Ah yes, taxes. The common solution to the "people are dumb" problem!
People are too dumb to know they are buying a power-wasting product. So taxes will fix it!
People are too dumb to buy CFL bulbs instead of old style bulbs. Taxes are the solution! (see a previous slashdot article where someone suggested taxes regarding CFLs. Similar situation.)
In fact according to slashdot comments, taxes can fix any economic problem!
Government: knowing what's better for you since 1933.
Question on this Steam thing. If I buy a game and don't like it, or I play it for a while and get tired of it and decide to sell it (box, CD/DVDs and all) - how is this done? Is it possible with Steam?
My point was that it could be proportional to production - if you make a dozen light bulbs, you get one cent - if you make 100 billion light bulbs, you get 83 million dollars. Is that really so hard to understand?
Strictly quantity might work if all CFLs were exactly the same in quality. They are not. You would now be punishing companies for producing excellent CFLs that cost more money and last longer.
Okay, what criteria define major and minor? Define "smaller checks"? What are the amounts/percentages? What to do about bulbs not made in the U.S., or companies not based in the U.S.? What if some bulbs are better than others?
Government cannot efficiently answer these questions.
1) Everyone pays taxes, but not everyone pays them in equal amounts. If poor people pay little in taxes, but have high energy bills because they can't afford the up-front costs of CFLs, then that segment of the population will only benefit.
Or, instead of forcing everyone to do what YOU think is right, set up a United Foundation For The Spread of CFLs charity. Let people choose to help out of the good of their heart rather than at the end of a gun (taxes = force by guns -- just try not paying your taxes. Eventually someone shows up with a gun.)
2) In fact, most every tax bracket would benefit. There are long-term cost savings for the consumer, and those savings should more than counterbalance the taxes for the vast majority of taxpayers.
Yeah, who cares about those pesky things called "freedom" and "personal responsibility" (note: also sometimes known as natural selection). Why not just make it against the law to install old-style bulbs? Same sort of reasoning.
3) The size of the bureaucracy has very little to do with the amount of money being spent. The expense of implementing the program might be minimal, if the government just writes a few big checks to major CFL manufacturers. It could be huge, if they implement a monstrous, complex system where individuals apply for rebates, and each applicant needs to be vetted to make sure they qualify for the program. Your assumption of 20% inefficiency seems both arbitrary, and arbitrarily high.
Wow. It amazes me that despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, socialist ideas always are so willing to ignore FACTS about government inefficiency. I doubt there has ever been a government program in history that is as simple as you describe. First, define "major CFL manufacturers". You'll need a committee for that.
4) Subsidies early on could jump-start demand for CFLs, increasing production capacity, improving manufacturing techniques, and enabling them to compete more successfully in the market when the subsidies are eventually removed.
But this is not necessary. This is already happening.
5) The demands of the market aren't always the oracles we should be looking to for guidance. In this case, consumers are suckered in by the low up-front purchase price of standard incandescent bulbs, and ignoring the long term energy savings and associated benefits (which can't be reflected in the purchase price without intervening in the market). IOW, the public really seems to be making the wrong decision. In such cases, government intervention can sometimes be beneficial.
Translation: People are stupid. I know what's better for you and I'm going to force you to do what I want.
When it comes down to it, one can get the same programming as DirecTV over cable.
No you can't. Not if you want to follow your favorite out-of-market NFL team. DirecTV has the exclusive NFL license. To watch my Chicago Bears I am stuck with DirecTV. They know this and it is why they pay oodles of money for the license.
Ruby on Rails is only at v1.1. Thus the lack of books. When browsing Amazon however it seems like there are several scheduled to be released this fall.
I just finished reading John Stossel's new book (quite good, though not as good as his first). He has a section in it about the Congressional Record.
If you think the Congressional Record is an accurate account of what happens in Congress you are dead wrong. Congressmen use taxpayer dollars to manipulate the Record because there is nothing that says they can't. They insert bogus info, like "Congressman Bob Blowhard addressed the House with a commendation for the 4-H Club of Woohah, Oklahoma". Which never really happened but it makes Senator Blowhard look good with his constituents. They also change the words of what they really said on the floor to make themselves sound better.
Amazon really ticks me off lately. I think they just throw out the phrase "usually ships within 24 hours" everywhere, since no one can really define what "usually" means. I just ordered "Programming Ruby" on Sunday. It's now late Wednesday night and it STILL has not shipped. I don't mind the slow Super Saver Shipping but at least get ONE BOOK out the door within a couple days... sheesh. Yeah, I'm switching to bookpool or buy.com.
Google will not sue Ebay, quite simply because Ebay is one of Google's biggest customers. And Google has already proven their anti-evil stance doesn't apply when money is on the table (see: China).
You know that sort of already existed. It wasn't on a different planet or anything but there was a MMOG dedicated to car racing. You used your winnings to buy new cars and parts and such. It had a lot of potential, however it wasn't really an interactive world beyond just the racing. Also it seemed to have a very steep learning curve. At any rate it was cancelled. It was called Motor City Online.
No one ever took over the search business from Yahoo, to my knowledge, since Yahoo had no pure search business. Prior to their own technology I believe Yahoo always outsourced. Inktomi and Google in that order. I don't recall what they did before Inktomi, if anything.
As a libertarian, you shouldn't care if someone's selling rat poison as viagra.
You obviously have no idea what a libertarian is. Libertarian philosphy can be summarized as "do whatever you want as long as you don't harm anyone else". Selling rat poison in a deceptive way is just as illegal in a libertarian society.
Actually I do agree that a wall alone will not completely stop people. I read an interview with Immigration and they say they are already finding 200-foot tunnels, which a wall isn't going to stop. I wanted to stress that the existence of a wall alone is not really cause for concern.
What is preventing folks from entering the country legally? It is an honest question as I do not know the procedure to do so.
Good luck. It'll never happen... until they pull an East Germany and put full time sniper towers every couple hundred yards with orders to shoot to kill on sight. If you think that's a good idea check how it's fared historically.
You seem to be forgetting that the Berlin Wall was intended to keep people in not keep people out. Sort of an important part to leave out. But then again when you try to invoke fear by using words like "sniper" I don't think facts mean much to your argument.
I agree with your solution. But I don't understand the Canada/U.S. difference. Does pot not work in the U.S.? Is there nowhere to canoe? Do Canadians not have friends?
Slashdot Mirror
Ah yes, taxes. The common solution to the "people are dumb" problem!
People are too dumb to know they are buying a power-wasting product. So taxes will fix it!
People are too dumb to buy CFL bulbs instead of old style bulbs. Taxes are the solution! (see a previous slashdot article where someone suggested taxes regarding CFLs. Similar situation.)
In fact according to slashdot comments, taxes can fix any economic problem!
Government: knowing what's better for you since 1933.
Perhaps just a strategy to get RHAT stock low enough to buy them?
Then I don't like Steam.
Question on this Steam thing. If I buy a game and don't like it, or I play it for a while and get tired of it and decide to sell it (box, CD/DVDs and all) - how is this done? Is it possible with Steam?
It's coming.
What about Mac OS X? Yeah, I know, boot into Windows. Bleah.
Strictly quantity might work if all CFLs were exactly the same in quality. They are not. You would now be punishing companies for producing excellent CFLs that cost more money and last longer.
Okay, what criteria define major and minor? Define "smaller checks"? What are the amounts/percentages? What to do about bulbs not made in the U.S., or companies not based in the U.S.? What if some bulbs are better than others?
Government cannot efficiently answer these questions.
Or, instead of forcing everyone to do what YOU think is right, set up a United Foundation For The Spread of CFLs charity. Let people choose to help out of the good of their heart rather than at the end of a gun (taxes = force by guns -- just try not paying your taxes. Eventually someone shows up with a gun.)
2) In fact, most every tax bracket would benefit. There are long-term cost savings for the consumer, and those savings should more than counterbalance the taxes for the vast majority of taxpayers.
Yeah, who cares about those pesky things called "freedom" and "personal responsibility" (note: also sometimes known as natural selection). Why not just make it against the law to install old-style bulbs? Same sort of reasoning.
3) The size of the bureaucracy has very little to do with the amount of money being spent. The expense of implementing the program might be minimal, if the government just writes a few big checks to major CFL manufacturers. It could be huge, if they implement a monstrous, complex system where individuals apply for rebates, and each applicant needs to be vetted to make sure they qualify for the program. Your assumption of 20% inefficiency seems both arbitrary, and arbitrarily high.
Wow. It amazes me that despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, socialist ideas always are so willing to ignore FACTS about government inefficiency. I doubt there has ever been a government program in history that is as simple as you describe. First, define "major CFL manufacturers". You'll need a committee for that.
4) Subsidies early on could jump-start demand for CFLs, increasing production capacity, improving manufacturing techniques, and enabling them to compete more successfully in the market when the subsidies are eventually removed.
But this is not necessary. This is already happening.
5) The demands of the market aren't always the oracles we should be looking to for guidance. In this case, consumers are suckered in by the low up-front purchase price of standard incandescent bulbs, and ignoring the long term energy savings and associated benefits (which can't be reflected in the purchase price without intervening in the market). IOW, the public really seems to be making the wrong decision. In such cases, government intervention can sometimes be beneficial.
Translation: People are stupid. I know what's better for you and I'm going to force you to do what I want.
Carl
When it comes down to it, one can get the same programming as DirecTV over cable.
No you can't. Not if you want to follow your favorite out-of-market NFL team. DirecTV has the exclusive NFL license. To watch my Chicago Bears I am stuck with DirecTV. They know this and it is why they pay oodles of money for the license.
Ruby on Rails is only at v1.1. Thus the lack of books. When browsing Amazon however it seems like there are several scheduled to be released this fall.
yp.yahoo.com uses Python.
I just finished reading John Stossel's new book (quite good, though not as good as his first). He has a section in it about the Congressional Record.
If you think the Congressional Record is an accurate account of what happens in Congress you are dead wrong. Congressmen use taxpayer dollars to manipulate the Record because there is nothing that says they can't. They insert bogus info, like "Congressman Bob Blowhard addressed the House with a commendation for the 4-H Club of Woohah, Oklahoma". Which never really happened but it makes Senator Blowhard look good with his constituents. They also change the words of what they really said on the floor to make themselves sound better.
Here is a blog post mentioning the problem Stossel brings up and a small excerpt
Carl
Amazon really ticks me off lately. I think they just throw out the phrase "usually ships within 24 hours" everywhere, since no one can really define what "usually" means. I just ordered "Programming Ruby" on Sunday. It's now late Wednesday night and it STILL has not shipped. I don't mind the slow Super Saver Shipping but at least get ONE BOOK out the door within a couple days... sheesh. Yeah, I'm switching to bookpool or buy.com.
Google will not sue Ebay, quite simply because Ebay is one of Google's biggest customers. And Google has already proven their anti-evil stance doesn't apply when money is on the table (see: China).
You know that sort of already existed. It wasn't on a different planet or anything but there was a MMOG dedicated to car racing. You used your winnings to buy new cars and parts and such. It had a lot of potential, however it wasn't really an interactive world beyond just the racing. Also it seemed to have a very steep learning curve. At any rate it was cancelled. It was called Motor City Online.
It did have Luigi's Mansion however... and that is sort of a Mario game.
Why do you hate Yahoo search so much?
You obviously have no idea what a libertarian is. Libertarian philosphy can be summarized as "do whatever you want as long as you don't harm anyone else". Selling rat poison in a deceptive way is just as illegal in a libertarian society.
What is preventing folks from entering the country legally? It is an honest question as I do not know the procedure to do so.
You seem to be forgetting that the Berlin Wall was intended to keep people in not keep people out. Sort of an important part to leave out. But then again when you try to invoke fear by using words like "sniper" I don't think facts mean much to your argument.
He did try to enforce a lot of it, but California voters turned him down (wrongly, in my opinion) with the recent ballot initiatives.
You forgot that you can't learn a Cure Disease spell in the real world though.
I agree with your solution. But I don't understand the Canada/U.S. difference. Does pot not work in the U.S.? Is there nowhere to canoe? Do Canadians not have friends?