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Taxing Sci-Fi Products to Fund NASA?
LordNimon writes "According to an article in the Huntsville (AL) Times, Michael Williams, a Republican candidate for Congress, is proposing a 1% tax on any science fiction- or space-related products (e.g. books, toys, and games) and using that money to fund NASA. At first I thought this guy was crazy, considering the administrative nightmare of determining which products should be taxed. But then I realized something - this tax would make those who are most interested in space the primary source of space development funding. Instead of making everyone pay for NASA, those who care most about it also fund it the most. Maybe if the guy didn't work in a supermarket, he'd be taken more seriously."
Mod me down if you need to, but you've gotta admit the world would be a better place.
Steve
it depends on the demographic situation. If we are in China and want to limit number of children, yes. If we are in USA or Europe, then by all means we should tax childless people very heavily and use the money on education, day care, etc.
I passed the Turing test.
And this is a bad thing...?!?
If pro- is the opposite of con-, what is the opposite of progress?
Than we do on the NASA budget
Than we do on welfare
Than we do on building schools.
Hell we spend more money bailing airport companies out than we do on schools, whats more important than schools?
In my opinions our priorities are all wrong, because dumbasses in our government dont know how to spend money properly, this goes for both the republicans and democrates.
Our money should go to technology, healthcare, schools.
Technology will allow us to live better, Healthcare will allow us to live longer, School will allow us to have the intelligence to actually live without destroying ourselves.
Now how much money is being spent on technology? well nano technology got less than 100 million, we spent less than 100 million searching for vaccines for aids and cures for cancer, we spent around 20 billion for public schools but what we really need is complete reform, and doubled budget so schools use all the latest technology to bring kids into the digital age.
instead, 20 billion goes to airports in a bailout, tax cuts all over the place but the military budget is increased with next to none of this budget being used for homeland defense.
Its almost insane that we spend almost a trillion a year on the military (most of the budget) all of these nuclear bombs and secret weapons, yet not a single bomb shelter, no way to stop a biological attack, no way to stop nuclear attacks, no way to stop terrorist attacks like 911.
We have absolutely no defense, the best our government does is warn us and we can only hope our under funded local law enforcement can handle the situation.
ALot of people especially people from slashdot say tax cuts are good, my question to these people, Do you all have bomb shelters? How will you survive a nuclear terrorist attack?
So if we lower taxes it just means more money gets put into stupid programs that we dont want or need, or programs we dont know about.
Perhaps anti tax slashdotters and anti government types have a solution for terrorism?
Not only that, but will we ever go to mars? I doubt it, it would be too expensive to do so for about another 20 years, and the more tax cuts, the less likely we will ever venture out into space in this lifetime.
NASAs budget is insanely small,
The Nano Technology budget is insanely small
The Science & R&D research budgets are too small, the ones which arent too small are classified government projects which we wont know about for about 20 years or the next war.
The problem isnt that we spend too much on taxes, the problem is, the money we spend on taxes we have no control over, perhaps if we were given control, taxes could be raised and no one would care.
Perhaps we need a system to allow us to control where the tax money goes. So that I can pay all my taxes to a certain thing, like bomb shelters and schools.
I dont want to fund the war on iraq, the attack on south korea, vietnam or any other pointless war our government throws us into.
I certainly dont want to fund some secret project i know nothing about.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
Well, if you had any marketable skils you would be able to find a job that paid more than $23/hr. Being a porn fluffer is not usually considered a "step up".
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
Cry me a fscking river!
Since when should the west, let alone the US become the social welfare service for the rest of the planet ?
I just want to be there in spirit when 'poor and uneducated' orphans feed you your testicles in thanks for all the help you've given them.
You really havent a clue.
Curmudgeon.
I look at the civilization we have built and I think the price is still low -- a few thousand dollars a year in exchange for personal liberty and the rule of law? A bargain by any measure.
The parent post has given a reasoned, and insightful response to the libertarians who whine about taxes and government intervention at every opportunity. I wish I had some moderation points, because it deservers to be +5 insightful
What is the libertarian response? And if you want to respond, please, spare us rhetoric and sophistry. Demonstrate to us how minimal government and no taxes would benefit society as a whole. How would it help those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder? How the widespread implementation of libertarian principles make the world a better place?
*** Where are we going? And what's with this handbasket?