Oddbean new post about login | logout Ok if you don’t think the state should exist and all taxation is theft, we’re definitely going to agree to disagree 😂 Just for future reference
If you don't think that diversity is our strength and think that standardization and centralization are preferable to diversity and freedom of choice, we are definitely going to have to agree to disagree 😅
That is definitely not what I said. I think either extreme is pretty bad for a lot of people. I also didn’t say centralization on EVERYTHING. And if we actually make our government more democratic through term limits and campaign finance reforms, we have a government of the people, by the people, for the people. So it is US, as a democracy. Not THEM, a “deep state” or whatever. Sure, pipe dreams, but we can take steps. Bitcoin can be a HUGE check on this power. I extremely support freedom of choice, what does that have to do with government or taxation? Government should support and protect inalienable rights that respect freedom of choice (including things like abortion access, lgbt rights). Depending on issue, I may be more supportive of a “market” solution over government, but I still think taxation and the state are needed to a degree, in various forms (local v state v federal, and what roles they play)
It doesnt sound like you are the Progressive Era type of progressive at all (which is a good thing) because standardization and centralization of everything was pretty much the central pillar of this era of progressivism, hence all the actions taken by governments at every level during this time.
There's a difference between Government and governance.
I like to point out that even Bitcoin has inflation... Is the block reward theft? No. Why? Because everyone agrees on what the printed money is being used for and agrees that it is being distributed fairly. If I agreed with what my taxes were being used for and that they were being distributed fairly they would also not be theft. I believe governments on a Bitcoin standard will be much more responsible with tax money 👍
Because they will be accountable for the decisions they make and the capital they collect and allocate.
Your profile icon is absolutely hypnotic, btw. Bravo.
Thanks! Ironically, it was mostly supplied by US tax dollars 😂 I just added the #bitcoin symbol https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13326
I don't agree. All Bitcoins have already been created. They are merely distributed according to a fixed supply. This is not the same as inflation, which would require an increase of coins beyond 21m.
The fact remains that miners are literally being subsidized... It's even called a block subsidy. And this subsidy does put downward pressure on the price meaning that the supply inflation is literally devaluing all holders Bitcoin.
I get your point, but it's debatable how strong it is and will be in the coming years as the subsidy continues to decrease into irrelevance. Also, 21m is the magic number, as per my previous comment. Do you measure how much bitcoin you have as a fraction of 19.8m or 21m? If 21m, then there is no dilution, no inflation. Back to miners. They do work, they get paid. I do work, I get paid. Nobody increases supply for work.
Yea I'm just pointing out what is literally happening, not what impact it has on human psychology. It absolutely will completely go away in 2140, and will be irrelevant in the next 5-10 years. But yea today miners are still primarily getting paid via subsidy not by tx fees. So yes they are doing work and we all agree it's fair and we all agree they they should be subsidized, but we are printing money to pay them.
If a government sanctions and protects opaque private theft through the fractionally reserved fiat banking system, they lose the legitimate standing to collect taxes. If you won't defend the citizens' interests by preventing the bankers from robbing them with inflation, don't expect the citizens to respect your authority to tax them. Legitimate taxes are compensation for effective governance. Protection of property rights is the fundamental basis of governance. Fail at that, and your legitimacy as a government is gone. Taxation by an illegitimate government is just extortion by well organized criminals.
So that second paragraph, let’s get closer to that!
We’ve never had a voting mechanism like bitcoin. Couple that with the advancement of energy abundance for all, and government continues to be less and less necessary over time.