Comment Re:Why is the levy so bad? (Score 1) 227
I pay gasoline taxes that go to road infrastructure even when I use the gasoline in my lawnmower or snowmobile or to soak engine parts. I pay school taxes even though I homeschool my kids.
There is a fundamental difference to me here. You pay those taxes to PUBLIC institutions for PUBLIC infrastructure, not to give away to corporations that can't figure out how to make money. You actually do use the public roads and highways. You could use the public schools, but elected not to. Everyone else benefits from those taxes you pay, by traveling on those roads, and by improved delivery of items they purchase (if no other way). Usually the people using the service are those that are taxed. Society benefits from public education, as do you, even if you don't use that service. How does society benefit from paying off the RIAA and MPAA?
As a point of reference, I buy CDs from local bands direct from the band when they perform. The band gets the entire amount I pay, less their production costs, thus getting not only what a record label would pay them, but also what the record label would keep. This is a model that may not make them rich, but does give back to the people who count, those who actually make the music. This kind of model, on a larger scale, is what will get us better quality music, not paying the RIAA and MPAA.
There is a fundamental difference to me here. You pay those taxes to PUBLIC institutions for PUBLIC infrastructure, not to give away to corporations that can't figure out how to make money. You actually do use the public roads and highways. You could use the public schools, but elected not to. Everyone else benefits from those taxes you pay, by traveling on those roads, and by improved delivery of items they purchase (if no other way). Usually the people using the service are those that are taxed. Society benefits from public education, as do you, even if you don't use that service. How does society benefit from paying off the RIAA and MPAA?
As a point of reference, I buy CDs from local bands direct from the band when they perform. The band gets the entire amount I pay, less their production costs, thus getting not only what a record label would pay them, but also what the record label would keep. This is a model that may not make them rich, but does give back to the people who count, those who actually make the music. This kind of model, on a larger scale, is what will get us better quality music, not paying the RIAA and MPAA.
