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I'm tired of the hypocritical (now there's an overused CD word) anti-government crowd. You claim that American is all this that and the other but dis the very entity that has made it all possible. You don't like big government, cool move to Somalia, no big government there, in fact there is hardly any to speak of. Have fun and remember to write, just don't expect it to go anywhere when you mail it.
I have seen you more times than almost any other poster come on here and whine about the atrocities of government but now they are your saving grace? Even in a time where they just obligated $30,000 of your own tax dollars for failed enterprises.... That they were suppose to oversee so they wouldn't fail...Too bad there was personal gain to be had from turning a blind eye..
[...] You don't like big government, cool move to Somalia, no big government there, in fact there is hardly any to speak of. [...]
You clearly don't understand what government is then. Somalia has even more government than most countries! What do you think those pirates are? They're Somalian IRS!
If you want an example of a country with little government interference, look to Hong Kong, Dubai, Qatar, Singapore, etc - all of them have higher per-capita GDP than the United States!
Other "Galt's Gulch" type a libertarian experiments are shaping up as well, including private islands, seasteading, and the Free State Project. In a few decades there'll be space station possibilities as well...
America used to be the place where people went to escape their oppressive governments, but it is no longer good enough, and the Bush & Obama double-team just might be the final nail in its coffin! If America fails to be the world's leading beacon of liberty, a New America will be built somewhere else!
Last edited by Alex Libman; 01-05-2009 at 07:26 AM..
I'm tired of the hypocritical (now there's an overused CD word) anti-government crowd. You claim that American is all this that and the other but dis the very entity that has made it all possible. You don't like big government, cool move to Somalia, no big government there, in fact there is hardly any to speak of. Have fun and remember to write, just don't expect it to go anywhere when you mail it.
If WE the people do not like the goverment, then WE the people are duty bound to change it with the tools given to WE the people by our founding fathers.
In order:
1. Ballot box
2. Jury box
3. Cartridge box
That is the order in which WE the people can change our goverment.
You clearly don't understand what government is then. Somalia has even more government than most countries! What do you think those pirates are? They're Somalian IRS!
If you want an example of a country with little government interference, look to Hong Kong, Dubai, Qatar, Singapore, etc - all of them have higher per-capita GDP than the United States!
LOL. Somalian IRS. Good one.
Singapore, Dubai, Qatar have little government involvement, eh? You must not get out much. They are in point of fact extremely involved in their country's development of infrastructure as well as social regulation. Perhaps you are too young to remember the American kid who got caned for vandalizing a car in Singapore. You get jailed there for spitting a wad of gum on the street.
I'm tired of the hypocritical (now there's an overused CD word) anti-government crowd. You claim that American is all this that and the other but dis the very entity that has made it all possible. You don't like big government, cool move to Somalia, no big government there, in fact there is hardly any to speak of. Have fun and remember to write, just don't expect it to go anywhere when you mail it.
I'll take Switzerland.
Since the USA is trending more (in the long run) towards "somalia" than it is Switzerland, I think it'd be wise to be ahead of the curve and acknowledge that fact. The US is sinking and disintegrating and becoming more Third World-like.
Since the USA is trending more (in the long run) towards "somalia" than it is Switzerland, I think it'd be wise to be ahead of the curve and acknowledge that fact. The US is sinking and disintegrating and becoming more Third World-like.
I shall keep the USA, but would rather do without all the feelgood laws and policies, legislating from the bench and all the federal law enforcement.
If you want an example of a country with little government interference, look to Hong Kong, Dubai, Qatar, Singapore, etc - all of them have higher per-capita GDP than the United States!
See this is what I am talking about, people who don't have a clue as to what they are supposedly talking about (although the Somalis pirate line was pretty good).
Besides what has been stated regarding the heavy hand of the state all the above are basically city-states. Singapore is 270 sq miles, Hong Kong is 426, Dubai is 1, 588 but for all intents and purposes no more than 497 sq miles, which put them all in the same league as Los Angeles, city not the county!
Switzerland?!? Ok, if you are for national health insurance and a tax rate of 35% of GDP. You got a problem with an employee? In Switzerland they get to haul your sorry behind into a labor court where an arbitrator decides whether or not you are good or bad boss. Hey, the more I think about it, the more I like this Switzerland idea.
Singapore, Dubai, Qatar have little government involvement, eh?
Singapore and Hong Kong have higher rankings of economic freedom, ease of doing business, etc. They do well in terms of tax freedom too, especially comparing apples to apples, as in urban areas like the Big Apple which is seriously over-taxed and over-regulated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bily4
Perhaps you are too young to remember the American kid who got caned for vandalizing a car in Singapore. You get jailed there for spitting a wad of gum on the street.
I remember that story, but see: even though we reject any notion of a far-reaching implicit social contract, anarcho-capitalists believe in something called contractualism, that is an individual's right to voluntarily and explicitly agree to certain rules, perhaps in exchange for something else. This forum is a perfect example: by coming here you agree to follow the rules. The same applies to physical property as well: "by entering this crowded theater you agree not to shout 'fire', or you'll be fined $1000", and so on. Based on this you can have an orderly society without a centralized authority like a government violating the non-aggression principle and causing so much harm in the world.
Let me tell you a little secret - Singapore is only pretending to be a country, it's really a corporation, like a really large neighborhood association. It was created by another corporation (British East India Company) in 1819, when it only had a few hundred fishermen living there, and millions of people chose to move there since. And it's "terms of residence" are very clearly posted to everyone: you chew gum you get fined, you damage property you get caned, you smuggle drugs and you get the death penalty. Strict, yes, but if you don't agree - don't come to Singapore. And it could be argued that caning makes more sense than prison, for the taxpayers especially.
Singapore is far, far from perfect, but there's a vast gray area between voluntary governance and involuntary government, and Singapore ranks closer to the former than most other governments in the world today, especially when compared to our vast empire ruled out of Washington DC, which spread itself by force from sea to shining sea, which has military bases all over the world, and to which you owe taxes even if you leave its territory! If every county / municipality in this country was as sovereign as Singapore, tyranny would be downright impossible: it would create a natural limit on taxes, and any town gone bad would simply have all its citizens move away. Right-wing nuts could all move together and pledge not to get abortions. Left-wingers could all move together and build a statue to Karl Marx from locally-grown organic tofu. Everybody wins!
Thus Singapore is a prototype of communities of the future: artificial islands, undersea colonies, space stations, and so on. But hopefully without all the retarded drug, gum, intellectual property, and press laws...
Last edited by Alex Libman; 01-05-2009 at 08:39 AM..
Leave it to the socialists to try to confuse the issue... nobody said "NO government", they said "No BIG government". I understand why you are twisting words and using extremes for your argument... you aren't fooling anyone...
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