Re:Google's CEO: 'The Laws Are Written by Lobbyists'
by mmaro on Saturday October 02, 2010 @03:06PM
(#1751107)
There's a big difference between being a subject and being owned. Only a really dysfunctional government would act as if they owned their citizens. Some ways to determine whether you're owned: do you-the-asset-itself appear on a balance sheet? Is your tax rate 100%? Might you get sold to a new owner?
Some heuristics to determine China's shareholders: who receives the government's income in cash or cash equivalents? Who decides who belongs in the politburo?
Re:Google's CEO: 'The Laws Are Written by Lobbyists'
by GFischer on Saturday October 02, 2010 @08:09PM
(#1751704)
I don't believe I'm "owned", but I sometimes feel like one of the characters in an Ayn Rand novel(1)
"do you-the-asset-itself appear on a balance sheet? "
Er, yes, on the IRS equivalent (DGI)
"Is your tax rate 100%?"
Nope, about 60% (they don't want me to starve, they just want to relieve me of my "excess" wealth).
About my "owners", why, it's the Government itself, it's about 8% of the working population but about 50% of the population depends indirectly on it, so it has the voting power to perpetuate itself.
(1) I'm not an uncritical Ayn Rand reader, her ideas are too extreme and her characters were almost a parody, but I do agree with some parts
This may be true, but you're also classifying human beings as property with this statement. What happens when 1 billion people realize they're mere puppets of their leaders. Benevolent or not, Man typically rebels against his owner.
I also think the entire comparison of China to a large business is fascinating. A corporations primary duty is to generate wealth for its shareholders. Who are China's shareholders? The typical worker living off $1000 a year, or the far wealthier upper class? Running businesses like a business is great, but I have my doubts on how the strategies translate to running a country.