-free countries I know of are those who have oil bolstering their economies, so what would be the bolster for countries that don’t?
Have you tried running a SIM on it Sil, to see how it would fare over time? now that would be interesting.
I did indeed start programming a simulation for this very purpose. My C++ skills ought to be adequate, though not long ago I found myself getting bogged down with the syntax of adapting certain functions to my needs and the whole thing was put on hold for a bit - it's hard enough to structure and systematise a sufficiently complex simulation of a society as it is without adapting it to my model, but hopefully I'll find myself able to resume my efforts in the near future. The effect should meet all of the above requirements - but who knows? Maybe it'll all amount to nothing. I'm just offering a preview at this point to gauge the reactions of people who might be interested in such a project, and should simulated practice back up the theory I've glossed over, I'll see about presenting it in a more official capacity.
Fixed Cross wrote:What I like about Silhouette is that he so proud that he has to prove he is objectively worth something as a philosopher from time to time. This is what philosophy is made of, proud men, and some very proud women as well. There never was a humble teacher. Just smart enough to act humbly here and there so people might be more inclined to take his teachings to heart, and think about them honestly.
Not quite my MO. I'm a little beyond having anything to prove at this point - I've already made several original breakthroughs across several fields, including theology (categorically disproving God), mathematics (disproving Cantor's diagonal argument), philosophy (Experientialism) and now economics. You're correctly identifying that I'm proud of my achievements, but my stating of their existence and quality is simple fact - I seek no personal acknowledgement nor to gain any sense of social worth, my pride is for me and contingent upon my successes rather than a general personality trait. From ye olde Zarathustra: "Man is something that is to be surpassed" - when I gather too much honey, I perform a "down-going" to serve like an alpha or beta test. That's all this is, and I'm sure the style of my contributions and what I'm saying here can come across as pride or even arrogance - which is fine, I don't mind how people think of me as a person, I just have an aesthetic preference for correcting things.
Yes, you do appear to be one of only a few so far who "has understood this thing". You also offer some interesting insights reading "around" my solution in way I hadn't begun to consider, and it's not without interest that you see overlap with your Value Ontology. I'd say Phoneutria has also addressed some of the particulars, which is very welcome, in predictable stark contrast to this guy:
Urwrongx1000 wrote:"Solution" to economics he says... LOL, when will you learn Sil? Ever?
Let me guess, your "solution" is to take my taxpayer money, and dole it out among the poor and whomever else YOU decide, with MY money?
How do you think you are coming across here?
That you need to "guess" what my solution is, and that you guess very poorly, proves that you have failed to even begin to read anything I've written before deciding what to say about it. Your subsequent posts show that you've maybe made it as far as the first line.
Your immediate dismissal on these grounds alone indicates that you've already resolved to disagree regardless of what I have to offer, and your subsequent assertions confirm my initial suspicions that you intend to disagree merely on the grounds of arguments I've already heard from you ad nauseum.
What then is my motivation to engage with you when any possible discussion is already pre-determined? It's not without irony that there is no possible freedom to any interaction with you.
I'll keep a look out for any signs that you've attempted to open your mind and impartially consider what I've actually said, instead of simply taking the opportunity to reel off the usual pre-prepared sentiments - but we both know exactly where this is going to go.
With the housekeeping out of the way, onto some content:
phoneutria wrote:as annoying as ecmandu is, I agree with him on the following
we don't we hear the wealthy boast about being the ones paying the highest taxes of all
you'd think that they'd throw this number around all over the media
"I paid x millions in tax this year! y% of my income!"
instead they keep their tax returns under lock and key
because they are scamming the people out of their taxes due in every possible way that they can
because fuck taxes
i can see this working in a sort of science fiction utopic flick, with a different species entirely, that evolved with those values built into their physiology. not us apes.
if i have to pay $300 for a pound of rice which costs $3 to my housekeeper, I'm going to pay her $10 to go buy me a pound of rice, and she is going to take it
I'm willing to grant Ecmandu's cynical evaluation of the wealthy, even in its extreme form, and it would still overlook a certain subtlty that I briefly mentioned in an earlier post.
Let's say that the wealthy really do have absolutely no interest whatsoever in publically declaring or even participating in any philanthropy - that's not the only factor at play here. Maximum dedication to the "bottom line" of profits depends also on the appearance that there is more to it than that. This is what Zizek would refer to as "ideology". He demonstrates this better than I can, with various often humorous examples, that cold hard material facts alone don't complete the entire human picture - that in cultures all over the world we find the underlying mechanisms of society functioning only with a kind of narrative to mask it and make it palatable. It's not the least charm of history that we can look back at all the quaint rituals and mythologies of the past from which we have now (mostly) grown too sophisticated to take seriously - instead adopting new ideologies that are yet to become noticed by the general public and then sufficiently questioned, as they always eventually will be. Philosophers tend to be at the forefront of such "progressions", with pscyhologists close behind to ease the emotional transition. For example, we used to be professionally counselled for enjoying ourselves too much and now we are professionally counselled for not feeling we're enjoying ourselves enough. Without ideology, sex would just be a biological chore consisting only of the mechanical actions to pragmatically achieve the continuation of the species - without all the flirtation, suggestive innuendos and suspense. It appears to be a psychological necessity for humans to unconsciously participate in ideology, which always takes the form of pretending that we're all doing good, which currently involves the mutually agreed flattering perception that profits aren't actually the only thing that matter to employers.
Apologies if you're already familiar with ideology, but you see how this means that any potential cognitive dissonance that might result from doubting this ideology must be proven to be unfounded through token demonstrations of altruism like charity. It doesn't take much to realise that if we were truly charitable, we'd fix the systems that afford us enough disposable income to give to charity in the first place, which are the same systems that result in the existence of those who need charity in the first place. But obviously that'd kinda fuck you over and who are these charity cases to deserve what we've worked hard to earn for ourselves anyway? Ideology. The wealthy need to believe they're good people and we see everywhere the effects of market forces causing companies to present themselves as environmentally friendly (greenwashing) etc. - to maintain and hopefully increase their share of the market and competitive advantage.
All it takes is a few early adopters of my solution to try and grab some quick initial fame and recognition that they would otherwise not get, and the competition soon realises they are losing out relatively, making them feel the need to at least appear to give a shit whether or not they "really" do, and sign up to participate in contemporary ideology (and not incidentally reap the benefits of doing so).
It's not as simple as "fuck taxes", even if that's how one really feels.
It's obvious why companies all keep their tax records secret in just the way you explain - but it's not so obvious why you'd want to stay off the radar by refusing to participate in my solution, which is entirely voluntary don't forget.