Re: Article: "Tulips of Stone"

Bob Kolker wrote:
I have power over my specific situation. I have none over the
general scene. I concern myself where I can do something.

We all have our personal situations and experiences, and we are all
unconsciously primed by them. But general discussion requires that we
try to "think out of the box" to avoid too much bias due to our
personal experience, and provide a overlap between people of different
experiences. It is difficult, but we should try.

Furthermore, even if I could, I would not forbid buying property on
speculation. The buyer takes the risk. Let the buyer beware. There is
nothing immoral or illegal about speculating in property. It is a form
of gambling. Do you wish to outlaw gambling, even when your money
is not involved?

Most societies made gambling illegal to provide a healthy
environment for the people (people's health first, tax second). There
are a few casinos but they are normally located outside the
metropolitan area. As to the property, the economic system should be
designed such that properly is exchanged/purchased mainly for usage,
not for speculation and profit.

Eventually, the best way to reduce the problem of gambling on
property and commodity as well as the dangerous wealth concentration
is a cap on wealth at the amount of about 100 times average annual
salary. It's about 5 million dollars as of 2007, and can be adjusted
hence-after. It is sufficient for a person to live well for 100 years
even if he doesn't work for another day. In an era of excessive
productions, there is no need to provide additional incentive to
encourage excessive productions.

Creative and altrusitic people like Einstein and Mozart will
support such a system. But it will be opposed by those who are
accustomed to excessive wealth through speculations/gambling (the
noncreative wolves).

Anyone who is not satisfied with a fortune equivalent to 100 times
of annual average salary should be sent off to a small island and live
there happily/sadly ever after.

Any nation that does not join this pact can be driven out of the
WTO and let it be the safe heaven/hell for the greedy (to provide a
dog-eat-dog world that they will love to death).

A new economic system like this can only be installed after a
major depression such as the Great Depression. Without such
catastrophe, there is little chance to break the old system. Before
that happens, we can at least put pressure on governments around the
world to stop piling up debt and use debt monetization to create
equity/housing bubbles. Gambling with property is a bad thing, it
should be reduced at all cost.

.

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