A related problem is that of government agents signing on. Both of the above are made more acute by the possibility that some information, if revealed, might enable the government to disrupt activities - even if it doesn't enable prosecution. Making sure that the participants have a strong stake in behaving properly - e.g., shares in the outcome, ecash deposits, and - most importantly in dissuading governmental intervention - reputation riding on it.

Remember the old saying, "The best defense is a good offense." Another way to say it is to notice that it's usually far easier to disrupt another person's intricate activities than to do them yourself: In a contest in a closed room between a person building a house of cards and another person trying to knock them down, the latter person can be expected to easily win. Making a profit or salary is work; compared to this, collecting taxes is like knocking it down, and the tax collector has an advantage. But if you turn this around, and attack the attacker, the advantage is now in the hands of those trying to paralyze the tax system.

The last is most important in dissuading governmental intervetion because of the reserves of wealth the government is likely to have for some time; they can afford to pay (using your and my tax dollars) for the short-term costs to a subject.

On the other hand, the government also has enormous "obligations" that keep it close to bankruptcy. It wouldn't take a great deal of interference in its ability to collect taxes to put it solidly in the red based on current receipts. And remember, if the individuals who populate government could be persuaded that their tenure would be forcibly shortened if they didn't resign, they wouldn't stick around. Once that cohesiveness of jointly sucking on the government tit is eliminated, I think they'll cut and run. These people are working for a fat paycheck and the promise of a retirement package, and it wouldn't take much convincing to show them that they won't get either for very long. I'm convinced that's why so many Senators and Representatives are leaving office at the end of their current term, for instance. Jim Bell jimbell@pacifier.com