thread: 2006-08-31 : I think my expectations are screwed
On 2006-09-06, Valamir wrote:
[quote]As for maximum wage... let's just slap a 90% flat tax on all earnings above 20 times minimum wage[/quote]
I love that this has been brought up a couple times now, because it demonstrates how artistically minded people on this list are.
Artistically minded in the sense that one just assumes that all of the really big things that get done will continue to get done simply because someone loves it and is passionate enough to do it regardless of profit. That's how an artist thinks. After all we all still design our games and consider making enough profit to help with a car payment or two to be successful.
Practically speaking however, for most people things get done because someone is looking to make a killing and get rich.
Many of us on this list also are engaged in various technology based vocations. The internet we use daily, the blogosphere we're communicating on now, the fancy cell phone that plays MP3s...all got invented, produced, and implemented because SOMEBODY wanted to make major bank.
Same can be said for most every medical advance of the last 100 years.
Cap the bank innovators stand to make and watch innovation slow dramatically. Not stop...there will always be artists doing it for love...but without the "hit it big" lottery we'd still be communicating on use.net and BBSs and carrying cell phones the size of a cinder block.
This is why for the past decade+ socially minded Canada has suffered a significant brain drain as its best and brightest, hoping to get rich or die trying, move to America.
Not every innovation leads to riches. And not every innovator hits it big. But its the CHANCE that drives so much of it. Eliminate the chance by putting a guarenteed cap in place...and kill innovation. And...since we're a consumer driven economy fueled by innovation...kill the economy as well.
Just splashing some reality into the lefty love fest, I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming ;-)
