I get bitter sometimes.
I look around, follow mostly politics and economic consequenses. Since the politics I follow is democratic, I see millions denying reality, trying to eat their pie and still have it, support states that murder and steal and when there are bad consequences blame anybody (mostly productive entrepeneurs) but themselves and I loathe these people.
I dont want to be any good to them but that is simply impossible.
I am an entrepeneur, and after a few failed attempts I had a very productive 5 years and made around 10 million dollars.
Since I loathe the state and the people who support the state, I dont want to be productive anymore.
Why would I try to make more money? There is a limit to the amount of money that one can spent. If I made a billion dollars, I am not going to be able to spend it but I will create wealth for the state to directly steal and help the majority of the people that support the state by creating jobs and products.
That 10 million is enough for me for a life time and it is even enough for my kids. At least for education expenses, since I dont believe they have right to inherit anything. Let them do what they want.
So I kinda stopped, retired at the age of 35. I am trying to hold back my ambitous instincts.
But I cant help, helping out the parasites and their criminal organisation called the state because I have that 10 mil.
I wont use it as capital for myself but if I keep it in a bank, someone else will use it and fall victim to these parasites.
If I buy stocks, I will still be financing companies that give most of the profits to the state essentially work for it.
Buying government bonds is of course out of the question.
If I buy commodities, that will serve as speculation helping markets adjust prices and production.
If I hoard the money, if even I burn the money, it will help the others holding the money since it will be a deflation of the money supply and it will raise the purchasing power of the remaining money even if it is by a small amount.
At this point I have no option but indirectly help the system and the parasites that live off it.
I wish I was a socialist.
Then I either wouldnt loathe these millions, or even if I loathed them I would be dellusional enough to believe I was exploiting my workers and reap the benefits only for myself at the expense of the other, when I produce.
Life would be much easier.
Why not look into counter economics?
ktibuk:Since I loathe the state and the people who support the state, I dont want to be productive anymore.
I had a similiar problem. I had to find something to fight for. Something that made me feel like I could make a difference.
Maybe I can, maybe I can't. But I will try.
If you find something evil that wobbles, push it. - Gary North
I agree with what banned said. If you want to do productive work but avoid supporting the State, try counter-economics or agorism.
If you take into account the likelihood of an inflationary collapse of the dollar, then a hoard of $10M won't last as long as you think. As you pointed out, there's no safe way for you to invest your savings. I'd buy a decent chunk of gold, a few ounces per month, and bury it somewhere.
Buying a chunk of land and practicing organic farming isn't such a bad idea for surviving a SHTF scenario. However, if you own land, you have to pay property taxes. You can't buy full allodial title to land. Even if you have a self-sufficient farm, you still need to raise money to pay income taxes and property taxes.
I have my own blog at FSK's Guide to Reality. Let me know if you like it.
ktibuk: Since I loathe the state and the people who support the state, I dont want to be productive anymore. Why would I try to make more money? There is a limit to the amount of money that one can spent. If I made a billion dollars, I am not going to be able to spend it but I will create wealth for the state to directly steal and help the majority of the people that support the state by creating jobs and products.
Indeed, that the more productive you are the more the state will take from you is not exactly enticing, but consider the alternative: less productivity from you means fewer trade opportunities, which means heightened consumer dissatisfaction, which leads to them demanding more from the state. Hellooooooooooo Death Tax!
Quite a conundrum.
Anyway, as tempting as it can be, I'm pretty sure that denying reality will not make life easier.
Diminishing Marginal Utility - IT'S THE LAW!
ktibuk: At this point I have no option but indirectly help the system and the parasites that live off it.
Damn, you beat me to it.
-Jon
To darkness I condemn you...
You could buy a private island and open up a tax heaven for others like you. Or you could invest in Somalia, and if you want to take risks with your capital, try to start a civilized arbitration unit or PDA down there to show the benefits of anarchy. Best option I see to hurt the State without helping it at the same time. Or donate it to LvMI. Specifically the people that answered this post.
I don't know your views on anarchy, but you could try to start a new society similar to the idea of Maxliberty's Liberty Colony.
Democracy is nothing more than replacing bullets with ballots
If Pro is the opposite of Con. What is the opposite of Progress?
Andrew:Specifically the people that answered this post.
Before you can change the world, you must make peace with your place in it. You should read the wise words of Harry Browne.
Microsecession as a strategy for revolution | Challenge to minarchist | How would a private road system work?
Invest in my business. I plan on evading all taxes it is subject to, (including even registering with the NY dept of state division of corporations, which I haven't done and never will).
"Every civilization depends on the quality of individuals it produces. If you over-organize humans, over-legalize them, suppress their urge to greatness-they cannot work and their civilization collapses." -Frank Herbert, from Children of Dune
Why not create a place for productive people where others won't steal from them?
Why not build a seastead?
"I cannot prove, but am prepared to affirm, that if you take care of clarity in reasoning, most good causes will take care of themselves, while some bad ones are taken care of as a matter of course." -Anthony de Jasay
If you want my opinion, you could sponsor universities willing to teach Austrian Economics. Or specifically approach those that currently do not, and offer them a sponsorship if they start teaching it. That would be an excellent way of bringing people back to reality, breaking the flow of indoctrination at the uni level :)
If you try to trick the market, it will get its revenge.
Solreyus
Fred Furash: If you want my opinion, you could sponsor universities willing to teach Austrian Economics. Or specifically approach those that currently do not, and offer them a sponsorship if they start teaching it. That would be an excellent way of bringing people back to reality, breaking the flow of indoctrination at the uni level :)
Even better, start up a commune in Mexico or Costa Rica (somewhere with nice beaches) and sponsor all us to learn Austrian Economics.
It would be like an extended Mises Circle.
That's a Liberty Colony concept I would get behind 100%...
This is something I have thought about. You could do a lot of damage in say. India with $5 million in grants to place Austrians in Universities.
Although I think the OP was more focused on a crisis of conscience than how necessarily to spend/dispose of the money, some of these ideas aren't too bad.
Then you would do good for the same people, by emplying the the same choices I mentioned above, and thus I would be doing good indirectly.
Even if I buy land, not to sell, and retreat I would be doing good to the rest of the land owners by decreasing the supply of land that is for sale.
I dont really know exactly what counter economics means but if I guess correctly it is economics off the books of the government.
I live in Turkey and here nearly half of the whole economy is off the books so state can not regulate and tax half of the business.
But there still are problems.
Black market is only feasible for small business. When you grow you have to get on the books of the government. You get the spor light and you need to get lines of credit with banks, etc. And in business if you stop you fall. You need to strive for more profits, or you go bankrupt.
Also there are other ways to tax. Since in Turkey there is no individual income tax and half of the business are off the books, consumption is heavily taxed. Here taxes for cars are more than 100%. Gas costs more than 9 dollars a gallon, and there is almost a 80% tax on cell phone bills. The government always finds ways to tax people one way or the other.
Still although fascistic in nature I prefer living here than in the US or Canada because the state is relatively weak. The criminal organization here is more personal than orgnisational. If you know the right people in the right places, and if the media doesnt pick up on you you can get away with anything.
I know that my ultimate sollution is to live in a society of free and productive people, somewhere without a state, but that is impossible for now.
All these seasteading or buying an island are too risky endevours.
There are always states around that will seek jurisdiction on your land and even use violance against you.
One guy tried to fill coral reefs in the south pacific ocean and declared independence and neighbouring island state invaded it. I forgot the name of the project but I am sure someone here would remember it.
Once it is started I am sure that free society would excel even in the middle of the dessert but the hard part is getting it started and with so many libertarians much richer than me couldnt even start yet.
Maybe in the future with the help of better technology.
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