Forwarded message:

From: Matthew James Gering <mgering@ecosystems.net> Subject: RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd) Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 00:30:14 -0700

And you would be stupid to expose yourself to full liability.

No, being a single proprietorship isn't stupid. It may not be something you like but it isn't stupid. I will agree that depending on the size and type of business it isn't always the best way, but then being a multi-national incorporation isn't the best way to do local contract work for SOHO's (for example) either.

Regulation includes much more than licensing and registration. Try hiring a couple employees,

As long as it's only two I don't have to worry about federal regulations and such, they only kick in when I hire 3 or more.

paying freelance individuals,

Hand them their 1099's and they're out the door. I just pay them whatever I agreed (gross before taxes) and the 1099 is *their* promise to deal with the taxes.

setup office space,

Sign a lease and wallah.

get yourself a company car

All I need for that is a DBA, can even open bank accounts and get credit cards in the company name with nothing but a DL and that DBA.

and do your fed income taxes.

As a single proprietorship I do my taxes the same old way I always did them except I must include the SE documents which only add a few pages. If I do the contract work via 1099's (which says that the contractor is responsbile for the taxes on that income) all I have to show is the gross amount paid to that contract person.

If they enforced every word of every code strongly and literally it would be nearly impossible to conduct business.

No, it wouldn't. For example I do contract work for small office - home office companies (generaly 10 or less employees total). I write software, install software, train, repair hardware, do upgrades, etc. and there are literaly NO regulations at any level on those activities outside those imposed by 1099's for sub-contractors (who work their own hours and must provide their own tools) and the contract I and the customer agree to. If I buy something for a customer I pass the receipt along to them and get reimbursed for my time (on a seperate receipt) and the exact amount for the items purchased (I am acting as their agent and not a reseller) so I don't even need a tax number technicaly (since I don't pay state sales tax on labor costs and am not selling them the items purchased). All I need is a $15 DBA and a bunch of blank 1099's. Why do cities and states require licenses on such things as air conditioning or auto mechanics? Because for years there were no licenses required and anybody could do it. After enough decades of scam artists, poorly run business who cost customers money because they went out of business without doing the work, or they did sub-standard (as defined by the practitioners of that activity) work. I challenge you to find an example where a state or federal regulation was imposed before the industry matured.

Bullshit, monopolies exist because of the regulation.

No, monopolies exist because people are greedy and want to own everything. History is full of examples where industries were unregulated (ever read Upton Sinclair?) and abused the employees and the market and as a result regulation was imposed. It's interesting that free-market mavens never seem to mention that the vast majority of monopoly examples occured *before* industry regulation was imposed. Even in the Microsoft case, it's only now that they've grown so big and become so porous about information that the government has stepped in and begun asking "has the industry matured to the point where continued non-regulation is a detriment because it allows hording of industry resources?" Even if we were to de-regulate the clothing industry for example it is highly unlikely that child labor and sweat shops would become less prevalent. Of course I'd like to see your evidence to the contrary. "Those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it" Santyana

Bullshit again, there is a *big* difference between a regulated market (mixed capitalist/socialist economy) and a command economy. So because we don't live in Soviet Russia we should all bend over and take it?

A regulated market is something that has regulation imposed from the outside (ie besides the supplier and consumer). There are certainly different kinds of regulated economies just like there are different kinds of mammals. But to say that Zebra's aren't mammals because they don't look like an Aardvark is a dis-serivice. You, and every other free-market maven, have yet to demonstrate with historical example that free-market works.

Coercive power takes form via regulation. Without it a bad monopoly is a short-lived one.

Tell that to the rail-roads of the mid to late 1800's, the meat packing industry of the late 1800's and early 1900's. The sweat houses of the garment industry since the early 1800's, etc. No sir, history doesn't support your proposition at all.

Liability, liability, liability. Regulation often promotes bad practice as businesses comply with minimum regulation and nothing more instead of thinking for themselves. What is worse is government often shields companies from liability.

See above examples. Hell, take a look at the wet pet food market now for a perfect example of why non-regulation is a bad thing and why liability and other such buzz words don't work in the real world. And you were wondering why your little toodles was loosing her hair, was always excited and aggitated and has the health of a pet 3-4 years older than the chronological age... Bottem line, in a free market (no regulation other than consumer and supplier) there are no controlling mechanisms and no recourse for the consumer because they have nothing to demonstrate even an implied warranty or liability of manufacturer (read software licenses to see how this can be side stepped easily, hint: imagine a software license on the side of a can of beans.). ____________________________________________________________________ The seeker is a finder. Ancient Persian Proverb The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------