Commander's Weather, iTunes, deflation, Cognitive Surplus, and Unemployment

[blazespinnaker]

Re: Will the RepRap machine bring a new manufacturing and the end of consumerism?

yeah a lot of great strides have been occurring in 3d printers over the last 10 years. It's quite amazing really.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl9JMjEHhfs

personally, though, I think the followers of reprap and stuff are a bit out of touch with reality.

Until we socially accept automation as a way of life like the japanese / koreans / etc have, until we stop producing 'terminator' movies, until we stop looking at robots as the enemy, and start thinking that automation is the answer, that people need to stop doing robot-work, none of this will come to pass.

The problem is, someone has a job making this or that and they are fearful of change .. fearful of losing their job to a computer or a robot so they'll vote in the guy who gives them that sense of peace and we get inertia.

In japan, it's different, automation is the only way out of their aging society so they've accepted it in many ways. Plus i think their average iq is a lot higher than ours..

We also need to start thinking that things like ikea and prefabricated housing and modular design is beautiful and powerful. Think lego blocks.0

http://www.google.ca/images?client=s...N&hl=en&tab=wi

None of this possible if everything has to be hand made and doesn't follow open standards.

Unfortunately, people don't like the esthetics of lego building even though it's perfectly functional. there's so much 'old world craftmanship' nonsense that it makes me want to puke.

I think society in general suffers from bouts of infantalism .. they just want to go back to the good ol' days.

[raja]

Re: Commander's Weather, iTunes, deflation, Cognitive Surplus, and Unemployment

1) A phase out of income and sales taxes into property taxes over a 10 year period based on revenue transfer (i.e. 10% less collected income taxes/sales taxes converted to 10% equivalent revenue increase from property taxes).

What about the grandma's on fixed incomes who own their own homes . . . how will they be able to handle the property tax increase? Or the retired couple who have invested their life savings in a few rental properties, hoping to have income in their later years that won't be eaten up by inflation?

[c1ue]

Re: Commander's Weather, iTunes, deflation, Cognitive Surplus, and Unemployment

What about the grandma's on fixed incomes who own their own homes . . . how will they be able to handle the property tax increase?

This was the raison d'etre for Proposition 13 in 1975.

The grandma can either tap into equity of the home via a reverse mortgage - if they haven't already, or sell and take the large chunk of cash and retire somewhere else. This could be in the same town, in Florida, wherever.

The hypothetical grandmas in question - barring a foolish HELOC situation - should have 100% equity.

Land rich and cash poor is a very long standing historical financial status.

The whole point is preserving all the hypothetical grandmas in their paid off houses in fact just loads their children and grandchildren with more FIRE derived debt.

With the understanding of this context, I suspect a lot more grandmas would be open to the concept.

Or the retired couple who have invested their life savings in a few rental properties, hoping to have income in their later years that won't be eaten up by inflation?

Given that the rental income of said couple is supposed to be reported and taxed as income, there should not be a net change.