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by Galloism » Sat Sep 19, 2015 12:09 pm
by USS Monitor » Sat Sep 19, 2015 12:20 pm
by Greed and Death » Sat Sep 19, 2015 12:23 pm
by Free Republics » Sat Sep 19, 2015 12:27 pm
USS Monitor wrote:The US government has a PO box where you can send voluntary donations.
by Ethel mermania » Sat Sep 19, 2015 1:44 pm
by Brandenbourg-Anhalt » Sat Sep 19, 2015 1:51 pm
Xerographica wrote:So what do you think? Should we start a movement to ensure that every GO has a very visible donate button on its website? Or... should we start a movement to ensure that voluntarily giving money to the government is as difficult as possible?
by Idzequitch » Sat Sep 19, 2015 1:58 pm
by Minoa » Sat Sep 19, 2015 2:41 pm
by Ethel mermania » Sat Sep 19, 2015 2:44 pm
Insaeldor wrote:Aren't taxes just forced donations?
by Rusozak » Sat Sep 19, 2015 2:46 pm
by Xerographica » Sat Sep 19, 2015 8:52 pm
Brandenbourg-Anhalt wrote:Basically, I'm very critical towards such a proposal. Just because there are some citizens who are so good hearted that they are willing to voluntarily donate their hard-earned money, why should those people be exploited by everyone else so they can get out of contributing their fair share to the community that is society? That really is to misuse good hearted people who wish to contribute to society, just so one self can get out of contributing to society.
Forsher wrote:You, I and everyone we know, knows Xero's threads are about one thing and one thing only.
by Xerographica » Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:32 pm
Galloism wrote:People donate to the government all the time.
In fact, it's tax deductible. Perks for donating to government units already exist.
Forsher wrote:You, I and everyone we know, knows Xero's threads are about one thing and one thing only.
by Galloism » Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:37 am
Xerographica wrote:Galloism wrote:People donate to the government all the time.
In fact, it's tax deductible. Perks for donating to government units already exist.
Did you miss me? Did you even notice that I wasn't around? Did you notice that Maqo isn't around? How much do you think we would have had to pay him to stick around? What is the perceived scarcity of Maqo's forum posts?
Nice job with the homework on the government donations. So are you under the impression that it's perfectly legal to donate to every government organization?
by Ethel mermania » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:12 pm
Galloism wrote:Xerographica wrote:
Did you miss me? Did you even notice that I wasn't around? Did you notice that Maqo isn't around? How much do you think we would have had to pay him to stick around? What is the perceived scarcity of Maqo's forum posts?
Nope. Nope. Nope. Don't care. Apparently not at all.
what does any of that have to do with whether or not you can donate to governmental units?Nice job with the homework on the government donations. So are you under the impression that it's perfectly legal to donate to every government organization?
As far as I know it is. I don't know of any law against it.
Now certain governmental units may reject donations from certain people because of conflicts of interest and the risk of influence peddling. It would be of extreme conflict for the FBI to accept donations from a known drug kingpin, for instance.
by Divitaen » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:14 pm
by Vistulange » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:17 pm
by Omega America II » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:24 pm
by Ethel mermania » Sun Sep 20, 2015 6:50 pm
Divitaen wrote:Seriously what's the point wasting time on donations? Just tax, especially the wealthy.
by MisandristMantis » Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:46 pm
by Xerographica » Mon Sep 21, 2015 2:37 am
Divitaen wrote:Seriously what's the point wasting time on donations? Just tax, especially the wealthy.
Forsher wrote:You, I and everyone we know, knows Xero's threads are about one thing and one thing only.
by Xerographica » Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:42 pm
Galloism wrote:what does any of that have to do with whether or not you can donate to governmental units?
Forsher wrote:You, I and everyone we know, knows Xero's threads are about one thing and one thing only.
by Galloism » Tue Sep 22, 2015 5:27 am
Xerographica wrote:Galloism wrote:what does any of that have to do with whether or not you can donate to governmental units?
1. We can benefit from Maqo's posts without paying for them. Therefore, Maqo's posts are a public good.
2. You didn't benefit from Maqo's posts... but I did. Benefit is in the eye of the beholder. One person's trash is another person's treasure. Values are entirely subjective.
3. Even though I benefited from Maqo's posts... Maqo didn't know this. This is because Maqo isn't omniscient. Nobody is omniscient.
4. Because Maqo isn't omniscient... I should have used my money to inform Maqo of the amount of benefit that I derived from his posts. I didn't use my money to inform Maqo of my benefit because I gambled that he was going to continue posting. Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free? Plus, this forum doesn't facilitate micropayments.
5. Because the free-rider problem is a real problem... Maqo is no longer around. I derive less benefit from this forum because Maqo isn't around. Just like I derive less benefit from this forum because Infactum isn't around.
Now do you see the relevance?
If you go to the EPA website... can you find a donate button anywhere? A donate button wouldn't eliminate the free-rider problem. But it would certainly help reduce the free-rider problem.
Here's Eric Raymond's Patreon page. Does Patreon eliminate the free-rider problem? No. But it certainly reduces the problem by making it easier for people to give their money to Raymond.
It's important to facilitate communication of benefit because again, nobody is omniscient. Society works best when it's easier, rather than harder, for us to let other people know how much we benefit from their endeavors. This is true whether we're talking about Maqo's forum posts or the EPA's effort to protect the environment.
by Greed and Death » Tue Sep 22, 2015 6:50 am
Cuprum wrote:Aren't my taxes enough?
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