CryptoAnarchy: What's wrong with this picture?

Mon May 6 19:11:50 PDT 1996

From:	IN%"s1113645 at tesla.cc.uottawa.ca" 29-APR-1996 02:04:15.24
To:	IN%"EALLENSMITH at mbcl.rutgers.edu"  "E. ALLEN SMITH"
CC:	IN%"cypherpunks at toad.com"
Subj:	RE: CryptoAnarchy: What's wrong with this picture?

Date: Sun, 28 Apr 1996 23:17:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: s1113645 at tesla.cc.uottawa.ca
Subject: RE: CryptoAnarchy: What's wrong with this picture?
In-reply-to: <01I43B16HT2U8Y53CU at mbcl.rutgers.edu>
Sender: s1113645 at tesla.cc.uottawa.ca
To: "E. ALLEN SMITH" <EALLENSMITH at mbcl.rutgers.edu>
Cc: cypherpunks at toad.com
Reply-to: s1113645 at tesla.cc.uottawa.ca
Message-id: <Pine.3.89.9604282225.B28833-0100000 at tesla.cc.uottawa.ca>
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Mime-Version: 1.0

On Sun, 28 Apr 1996, E. ALLEN SMITH wrote:

>> 	Currently, yes... but the divide between rich and poor is growing.
>> (So long as this divide is determined by merit, and the poor still have
>> enough to survive, I'd call this a good trend. So would various other
>> people on this list, perhaps without my caveats.) In other words, the
>> middle class is going

>I agree with your caveat. It's where the anarchists get me skeptical.

	The poor still having enough to survive is the most significant
reason I'm not an anarcho-capitalist. There are a few others, but that's the
main one.

>Someone sent me some US income tax figures. It would seem that the vast
>majority of personal taxes are paid by the rich and high-end upper-middle.
>So I'll eat my words and agree with you, talking about the rich makes
>quite a bit of sense. I sort of do wonder how many of those "corporations"
>are small businesses and individuals working as companies. Time for me to
>go find a national stats book. 

	Despite its agreeing with my point (thank you), I'm not sure if I'd
consider income taxes to be enough of the story to go by them alone. Federal
level, yes; state & local, probably not. I am willing to bet that property
taxes are mainly paid by the relatively wealthy, given how much of personal
capital tends to get tied up in a home. Sales taxes are more evenly
distributed.
	However, the economic changes I discuss should result in this becoming
true, even if it might not be completely true currently.

>Of course only talking about the rich makes things so much easier.

	Yes. In a capitalist society based on merit, the rich are the ones
who matter in the long run.
	-Allen