bitcoin as a global medium of exchange (was Re: Interesting take on Sanjuro's Assassination Market)

Jayvan Santos jayvansantos at gmail.com
Tue Nov 26 11:39:30 PST 2013


The topic has derailed from accoubtability and transperancy to American
politics with just you two guys talking. Borderline r/Conspiracy.
(Note:  I meant to type "$700,000" in Nigeria, below, not "$700.)
Oh, non-perceptive one, I seek to enlighten you.  While the payment for
bribery normally is thought of as occurring _before_ (or during) the
payback desired, as a practical matter it isn't very practical to bribe an
American president while he is in office.  But since the office of
President will continue to exist, and the people who are inclined to get
favors will continue to exist, and they all know this (see 'game theory'),
a logical solution is to delay the bribe payment until the office-holder is
out of office.  Obviously, while a president may wonder what would motivate
a briber to actually pay the bribe after he leaves office, the reality is
(remember reality?) is that word of welshing will surely get back to the
subsequent office-holder(s), poisoning the well for the
almost-but-not-quite-briber in the future.  No doubt, for example,
America's First Muslim President will pick up tens or even hundreds of
millions of dollars doing the rubber-chicken circuit in the (Muslim)
Middle-east.  Do you wonder why Obama hasn't 'jawboned' the Arab oil
producers to drop oil prices to, say, $60 per barrel?  Do you wonder why he
hasn't made more threats to open up the spigots of the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve?  Or why he hasn't approved the construction of the Keystone oil
pipeline?  That's right:  Obama is carrying-water for the very people he
expects to be bribed by about 3.5 years hence.
        Jim Bell


  ------------------------------
 *From:* Al Billings <albill at openbuddha.com>
*To:* "cypherpunks at cpunks.org" <cypherpunks at cpunks.org>; Jim Bell <
jamesdbell8 at yahoo.com>; Guido Witmond <guido at witmond.nl>
*Sent:* Tuesday, November 26, 2013 10:29 AM
*Subject:* Re: bitcoin as a global medium of exchange (was Re: Interesting
take on Sanjuro's Assassination Market)

What do you bribe an ex-president (out of office since the millennium) to
do for you when lecturing?

------------------------------
From: Jim Bell Jim Bell <jamesdbell8 at yahoo.com>
Reply: Jim Bell jamesdbell8 at yahoo.com
Date: November 26, 2013 at 10:26:25 AM
To: Guido Witmond guido at witmond.nl, cypherpunks at cpunks.org
cypherpunks at cpunks.org
Subject:  Re: bitcoin as a global medium of exchange (was Re: Interesting
take on Sanjuro's Assassination Market)

Look what has happened to Bill Clinton after leaving office.  It's said
he's worth $100 million  (In USD, presumably).  Mostly this comes in the
form of 'speaking fees':  As much as $700 in Nigeria. This is
not-so-thinly-disguised bribery. One solution that would slow him down
would be a 95% tax rate on an ex-president's income, at least that above
$400,000 per year.

-- 
Al Billings
http://makehacklearn.org
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