From: "Technotranscendence" <neptune@mars.superlink.net>
> That depends on what you mean by prudent. If stealing is prudent, then
> successful thieves should be seen as exemplars of that virtue. Of course,
> if you judge people by how well they get along in each system, then certain
> types of people do well in a welfare state -- not necessarily the same
> people who would do well under either a free market or full socialism.
Yes, successful theives (aka politicians) get along quite well in the welfare
system (which steals from productive workers and redistributes to sycophants).
> You should also ask what it is that taxation and redistribution achieves
> ultimately -- e.g., what sort of changes it makes in society. More people
> will devote their efforts to trying to get at unearned wealth and less to
> other, more productive activities. (Before it can be taxed, wealth must be
> produced. The more taxes there are, the less reason there is for many
> people to produce.)
Obviously.
> I would also point out, this class of tax takers includes not only
> politicians, but, in general, those who chase after government money or
> favors. I recall in the 1990s, the Cato Institute http://www.cato.org/ came
> out with a report on corporate welfare in the US, finding that this was a
> huge part of the Federal budget. (I.e., reducing it, would reduce the
> overall budget -- and the money saved could be given back to the taxpayers.)
Yes, I've heard of "corporate welfare." Just like individuals, some
corporations produce wealth and some are parasites. Corporate lawyers, for
example, can be parasites on parasites. This, of course, has nothing to do
with capitalism, nor with religion. I'd classify it as a societal illness
which may or may not require corrective action, depending on how debilitating
it becomes to the community at large.
Stay hungry,
--J. R.
Useless hypotheses, etc.:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, CYC, and ELIZA
Everything that can happen has already happened, not just once,
but an infinite number of times, and will continue to do so forever.
(Everything that can happen = more than anyone can imagine.)
We won't move into a better future until we debunk religiosity, the most
regressive force now operating in society.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:39:50 MDT