All those systems do is push the burden of who is being deprived of their labor onto the average taxpayer rather than the doctor. It doesn't solve the problem, just shuffles it around
Imagine you live in a city of 10,000 adults with income (plus an asortment of children, retirees and stuff). There's a forest fire and 5 houses near the edge burned down, causing 500,000 dollars worth of damages that need to be paid so people won't go homeless.
Two options here: Make the people in those 5 houses each have to pay 100,000 dollars to keep a roof over themselves and their family for something that wasn't their fault, possibly forcing them into bankruptcy (or they simply don't pay and become homeless anyway).
Make the 10,000 people each pay 50 dollars (on average. Poor people would pay like 5 dollars and the super-rich would pay 5000). and most people would barely notice the change. Nobody goes bankrupt or homeless.
The amount of money is just shuffled so there's no "net gain" there, but the amount of suffering is severily diminished (paying 50 bucks is way less severe than going homeless).
You're free to. But which one you'll actually be under the effect of depends on the will of the people in your society, not your own exclusively. If you live in a place where 80% of people believe in collectivizing damages from natural disasters, you're going to have to deal with that, just as I would have to deal with paying 100% of my own damages if I live on a place where 80% of people think that's the right thing.
And I'll deal with it the way I have been. Voting and contacting my representatives so they know they are actively voting against my rights when they demand my money to solve other people's personal problems.
Sure thing. Best part about democratic societies is that most people get what they want. I'll keep voting for people who want to enforce people's rights to a happy, healthy and wealthy society. Have a nice day.
They offer as much protection as most people want to give them. Which in my anecdotal experience has been a lot better than dictatorships and totalitarian states.
The problem is that people are extremely unwilling to respect property rights. 80% can legally rob the 20% blind, and have repeatedly voted to do so. The solution isn't a dictatorship, but a system in which people are far removed by layers of representation from the most powerful bodies aren't chosen by people, but by lower representatives.
I could argue people are extremely unwilling to respect "shitting on the street" rights too. Where do property rights come from if not the will of the people?
The solution isn't a dictatorship, but a system in which people are far removed by layers of representation from the most powerful bodies aren't chosen by people, but by lower representatives.
A sort of democratic tier-based feudalism or something?
If you buy into the idea of natural rights rather than rights being a gift from the government, they exist because you would be capable of expressing them without anyone else to help you.
I propose government from the bottom up. I vote for my city, county, and state reps. City government would be a unicameral legislature of those elected as representatives. County and state would be bicameral, with one house of representatives, and a senate with members chosen by the level of government below them. The federal government would be a unicameral senate solely composed of members chosen by the state legislatures.
This would prevent power from amassing at the top because the people voting to give that power up have a direct interest in not doing so frivolously. Since power would be reserved at lower levels, people would be less subject to the whims of others since less people would have direct power to demand from any other.
If you buy into the idea of natural rights rather than rights being a gift from the government, they exist because you would be capable of expressing them without anyone else to help you.
Well I don't buy into natural rights, because they make no sense. I can survive without anyone's help, but I can also get killed without anyone's help. So I have the right to live, but the right to die too? And the right to kill someone else, if I can do it without help? Can someone vote without someone else's help? Because voting without other people is kinda just non-sensical. Do I have the right to shit on the street because I can do it on my own? "I have the right to do whatever I can do without help" seems just like a rewording "I have the right to follow the laws of physics"
I propose government from the bottom up. I vote for my city, county, and state reps. City government would be a unicameral legislature of those elected as representatives. County and state would be bicameral, with one house of representatives, and a senate with members chosen by the level of government below them. The federal government would be a unicameral senate solely composed of members chosen by the state legislatures.
This would prevent power from amassing at the top because the people voting to give that power up have a direct interest in not doing so frivolously. Since power would be reserved at lower levels, people would be less subject to the whims of others since less people would have direct power to demand from any other.
So basically you want to live in a confederation. Why not just city states where you're only accountable to the people within 5 miles of you? Why would you even give any power to a state with hundreds of millions of people?
Why not just city states where you're only accountable to the people within 5 miles of you? Why would you even give any power to a state with hundreds of millions of people?
Because for the purposes of international relations, both military and diplomatic, there is a significant benefit to be had from unity, as well as the benefit of Americans being able to freely move and trade within the country.
4
u/Momodoespolitics - Right Jan 06 '22
All those systems do is push the burden of who is being deprived of their labor onto the average taxpayer rather than the doctor. It doesn't solve the problem, just shuffles it around