Soundbites - Revision history

GreedyCapitalist: moved to rationalmind

2008-12-21T00:45:05Z

moved to rationalmind

GreedyCapitalist: /* Capitalism */

2008-10-07T10:58:06Z

Capitalism

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:58, 7 October 2008
Line 1:		Line 1:
	Soundbites contains snippets of factoids and arguments for use on other sites.		Soundbites contains snippets of factoids and arguments for use on other sites.



			== Special Interests ==

			It’s ignorant to blame "special interests" for America’s problems.

			In a populist democracy such as we have now, every group that participates in the political system is a “special interest”, with the incentive and the possibility of using the political system to extract benefits for its members at the expense of other groups. The welfare and regulatory systems are two common means of coercively redistributing property and conferring monopoly benefits to various groups. Everyone in a democracy is constantly on the defensive against the possibility of organized groups extracting benefits from him, and on the offensive attempting to use the coercive power of the state to extract benefits from others.

			The existence of special interests is just a symptom of the disease: the growth of government power to a degree that allows those in power to violate our rights and steal our property for the benefits of their constituents. Populist “maverick” politicians who claim that they will “fight special interests” and “change the culture in Washington” are just attempting to subvert the power of the state to favor their particular constituency. Take away the power of the government, and you will remove both the incentive and the power of the “special interests.”

GreedyCapitalist: /* Net neutrality */

2008-05-26T22:10:57Z

Net neutrality

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:10, 26 May 2008
Line 85:		Line 85:
	The One Minute Case Against “Net Neutrality” http://oneminute.rationalmind.net/net%20neutrality/		The One Minute Case Against “Net Neutrality” http://oneminute.rationalmind.net/net%20neutrality/


			== NASA ==


			If you spend enough money on research, you are bound to come up with something. However, what inventions will we never know about because the money to fund them was stolen from taxpayers? I am certain that private investors would have spent their own money more efficiently than bureaucrats doling it out to crony government contractors. We will never know what a free people could have invented in a free and competitive market.

	== Poverty ==		== Poverty ==

GreedyCapitalist: /* Roads */

2008-05-06T01:26:01Z

Roads

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:26, 6 May 2008
Line 184:		Line 184:
	== Roads ==		== Roads ==

	There are many ~~innovation~~ that might exist in a free market for transportation. I would not take even traffic lights for granted. One thing you see in other countries is a timer or progress bar on lights, so you know how many seconds you have until the next light. Perhaps it's preferable to use a traffic circle, more underpasses, or a totally different convention. There is also the opportunity to apply artificial intelligence to predictive traffic monitoring, so cars never get red lights. Adding special roads for computer-driven cars would eliminate lights entirely. All this is off the top of my head - we really have no idea what entrepreneurs could come up with.		There are many innovations that might exist in a free market for transportation. I would not take even traffic lights for granted. One thing you see in other countries is a timer or progress bar on lights, so you know how many seconds you have until the next light. Perhaps it's preferable to use a traffic circle, more underpasses, or a totally different convention. There is also the opportunity to apply artificial intelligence to predictive traffic monitoring, so cars never get red lights. Adding special roads for computer-driven cars would eliminate lights entirely. All this is off the top of my head - we really have no idea what entrepreneurs could come up with.

	http://www.rationalmind.net/2005/01/05/private-roads/		http://www.rationalmind.net/2005/01/05/private-roads/

GreedyCapitalist: /* Corporations */

2008-04-28T17:25:58Z

Corporations

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:25, 28 April 2008
Line 44:		Line 44:
	== Corporations ==		== Corporations ==
	If you want business out of politics, get the government out of business.		If you want business out of politics, get the government out of business.

	As long as governments try to control corporations, corporations will try to control governments. The only solution is to separate government and economy.		As long as governments try to control corporations, corporations will try to control governments. The only solution is to separate government and economy.
			Anything else will only lead to increasingly totalitarian restrictions on speech.

	~~Anything else~~ will ~~only lead~~ to ~~increasingly totalitarian restrictions on speech~~.		As long as the public trusts governments to create regulatory agencies that control corporations for the "public good," the corporations will use that same power to against their competition. If you want business out of politics, get the government out of business. Let the courts decide when a product is or isn't safe, not a hidden lobbyist-beholden bureaucrat.

	== "Corporate Personhood" ==		== "Corporate Personhood" ==

GreedyCapitalist: /* RFID */

2008-04-22T05:19:22Z

RFID

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:19, 22 April 2008
Line 179:		Line 179:

	What are they going to ban next?		What are they going to ban next?



			== Roads ==

			There are many innovation that might exist in a free market for transportation. I would not take even traffic lights for granted. One thing you see in other countries is a timer or progress bar on lights, so you know how many seconds you have until the next light. Perhaps it's preferable to use a traffic circle, more underpasses, or a totally different convention. There is also the opportunity to apply artificial intelligence to predictive traffic monitoring, so cars never get red lights. Adding special roads for computer-driven cars would eliminate lights entirely. All this is off the top of my head - we really have no idea what entrepreneurs could come up with.

			http://www.rationalmind.net/2005/01/05/private-roads/

GreedyCapitalist: /* "Corporate Personhood" */

2008-04-22T03:20:55Z

"Corporate Personhood"

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:20, 22 April 2008
Line 54:		Line 54:

	The attack on “corporate personhood” is an attempt to deny the rights (primarily the freedom of speech) of people working for certain non-politically correct groups – namely groups with the primary purpose of making a profit. This is just a veiled attack on capitalism and property rights.		The attack on “corporate personhood” is an attempt to deny the rights (primarily the freedom of speech) of people working for certain non-politically correct groups – namely groups with the primary purpose of making a profit. This is just a veiled attack on capitalism and property rights.


			== Fuel Prices ==


			Best way to lower gas prices is to create a free market for fuel and auto efficiency:

			* Allow new refineries to be built - the environmentalists have blocked them for 30 years.

			* Eliminate gasoline taxes, they are 30+% of the cost.

			* Scrap state-by-state fuel regulations, as they force expensive pipelines and mixtures to be delivered to different states

			* Get rid of odious automotive safety requirements, which add a ton of weight (literally!) to cars, lowering efficiency.

			* Allow the market to decide on the optimal emission filters, as current government-mandated filters dramatically reduce the power output (and thus efficiency) of cars.

	== Statism ==		== Statism ==

GreedyCapitalist: /* Net neutrality */

2008-04-22T03:12:56Z

Net neutrality

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:12, 22 April 2008
Line 69:		Line 69:
	The One Minute Case Against “Net Neutrality” http://oneminute.rationalmind.net/net%20neutrality/		The One Minute Case Against “Net Neutrality” http://oneminute.rationalmind.net/net%20neutrality/


			== Poverty ==

			Free markets inherently reduce poverty in two ways:

			1) They raise the standard of living for everyone.

			* Living standards in capitalistic Western countries have increased over sixty times since 1820 despite a tripling of the European population in the 18th century.

			* In 1971, only about 32 percent of all Americans enjoyed air conditioning in their homes. By 2001, 76 percent of poor people had air conditioning. In 1971, only 43 percent of Americans owned a color television; in 2001, 97 percent of poor people owned at least one. In 1971, 1 percent of American homes had a microwave oven; in 2001, 73 percent of poor people had one.

			* The average poor American has more living space than the average non-poor individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens and other European cities.

			* If poverty is defined in the relative sense, the lowest fifth of income-earners, "poverty" will always be with us. However, the "poor" of 100,50, or 30 years ago and are gone in American in terms of living standards.


			2) The provide the incentive and possibility for the poorest members of society to become the wealthiest.

			* 80 percent of today's American millionaires are first-generation rich.

			* According to Internal Revenue Service tax data, 85.8 percent of tax filers in the bottom fifth in 1979 had moved on to a higher quintile, and often to the top quintile, by 1988.

			* Of the people who were in the top 1 percent of income earners in 1979, over half, or 52.7 percent, were gone by 1988.

			* Only five percent of families in the bottom income quintile (lowest 20 percent) in 1975 were still there in 1991.

			In any case, income inequality is a desirable part of a free, prosperous society, since it indicates that the most productive members of societies have the freedom to succeed. An egalitarian society can only be equal in shared misery.

	== Socialized Services ==		== Socialized Services ==

GreedyCapitalist: /* Capitalism */

2008-04-14T02:10:15Z

Capitalism

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 == Capitalism ==
 Capitalism is a social system which respects individual rights, including the rights to life, liberty, and property.
 == Drug War ==

GreedyCapitalist: /* Global Warming */

2008-01-22T23:00:28Z

Global Warming

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:00, 22 January 2008
Line 77:		Line 77:
	The earth may well be warming, but the earth’s climate is always changing – the idea that there is an “optimal” climate is a myth. Adapting to a warmer climate has many costs, but many benefits as well. Imagine the enormous territories in Siberia and Canada that might finally be open to settlement, and the resources and shipping routes that will become available.		The earth may well be warming, but the earth’s climate is always changing – the idea that there is an “optimal” climate is a myth. Adapting to a warmer climate has many costs, but many benefits as well. Imagine the enormous territories in Siberia and Canada that might finally be open to settlement, and the resources and shipping routes that will become available.

	Even the most alarmists of scientists generally agree that there is little humanity can do to influence the global climate for many decades, even if we wrecked an industrial civilization that has allowed billions of people to leave immeasurably longer and better lives. Our resources would be far better spent creating innovative technology that allows us to make the best of a constantly changing climate than crippling industrial civilization (our best tool for dealing with a constantly changing world) in a futile attempt to stop climate change.		Even the most alarmists of scientists generally [http://eaps.mit.edu/faculty/lindzen/Testimony/Senate2001.pdf agree] that there is little humanity can do to influence the global climate for many decades, even if we wrecked an industrial civilization that has allowed billions of people to leave immeasurably longer and better lives. Our resources would be far better spent creating innovative technology that allows us to make the best of a constantly changing climate than crippling industrial civilization (our best tool for dealing with a constantly changing world) in a futile attempt to stop climate change.

	== Environmentalism ==		== Environmentalism ==