I don’t see them that way. I see them as the cost of living in a society with a mix of public and private goods, rather than an atomized existence off the grid somewhere. As for bank bailouts, this recent one wasn’t a taxpayer-funded bailout (investors suffered losses; banks have to true-up the FDIC). Plenty of issues with the 2008 taxpayer-funded bailout, but would inviting financial meltdown once the horse was out of the barn have been a better option? Of course, this is all why we love #Bitcoin. But I also see the need for progressive taxation in this country
Discussion
Having been a trader on the FX desk at BofA during the financial crisis I had a front row seat for the meltdown - I’m of the opinion that a cleansing fire in 2008 was exactly the medicine that was needed.
Because bailouts were given, the market was no longer able to function as a true market - punishing bad behavior. Which is what has gotten us into the mess we are currently in. I think the government is a bloated sweaty mess that should be shrunken to its barest bones. And the tax bill levied on citizens should reflect that.
Wow bro, that is dark
Sorry - I don’t mean to be doom and gloom. But I’ve seen how the sausage is made so to speak, and once you see it you can’t un-see it. The tarf/tarpmumbojumbo nonsense was just a sleight of hand to confuse the public of what was truly being done. And that is how my foundation of becoming a bitcoiner was laid.
All good. It’s a pretty amazing thing that people with such different views on the role of the government can still both be Bitcoiners 😊
When you remove the control of money from the government - the government will begin to work for the people. That’s where bitcoin comes in (and in many other uses) And I think we both agree on that.
I’d say that’s fair. But the government still has a critical role in providing public goods in my view, even on a Bitcoin standard. Otherwise, we’ll all live in little enclaves and charge each other sats to use our private roads. No thank you