F*** WORK

[Kazmyr]

Here's the local government hired gun making his rounds, attacking people with violence.

Maybe pick a different government agency?

GOING 'POSTAL'

:snicker:

[Ex-California]

Hey, I love space exploration and would love to continue to see more of it, but its patently obvious that the early stuff, including the Apollo program, was only an extension of the nuclear war capabilities of Russia and the US

[Fife]

Here's the local government hired gun making his rounds, attacking people with violence.

Well, you are right on this one. Why don't you try setting up your own postal system up for Asshippieville, and see where it winds up?

[SuburbanFarmer]

Hey, I love space exploration and would love to continue to see more of it, but its patently obvious that the early stuff, including the Apollo program, was only an extension of the nuclear war capabilities of Russia and the US

I'd say that applies up through Mercury, but by Gemini, we were well beyond any sort of military application. We also docked with a Soviet ship, just to make the point.

[Fife]

Hey, I love space exploration and would love to continue to see more of it, but its patently obvious that the early stuff, including the Apollo program, was only an extension of the nuclear war capabilities of Russia and the US

I agree that it is certainly up for debate whether Apollo qualified as a public good (I think it was, but so what? YMMV). I would argue, given enough time and motivation, that all space exploration is NOT a public good, and that state action would only crowd out private entrepreneurship that would beat the state every day of the week, and twice on Sunday, in many, many cases.

[Okeefenokee]

How does UBI avert any of that? If that dystopian future were actually the case, UBI would simply be a stopgap that put everyone onto a single-point-of-failure system that buys the elites the time they need to consolidate everything. Then, thanks to a nation of isolated, self-absorbed, unskilled citizens completely dependent on UBI, you let the system fail.

Even in your own hypothetical dystopia UBI sounds like a really bad idea.

UBI is what keeps the proles from picking up their pitchforks....also, I would like to think the 0.1% gas [img]some[/img] compassion for their fellow man.

Fuck no they don't. But they'll do it anyway, out of self-preservation.

Our resident mind reader here to tell us what people he's never met think as a group.

[Speaker to Animals]

The only way your dream of a stateless existence will come true is if we start sending people up there to mine asteroids. Lots of SF writers have opined that miners will likely (at least at first) be mostly stateless and libertarian-style people.

Here on Earth.. nah. Give it up, dude.

[SuburbanFarmer]

UBI is what keeps the proles from picking up their pitchforks....also, I would like to think the 0.1% gas [img]some[/img] compassion for their fellow man.

Fuck no they don't. But they'll do it anyway, out of self-preservation.

Our resident mind reader here to tell us what people he's never met think as a group.

I've met no shortage of the top 1-10%, and I have family members not that far removed from the 1% (easily 10%).

It's not that they're inherently selfish (mostly), it's the classic prisoners dilemma. Why should I give money away if the rest don't. Same as carbon negotiations, taxes, or anything else.

Yes there are good Samaritans that will do it anyway, but no large scale philanthropy is going to save us. Tree of liberty and all that.

[Speaker to Animals]

Here's the local government hired gun making his rounds, attacking people with violence.

Well, you are right on this one. Why don't you try setting up your own postal system up for Asshippieville, and see where it winds up?

Like Fed Ex and UPS?

[Okeefenokee]

Fuck no they don't. But they'll do it anyway, out of self-preservation.

Our resident mind reader here to tell us what people he's never met think as a group.

I've met no shortage of the top 1-10%, and I have family members not that far removed from the 1% (easily 10%).

It's not that they're inherently selfish (mostly), it's the classic prisoners dilemma. Why should I give money away if the rest don't. Same as carbon negotiations, taxes, or anything else.

Yes there are good Samaritans that will do it anyway, but no large scale philanthropy is going to save us. Tree of liberty and all that.

The top 10% is more than 32 million people. The president of a community college is in the top 10%. We weren't talking about them.

1% is 3.2 million. That's a movie star. We weren't talking about them.

.1% is 300,000 people. You've never met any of them.