I've split Peatbog's recent commentary into several posts as they are all interesting.
Please keep in mind that the proposed Virtual Currency system is hoped to work more effectively with the assistance of continued advances in technology and automation. >From Peatbog: ... > Under this plan, the credits for necessities would be > available to everybody, not just poor people. So a family > with an average income, large enough to live in reasonable > comfort, who, under today's system, would pay for their > basic food, would no longer pay for it, meaning the > government would. When you add in the other things you > mention: 'health, basic health services, basic public > transportation, basic shelter', it sounds like much, > most? of the economy would be socialistic. > I need to correct a misconception. Under the VC system the average and well-off DO pay for essential services. They pay for them out of their own credit account, just as someone less fortunate would attempt pay for the same essential resources, assuming the less-fortunate possess sufficient credits in their bank account. OTOH, if it turns out that the less-fortunate don't possess sufficient credits to pay for the entire costs, it is the less fortunate who will still benefit because they are still entitled to accessing the same essential resources regardless of whether they can pay the entire cost or not. If they can't pay for the entire cost they pay what they can - till their account goes to zero. Their account never goes below zero. The less entitled don't go in debt for acquiring items considered to be essential. > Socialistic economies seem to work, unless they get too > 'social'; not sure how social this plan would end up being. Probably very "social" ;-) I would imagine certain vocal groups possessing super-conservative orientations might end up vilifying VC as a system that promotes un-Christian-like values. They might even claim VC secretly promotes the evils communism, witchcraft, the breakdown of traditional marriages, and gay life styles. Such descriptions are probably the nicer things they might choose to broadcast. * * * Regardless of disagreements that might crop up (and I'm sure there would be quite a few!) it would be my objective to tweak the VC system in ways to help promote and birth new economic enterprises. For the VC system, to be of any collective worth, it must be designed to help facilitate all sorts of enterprises and businesses endeavors so that society in the collective sense could eventually benefit. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
