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From: isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Michael S. Schechter - ISR group account)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Future Work (was Re: prognostications about expert systems)
Message-ID: <2889@rodan.acs.syr.edu>
Date: 10 Apr 90 14:11:49 GMT
Sender: netnews@rodan.acs.syr.edu
Reply-To: isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Michael S. Schechter - ISR group account)
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Lines: 64


JoSh's reply to Duddy reply to Stinnet:
>
>"... Here is our problem - there is enough
>"wealth (and thanks to technology there is ever increasing efficiency in
>"creating objects and services repesenting wealth) but there are not enough
>"jobs, and there is not enough oppotunities for everyone to be comfortable.>
>
>Who sez there is enough wealth?  You may think the ultimate goal
>of humanity is to sit around picking fleas off each other, but I
>have higher aspirations than that. 

It's not that there's enough wealth, it's that certain very few people
have TOO MUCH wealth.. personally I have nothing against someone wanting
to accumalate 1, 5 , 10 even 20 million dollars.. it's when they keep
on accumulating it after that point has been reached that they are doing it
SOLELY to accumulate more wealth, often at the expense of ruining the lives
of others. What's needed is some sort of progrressive wealth tax,
so that truly excess wealth can be redistributed.. how to do this without
destroying investment in new ventures I don't know, but the concentration
of wealth from the many to the few has to be slowed.

> I won't be happy until each
>person can have his or her OWN moon rocket or super collider or
>space telescope.  I won't be happy until each person can have these
>things because they have each produced that much value themselves.
>If all you want from life is a happy family and nice house in the
>suburbs, I say you have no vision.  I say technology gives us the
>opportunity for each and every single individual person to be an
>*honest* selfmade billionaire.

Why is this?? Many people don't want a moon rocket or super collider!
Me, I'd be happy with a nice houce, a convertible , a truck, and a 
studio to do my sculpture in.  What I'm interested in doing in no
way will ever make be a billionaire.. The same goes for say, a poet, or
for most people not interested in business. Maybe in years to come technology
will give us that capability, but not now, not with society based on
money and wealth the way it is. 

>Would you want to reduce everyone in the world to wretched, grinding
>poverty on the edge of starvation--provided it could be done equally?
>Their only thought, a dim groping for their next bowl of cold, thin,
>gruel?  Absolutely equal in body, mind, and spirit?

No, but those who are in wrteched, grinding poverty should not be..
And just how do you propose to have them use technology to
be and honest selfmade billionaire........
And, don't tell me about how if Donald trump's billions were split up
that would only be $1 per person! What if it were used intelligently???
For example, take 100 billion dollars and spend 10 million dollars in
10,000 locations worldwide for ultra-cheap housing, medical facilities,
and farming improvements. True, by U.S. standards, 10 million goes fast,
but it buys an awful awful lot of grain seed, poor quality livestock, and
cheap cement.
 Andwhere to get this 100 billion??
 easy, tax everyone with an income of >1 million$ at an increment of
 2%/million income. (ie, 1M$ pays 38%, 2M$pays 40% on excess, 3M$pays42%)
 In addition to this, intoduce a progressive WEALTH tax, say
 1% per 10 million per year.
Yes, I know, the two together set an upper limit somewhere around 50 or 60
million I suppose on the amount of wealth a single person can control, but
is that so bad???? And No, this doesn't neccesarilly mean the destruction of
the economy as vast stock empires are sold to raise cash, as there's no
reason why this coudn't be transferred directly as stock.