Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Dimensional Traveler Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Re: the future long term financial apocalypse of the USA Date: Tue, 21 May 2024 12:49:15 -0700 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 84 Message-ID: References: <9b5v3j58gh2pd4pi54vqnf7loupses6f9i@4ax.com> <8464a59f-9706-00a5-3fb2-d9f638a0ffe0@example.net> <507cd335-d0ae-0c75-e711-a296f5b83805@example.net> <44938613-85d8-1f1d-4bd6-88f47993161e@example.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Tue, 21 May 2024 21:49:14 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="4578a0995c0f2b5df6f3fecf9d969b23"; logging-data="795991"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX18DgPRtVIEZFkAF0EEOCimw" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Cancel-Lock: sha1:fsUQBd5AXQFjSLXyjSrEMxcYeK0= Content-Language: en-US In-Reply-To: Bytes: 4181 On 5/21/2024 12:10 PM, William Hyde wrote: > D wrote: >> >> >> On Mon, 20 May 2024, William Hyde wrote: >> >>> D wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> The only regulation that is necessary for two people to transact is >>>> what they agree upon. >>> >>> >>> This being  a science fiction newsgroup, let's consider your >>> decisions when you are sent back to London in 1870. >>> >>> You are hungry, and want some bread. >>> >>> Which of the following do you expect to find in your bread? >>> >>> (1) Grain >>> (2) Yeast >>> (3) Chalk >>> (4) Alum >>> (5) Plaster of Paris. >>> >>> Do you "agree" with the bakery that you want Alum in your bread? Do >>> you even know it is there?   In what sense is your consumption of >>> Plaster of Paris an agreed upon transaction if you have no way of >>> knowing it is there? >>> >>> Full of nourishing wheat with extra chalk, you  rent a room in a new >>> building with cheerful bright wallpaper. >>> >>> How much Arsenic is in the room? >>> >>> (1) Trace amounts >>> (2) One pound >>> (3) Two pounds >>> (4) Three pounds >>> (5) Four pounds >>> (6) Five pounds. >>> >>> At what point did you agree to  rent a room infused with 3.7 pounds >>> of Arsenic? For that matter, did your landlord agree to poison his >>> tenants when he bought the wallpaper, or did the manufacturer keep >>> silent on just how much Arsenic was needed for those vivid colours? >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> William Hyde >> >> Needless to say, it is not very good business strategy to poison your >> customers. > > Your conclusion is contradicted by reality.  This strategy worked for > decades, and in other contexts, works now. > > > >  I think that is all I will say about this thought experiment. > > > Aside from the time travel, this all happened.  There was plaster of > Paris in the bread, Arsenic in the wallpaper. > > Nobody asked for this, nobody wanted it, but they got it.  Free market! > > >> If you _really_ would like to seriously explore the why and how, > > Oh, I love that "really".  After "really" ignoring the facts I gave > above, you point me to "excellent books". > > The facts of history directly contradict your claims.  But you prefer > theory. > Correction, he prefers fairy tales. -- I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky dirty old man.