It's true that they kill birds. But so do cars and skyscrapers. And I'd wager that coal - between the waste disposal, emitted mercury, and mining - kills birds, too.
They kill fewer birds that windows glass or cats, and no one is up in arms about cats. It's not really an issue.
The outcome of everyone solving their own narrow short-term problems and never really revisiting the solutions is the sea of accidental complexity we now operate in, and which we all recognize is a problem.
It strikes me that this describes our economic system as well.
probably less than you mind makes you believe
What a well reasoned argument. You've clearly thought this through.
Except the Communist Party of China.
The U.S. progressives are trying to model the system after theirs.
The party may be called Communist, but China is State Run Capitalist, not Communist.
So using large notes makes you abnormal? It's not illegal to be abnormal? Because, that's where you're headed with your statement.
That's where we're headed as a society.
In contrast, as a normal person, I've used EUR 100 and EUR 500 bills regularly to take care of, well, large transactions that need to be confirmed and delivered faster than a bank transfer would allow (and when the people involved rile at paying 3% for credit card fees, or aren't set up to take credit cards in the first place), like paying vendors, or hotel bills outside of big cities.
This is another good point. Without cash, every transaction will have an added tax paid to the payment processor. Think your "no-fee" credit card is really free? You're paying for it one way or another in the form of higher prices. Visa, or whomever, has to wet its beak in every transaction. It's one more way the financial industry skims off the top of the economy. They would love to get rid of cash. Then every time anyone bought anything they'd get paid.
nowadays I only use my debitcard and have nearly never cash on me, the card is not free and costs about 35$ a year I would not mind a cash-free economy as there are free services here that you can transfer money to people just based on their mobile phone number thou I see that the most poor would suffer the most and not the criminals that can trade in different ways, the beggers/homeless that does not have bank accounts and the street artitsts, I dont mind thoose and it would be a shame that they would have it harder
If and when cash goes away, we are all screwed; even more screwed that we already are. Without cash there are no more anonymous transactions. But even more importantly, there will be a middle-man in every transaction you make. Remember when Visa and Mastercard decided they didn't want to process payments to Wikileaks? You can expect more of that.
Just like the curtailment of our rights isn't a big deal in everyday life, it may not seem like a big deal to have to pass through an intermediary every time you want to buy something. But what happens when you want to donate to a cause that is a thorn in the government's side? Every company folds in the face of national security letters. It's already a crime to materially support terrorism. And protesters are already considered terrorists by law enforcement. It's not unthinkable that your donation to the EFF could bring men in dark suits to your door, or put you on a no-fly list. Think I'm paranoid? That's what they said when I said everyone was being spied upon.
Money (debt, more specifically) is already a means of control. Once there's a searchable record of all your financial transactions, you won't be able to do anything the government doesn't want you to do.
Not only in Finland! I've heard that in the United States aswell the police is very proactive about taking notes out of circulation.
Civil forfeiture has got to be the biggest truckload of bullshit I have heard in a while. So now the state can just take my money because of what they think I might do with it? How can we be expected to respect law enforcement when they pull crap like that?
You are outgunned and outnumbered.
Sure about that? Last I heard, even the lower estimates of ownership FAR outstrip the entire military (all branches), and all LE in the country - combined.
That's true. But I'd counter that the military and police are more organized.
I was thinking more along the lines of individual or small group resistance. The Iraqis have shown us that it's almost impossible to maintain dominance when an entire population is against you. So yes, if the entire nation were to turn on the government it would be a different story. But the media will work to make sure any armed resistance is seen as domestic terrorism. Most people still believe what the news tells them. So mustering much of an organized force to counter police and military would be difficult.
If there wasn't the second amendment, you can bet your bottom dollar that there would no longer be a first amendment.
Yeah, because it's all your guns that are keeping the government from censoring what people can say. Y'all crack me up. How did things work out for David Koresh, or Randy Weaver, or anyone else who thought they could defend themselves from armed government agents? Has the second amendment prevented the Feds from spying on everyone, or seizing people's property, or establishing free speech zones, or otherwise infringing on our rights?
Look, I support gun ownership. I don't own one myself because I do not feel it necessary. But I support the right of any law-abiding citizen to arm themselves if they feel the need. However, the idea that that right will prevent the government from doing anything it wants is pure fantasy. You are outgunned and outnumbered. If they want to get you, they'll get you sooner or later.
I love motorcycles because you can drive hard and still come within a couple mpg of what you would get babying it and highway / city doesn't matter much. My ZX6R gets 42 babying it highway, 40 flogging it city. My VTX1800 gets 32 babying it, 30 not My WR250X was an exception and got worse on the highway due to lack of power and poor aerodynamics but still managed 58 highway, 65 city.
That's often true. Though my FJR1300 gets ~48 MPG on the highway, but only about 35 MPG in the city. You're right though that flogging it on the highway doesn't decrease the mileage too much.
Genetics explains why you look like your father, and if you don't, why you should.
