<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>John Clark via extropy-chat<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] Summer weather and COVID-19<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>On Sun, May 24, 2020 at 11:08 AM Bill Hibbard via extropy-chat <<a href="mailto:extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><p class=MsoNormal>Spike Jones wrote:<br>><span class=gmaildefault><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>></span></span> Counterproposal: government workers have a base salary. If the<span class=gmaildefault><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> </span></span>fed takes in less money than necessary to pay everyone, then<span class=gmaildefault><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> </span></span>the salaries are reduced by that fraction.<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><p class=MsoNormal><br><span class=gmaildefault><i><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>> </span></i></span><i>That is sort of how the WI state retirement system works.</i><o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>>…Sometimes state governments have no choice but to do things like that because unlike the federal government they don't have the superpower to create money from nothing.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> John K Clark</span><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>This is exactly why I argue that most of the heavy lifting in government should be done at the state level. It reduces the temptation of the Federal Reserve to dilute the currency, which would ruin the most vulnerable among us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>State governments have way more tax options than the Fed. They can tax real estate, they can tax fuel, they can tax sales, and they can tax income. California does all these, and they are free to raise those taxes as high as they want, and California does. The Fed only has income tax, only income.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></blockquote></div></div></div></body></html>