This is the capitalist version of "let them eat cake." Because god help them if the proles feel like they deserve some of the money they're making capitalists.
They do deserve some of it - the amount that falls at the intersection of the supply and demand curves for the kind of labor they provide.
There is a serious incident on Monday, one of a number that have been raising concern. The metro decides to shut down the system to do a major safety inspection. That is somehow bad?
Yes, when they supposedly inspected all the cables last year, and supposedly found them to be OK. That is somehow bad.
I don't know where you're from, but the mass-transit system with which I have the most personal experience - the NYC subway - *does* stink of urine sometimes, and sometimes *does* have crazy shouting people in it. On the other hand, it is one of the oldest and most extensive metro systems in the world, and is relatively cheap for what you get - $2.75 for a ride from the Queens/Nassau border all the way into Manhattan and up into the Bronx if you want, is a pretty good deal IMO. I've ridden the Underground a few times, and it was cleaner and more modern, but also quite a bit more expensive.
Whether or not it can dogfight against other manned fighters is irrelevant, since that scenario is unlikely. A more important questions is if it can dogfight against drones with half the turning radius, when outnumbered 5 to 1.
I'm not sure how relevant that is, since those drones will probably also be in the US arsenal, rather than in the enemy's, at least for the foreseeable future.
Social Security and Medicare are not "public assistance" in the sense that Welfare is; employees pay into those programs via FICA taxes and then receive benefits when they retire. For someone who "has the truth on their side", you're stretching it a bit.
You will change your mind when you start to age and your eyesight dims.
Not too worried about that; I've been on the same prescription for about 12 years. But when it happens... then I'll get another phone. It's not like you're assigned one phone for your whole life (yet).
I would reset the popular smartphone form factor back to 4.5" to 4.7". I don't want to have to carry around a small tablet in my pocket, in order to have the latest features.
I switched from a Kindle 3 to a tablet for reading books, largely because my favorite reading location was kind of dark and I got tired of futzing with clip-on lights. But my tablet is heavy and not very easy on the eyes for heavy reading. So I got a Kindle Voyage and it's so much better. Obviously there are lots of things a tablet can do that an e-reader can't, but IMO nothing beats an e-ink reader with an edge-lit screen for reading books.
Relax. I wasn't suggesting that political parties shouldn't be allowed, but just that they are not officially a part of American government or its processes. Technically, you do not have to be in any political party in order to hold any public office in America. If Lessig is having trouble running as a Democrat, maybe he should go independent. Which, IMO, would make an even stronger statement on his part about the two-party problem in America.
That's a totally different issue than the one in the OP - sure there are ways for corporations to "cheat" on taxes. Giving your profits to your employees is *NOT* one of them. That's a perfectly legitimate (and, frankly, downright generous) thing to do, but one that does not cheat the government as the taxes still get paid.
In fact, if the money goes to the employees, the government might end up getting even more revenue, as the money is then taxed at the (higher) individual rate (less the individual's income deductions) vs. the corporate rate.
Sure, you get writeoffs, but there are disadvantages too - e.g. you have to pay the full amount of FICA tax (as both an employer and employee) instead of only half (as either employer *or* employee). Of course, if you earn enough to exceed the maximum by a comfortable margin, this may not be much of a problem.
Yes, this would be a great thing actually. I don't understand what everyone is complaining about. Facebook is being remarkably generous in this situation.
But that's not what happened here. What happened was the Facebook *gave* their profits to their employees, who in turn paid tax (at, AIUI, an even higher rate) on the money. So what's the problem?
In this instance all the profit went to the employees, thus instead of being taxed at the corporate level it was taxed at the (higher!) individual level. So what's the difference?
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Hate? I love that you're going to die of cancer and stop polluting whether you like it or not.
This is the capitalist version of "let them eat cake." Because god help them if the proles feel like they deserve some of the money they're making capitalists.
They do deserve some of it - the amount that falls at the intersection of the supply and demand curves for the kind of labor they provide.
Gar damn Mongorians!
There is a serious incident on Monday, one of a number that have been raising concern. The metro decides to shut down the system to do a major safety inspection. That is somehow bad?
Yes, when they supposedly inspected all the cables last year, and supposedly found them to be OK. That is somehow bad.
I don't know where you're from, but the mass-transit system with which I have the most personal experience - the NYC subway - *does* stink of urine sometimes, and sometimes *does* have crazy shouting people in it. On the other hand, it is one of the oldest and most extensive metro systems in the world, and is relatively cheap for what you get - $2.75 for a ride from the Queens/Nassau border all the way into Manhattan and up into the Bronx if you want, is a pretty good deal IMO. I've ridden the Underground a few times, and it was cleaner and more modern, but also quite a bit more expensive.
I'm not sure how relevant that is, since those drones will probably also be in the US arsenal, rather than in the enemy's, at least for the foreseeable future.
Social Security and Medicare are not "public assistance" in the sense that Welfare is; employees pay into those programs via FICA taxes and then receive benefits when they retire. For someone who "has the truth on their side", you're stretching it a bit.
All taxes eventually make it to the individual. Corporations don't pay taxes, they pass them along to their customers.
You will change your mind when you start to age and your eyesight dims.
Not too worried about that; I've been on the same prescription for about 12 years. But when it happens... then I'll get another phone. It's not like you're assigned one phone for your whole life (yet).
I would reset the popular smartphone form factor back to 4.5" to 4.7". I don't want to have to carry around a small tablet in my pocket, in order to have the latest features.
These modes should be forbidden, or better, they should be taxed !
They are "taxed"... every time you pay your electric bill. Don't want to pay it? Switch off your power strip.
Oh, well now, if it's the consensus then it must be true.
You know, it really isn't.
or, you know, google could pay a living wage.
Or people could go work somewhere else. Believe it or not, there are a couple of technology jobs outside the (SF) Bay Area.
I switched from a Kindle 3 to a tablet for reading books, largely because my favorite reading location was kind of dark and I got tired of futzing with clip-on lights. But my tablet is heavy and not very easy on the eyes for heavy reading. So I got a Kindle Voyage and it's so much better. Obviously there are lots of things a tablet can do that an e-reader can't, but IMO nothing beats an e-ink reader with an edge-lit screen for reading books.
I just puked in my mouth a little.
....and incorrect pedantry at that. If he had said something about the Constitutional electoral process, you'd have a point, but that's not the case
Lessig didn't say it, but the OP did, in the title of his post, and that's what I was responding to.
Relax. I wasn't suggesting that political parties shouldn't be allowed, but just that they are not officially a part of American government or its processes. Technically, you do not have to be in any political party in order to hold any public office in America. If Lessig is having trouble running as a Democrat, maybe he should go independent. Which, IMO, would make an even stronger statement on his part about the two-party problem in America.
...that's the party primary system. Political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution, and are not an official part of the electoral process.
That's a totally different issue than the one in the OP - sure there are ways for corporations to "cheat" on taxes. Giving your profits to your employees is *NOT* one of them. That's a perfectly legitimate (and, frankly, downright generous) thing to do, but one that does not cheat the government as the taxes still get paid.
In fact, if the money goes to the employees, the government might end up getting even more revenue, as the money is then taxed at the (higher) individual rate (less the individual's income deductions) vs. the corporate rate.
Sure, you get writeoffs, but there are disadvantages too - e.g. you have to pay the full amount of FICA tax (as both an employer and employee) instead of only half (as either employer *or* employee). Of course, if you earn enough to exceed the maximum by a comfortable margin, this may not be much of a problem.
Yes, this would be a great thing actually. I don't understand what everyone is complaining about. Facebook is being remarkably generous in this situation.
But that's not what happened here. What happened was the Facebook *gave* their profits to their employees, who in turn paid tax (at, AIUI, an even higher rate) on the money. So what's the problem?
In this instance all the profit went to the employees, thus instead of being taxed at the corporate level it was taxed at the (higher!) individual level. So what's the difference?