Mike I normally agree with what you have to say however I take exception on this one. The long term effects of violent video games are just now coming to the fore. Since they take so long to manifest most people fail to see any correlation. Like others have said, a kid playing GTA is illegal in NZ. Your closing question might be more accurately phrased, "Which do you think would do more harm to a child? Having their parent teach them that breaking the law is okay or learning if you break the law you get in trouble?"
The general erosion of a society's cultural mores begins first with odious and idiotic laws, many of which are hard if not impossible to enforce, then by the populace realizing there is legal "wiggle room" for a few laws, and finally the populace branching out to ignore whatever laws they don't like.
Unfortunately, democracies and republics tend to overreact to things, then rush out legislature that is ineffective and often hurts more than it helps because these politicians have to appear to be "doing something". The politician's syllogism very much applies here. "We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this!"
The problem here is not the individual in charge of enforcing these laws, it's the people who require their elected leaders to react prior to understanding the problem. It's also the politicians who believe they already know everything and are right about it, backed up by left-wing and right-wing extremists. It sounds like NZ needs a good Libertarian candidate.
Transparency may be the biggest issue, but our current opacity is more a symptom of a failing system than the root cause. Forcing transparency on companies would greatly help, but it won't solve the problem. The problem is still rooted in individual greed and laziness, and no amount of transparency will solve those social ills.
A complete overhaul of our social, educational, commercial, governmental, and religious institutions is the only thing that can save us.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Deeper roots and broader solutions
I believe "drooling, lazy-eyed, Darwin Award-winning stupid" could be considered a personal attack, and it only makes your arguments less valid.
Good point about the VC & innovation. Obviously I have points yet to be considered.
There is no need to regulate what a company does with its surplus. if they choose to buy a jet then they have created jobs for a pilot, copilot, mechanics, and probably flight attendants, not to mention the downstream jobs bolstered by a staged and operating plane (fuel & distribution, rubber, electronics manufacturers, plane manufacturer, etc). So doing still forces the company to trickle down its excess profits to individuals in the economy. The most likely event would be bonuses for the company executives.
Animal nature is competitive, sompetition for resources to survive, be it land, food, shelter, whatever. Humans who fail to overcome their animal nature continue to be competitive because they are driven by a feeling of lack. Those who learn to control animal instincts tend to care more about others. And we all know some animals are more equal than others in their own eyes. Capitalism only works because its easy to be indoctrinated into the cult of capitalism. It works with our desire to get lots for little effort, or to build on the effort of others instead. The government already was an overlord of commerce. Deregulation left general commerce without a governing overseer.
A flat tax with any kind of incentives for charitable works, art investment, or infrastructure will be as abused as the current system. It may be that companies take a bigger stake in charities, arts, and infrastructure if they have such loopholes, but at what expense? A flat tax with a floor is still equitable. People who are struggling have a bit of safety, as do companies who are starting or haven't hit it big yet.
The only tool the government has had in the past 20 years to manipulate the economy is the Fed. The Great Depression lasted way too long for just the reasons you submitted. Chances are this one will too since the Fed continues to fiddle with the interest rate. That and we have outsourced our production capability so much that even if we wanted to we couldn't pull ourselves out of this mess anytime soon.
Of course, all this just academic. You and I and everyone else who reads these things have no real power to change anything, and those in office know this.
I have thought about this for quite a while, in fact since Forbes was making a name for himself advocating a flat tax. I'm sure you realize that the current system has been gamed to point of uselessness so that lacks any power as an argument. Of course people are going to try to keep as much as they can, hence the requirement for no tax shelters or loopholes. Several thousand people of the millions who make more than $200K per year pay NO taxes (see this report to learn how).
I hold no illusions that corporations will suddenly become good. I believe that every corporation and every executive within those corporations try to maximize profits in every possible way. The point of such a restrictive tax scheme is to force companies that would otherwise horde and consolidate their wealth at the top to trickle it down. Rather than successful startups paying exorbitant taxes, this scheme incentivizes sharing the windfall among everyone who helped. And yes, why not pour more money into R&D? Back when America was doing this we were unbeatable in our technological advances (remember Big Blue?). No one in the world could touch our ability to innovate, invent, and bring to market. Now innovation is stifled by restrictive copyright and patent law, invention is hampered by patent infringement lawsuits, and little productive and useful items get to the market. Now most of the innovation and advancement comes from Asia. America's major export nowadays is entertainment. Entertainment needs to be pushed back behind a good work ethic and care for our fellow countrymen and visitors.
The strength of a nation and its economy is the people and the land. We continue to extract & consume natural resources at an unmaintainable rate. We continue to extract and consume the livelihoods of the middle and lower classes. How much tax do you think the government will be able to extract from its people as fewer and fewer people hold more and more of the money?
We cannot continue to feed off ourselves the way we have. Period. You don't like my idea? Fine. What's yours? You obviously did some research into it. What would the numbers have to be in the scheme to make fiscal sense to you? What if instead of a 3x Poverty Line it was 2x? What if it was 20% tax instead of 15%?
The vast majority of corporate income taxes come from just a few thousand corporations for whom the difference between executives and shareholders is great enough that they cannot get away paying the execs bonuses to alleviate their corporate taxes. By forcing these corporations to pay their excess funds to their employees to avoid taxation we will more than make up for any lost corporate income taxes from individual income taxes. A 13% profit cap also reduces the importance of quarterly earnings reports. Only companies that cannot reach the 13% cap would have great variability in their stock prices and those stocks would reflect the actual value of the company rather than the next quarter's potential earnings statement.
One last thing. Personal attacks are the last redoubt of the indefensible. I know that GenX & the Millennials are great at pointing out where other's ideas are flawed. I'm great at it. I don't think this idea is the be-all-and-end-all of safe and smart fiscal planning. However, the state the economy is in, the fact that over 50% of our population now live in non-rural locales, and the drought that is starting to hit the Great Plains are going to force America into drastic action whether we like it or not. The stage is set very similar to what we saw in the 1920'2 and 1930's. We cannot maintain the way we have and anyone who says all we need is a few minor tweaks is foolish. We must stop looking at individual gain and realize that united we stand but divided we fall. It is time to stop the division, to work for the betterment of the country and her people, and accept that every one of us will be making sacrifices before this is all through.
In the 80's the panacea to get out of the stagflation of the 70's was deregulation. Under federal regulation, utilities (and other regulated companies) were held to a maximum profit (I believe for electric utilities it was 13%). This caused those companies to spend more on corporate infrastructure (tools, business processes, delivery, wages, training, benefits, etc) because the higher the cost of doing business the higher the profit the business could achieve. Everyone got a piece of the corporate pie.
Once these companies were deregulated they began squeezing more and more out of their business. This led to finding cheaper sources of materiel and personnel, thus outsourcing and off-shoring our production facilities. this led to lower quality products being forced upon us for the same price. Lower quality caused the same products to be bought more often, thus increasing the total cost of ownership for lower quality goods. The idea was that money, when consolidated at the top, would "trickle down" to those below. It didn't.
The system fed off itself as long as there was surplus fat in the economy to feed on. Unfortunately gutting our ability to produce raw materials and finished products at prices that we could afford resulted in a leaner economy. When the land and housing sector, the last vestige of value in urban and suburban locales which are now home to over 50% of our population, began to collapse, the folks looking for the next sucker realized there was nothing left to feed on. They had effectively drained the American economy.
The middle class is disappearing. Some have moved into the upper class ranks (just look at the number of millionaires in 1980 adjusted for inflation and compared to today) but most find themselves irresistibly becoming lower class or working poor.
As dire as the current situation is, perhaps what we need is re-regulation and a flat tax. Force every American company or business that file taxes in the US to cap out at 15% profit. Every dollar over 15% net could be taxed at 85%. That would then force these companies to begin injecting their capital back into the economy rather than consolidating it for the shareholders. The flat tax should be tied to the poverty level, which changes annually, and should be the same for both corporations and individuals/families. A simple 15% income tax with no tax shelters on every dollar over 3 times the poverty level.
The poverty level for a 4 person household in 2008 is $21,200. If a person makes up to $63,600/yr then no tax. If a person makes $80,000/yr then they pay only $2460. If a person makes $2.5 million they would pay $365,460)
This would rather immediately do several things. Any businesses which can claim less than 15% profit and any individual under the 3xPoverty line would be safe from paying taxes. Those individuals who most need the money (those at or near the poverty line) would have access to it and we wouldn't have to borrow it from China. Additionally, companies would no longer look for the cheapest way to do things and our infrastructure would begin to improve again. Companies would be willing to pay more for American made goods because it would allow them to make more money. Companies would still need to be fiscally responsible to be able to reach that 15% profit mark, but once they did they could begin to strengthen their positions which helps not just the bosses, CEO's, & shareholders but benefits everyone. It's neither communist nor socialist but does force people to do what Reaganomics claimed they would do on their own.
On the post: NZ Censor Threatens To Jail Parents Who Buy Violent Video Games For Kids
Wow, just wow.
The general erosion of a society's cultural mores begins first with odious and idiotic laws, many of which are hard if not impossible to enforce, then by the populace realizing there is legal "wiggle room" for a few laws, and finally the populace branching out to ignore whatever laws they don't like.
Unfortunately, democracies and republics tend to overreact to things, then rush out legislature that is ineffective and often hurts more than it helps because these politicians have to appear to be "doing something". The politician's syllogism very much applies here.
"We must do something.
This is something.
Therefore, we must do this!"
The problem here is not the individual in charge of enforcing these laws, it's the people who require their elected leaders to react prior to understanding the problem. It's also the politicians who believe they already know everything and are right about it, backed up by left-wing and right-wing extremists. It sounds like NZ needs a good Libertarian candidate.
On the post: It's Not Liquidity Or Solvency That's The Problem: It's Transparency
Great Points
A complete overhaul of our social, educational, commercial, governmental, and religious institutions is the only thing that can save us.
On the post: Suckers And Transparency: Preventing Another Financial Crisis
Re: Re: Re: Re: Deeper roots and broader solutions
Good point about the VC & innovation. Obviously I have points yet to be considered.
There is no need to regulate what a company does with its surplus. if they choose to buy a jet then they have created jobs for a pilot, copilot, mechanics, and probably flight attendants, not to mention the downstream jobs bolstered by a staged and operating plane (fuel & distribution, rubber, electronics manufacturers, plane manufacturer, etc). So doing still forces the company to trickle down its excess profits to individuals in the economy. The most likely event would be bonuses for the company executives.
Animal nature is competitive, sompetition for resources to survive, be it land, food, shelter, whatever. Humans who fail to overcome their animal nature continue to be competitive because they are driven by a feeling of lack. Those who learn to control animal instincts tend to care more about others. And we all know some animals are more equal than others in their own eyes. Capitalism only works because its easy to be indoctrinated into the cult of capitalism. It works with our desire to get lots for little effort, or to build on the effort of others instead. The government already was an overlord of commerce. Deregulation left general commerce without a governing overseer.
A flat tax with any kind of incentives for charitable works, art investment, or infrastructure will be as abused as the current system. It may be that companies take a bigger stake in charities, arts, and infrastructure if they have such loopholes, but at what expense? A flat tax with a floor is still equitable. People who are struggling have a bit of safety, as do companies who are starting or haven't hit it big yet.
The only tool the government has had in the past 20 years to manipulate the economy is the Fed. The Great Depression lasted way too long for just the reasons you submitted. Chances are this one will too since the Fed continues to fiddle with the interest rate. That and we have outsourced our production capability so much that even if we wanted to we couldn't pull ourselves out of this mess anytime soon.
Of course, all this just academic. You and I and everyone else who reads these things have no real power to change anything, and those in office know this.
On the post: Suckers And Transparency: Preventing Another Financial Crisis
Re: Re: Deeper roots and broader solutions
On the post: Suckers And Transparency: Preventing Another Financial Crisis
Deeper roots and broader solutions
Once these companies were deregulated they began squeezing more and more out of their business. This led to finding cheaper sources of materiel and personnel, thus outsourcing and off-shoring our production facilities. this led to lower quality products being forced upon us for the same price. Lower quality caused the same products to be bought more often, thus increasing the total cost of ownership for lower quality goods. The idea was that money, when consolidated at the top, would "trickle down" to those below. It didn't.
The system fed off itself as long as there was surplus fat in the economy to feed on. Unfortunately gutting our ability to produce raw materials and finished products at prices that we could afford resulted in a leaner economy. When the land and housing sector, the last vestige of value in urban and suburban locales which are now home to over 50% of our population, began to collapse, the folks looking for the next sucker realized there was nothing left to feed on. They had effectively drained the American economy.
The middle class is disappearing. Some have moved into the upper class ranks (just look at the number of millionaires in 1980 adjusted for inflation and compared to today) but most find themselves irresistibly becoming lower class or working poor.
As dire as the current situation is, perhaps what we need is re-regulation and a flat tax. Force every American company or business that file taxes in the US to cap out at 15% profit. Every dollar over 15% net could be taxed at 85%. That would then force these companies to begin injecting their capital back into the economy rather than consolidating it for the shareholders. The flat tax should be tied to the poverty level, which changes annually, and should be the same for both corporations and individuals/families. A simple 15% income tax with no tax shelters on every dollar over 3 times the poverty level.
The poverty level for a 4 person household in 2008 is $21,200. If a person makes up to $63,600/yr then no tax. If a person makes $80,000/yr then they pay only $2460. If a person makes $2.5 million they would pay $365,460)
This would rather immediately do several things. Any businesses which can claim less than 15% profit and any individual under the 3xPoverty line would be safe from paying taxes. Those individuals who most need the money (those at or near the poverty line) would have access to it and we wouldn't have to borrow it from China. Additionally, companies would no longer look for the cheapest way to do things and our infrastructure would begin to improve again. Companies would be willing to pay more for American made goods because it would allow them to make more money. Companies would still need to be fiscally responsible to be able to reach that 15% profit mark, but once they did they could begin to strengthen their positions which helps not just the bosses, CEO's, & shareholders but benefits everyone. It's neither communist nor socialist but does force people to do what Reaganomics claimed they would do on their own.
Next >>