[ExI] Private and government R&D

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 8:05 AM, Stathis Papaioannou<stathisp at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I'm not good, I admit that I'm bad. I don't give to charity, but I
> agree to be taxed, and demand that the *government* use the tax money
> eliminate the need for charity. Actually I don't even quite agree to
> be taxed, since I try to minimise my tax whenever I can. I would
> actually prefer it if everyone else were taxed, but an exception is
> made just for me. That isn't going to happen, so second best is that I
> get taxed along with everyone else.
>
### Stathis, the first step to being good is to admit to yourself you
are bad. You don't care about the poor, as indicated by the facts that
you don't give to charity, the taxes you insist on imposing on others
actually are more frequently used to slaughter poor people rather than
help them, and you know it. Insistence on redistributive taxation as a
means to help the poor is pure hypocrisy (see an excellent post by
Robin at http://www.overcomingbias.com/2009/06/redistribution-isnt-about-sympathy.html
).

Once you get this off your chest, you may be selfish like almost
everyone out there but you are no longer a hypocrite. That is actually
a huge moral advantage. In fact, this means you are a good person!

Now you just need to cogitate on envy and coexistence while eschewing
initiation of violence, and you will become bodhisattva, even if you
never ever give a penny to a beggar.

Rafal