= 27d567bc2d48d9f40e9ccc20ea370b15)
Alsadius comments on Why you should consider buying Bitcoin right now (Jan 2015) if you have high risk tolerance - Less Wrong Discussion
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
= 783df68a0f980790206b9ea87794c5b6)
Loading…= b715d02e85f7b3b4ae65ca3d3e450868)
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Powered by Reddit
= f037147d6e6c911a85753b9abdedda8d)
Comments (136)
Most non-criminals avoid bitcoin too. The ratio is still leaning criminal. You don't tend to see stories of the FBI seizing an appreciable percentage of the USD supply from criminals, you know?
Also, to some extent reality is less relevant than perception here. If the government thinks bitcoin is only used by scruffy anarchists trying to get high, they'll come down on it whether that's true or not.
Actually, if that's what government thinks, it will be content to leave bitcoin alone.
Now, the second someone in the government realizes that bitcoin could be used to avoid taxes...
Remember, the only people who vote are old, which means that the government is selected by people who have a poor grasp of technology and for whom "Won't somebody please think of the children!" is a rallying cry and not a Simpsons quote. Drugs get hammered flat as best they can manage(which isn't well, of course, but they do try).
That said, you raise a valid point too. I've seen the similarity drawn to bearer bonds, which were shut down for similar reasons(and shockingly easily - the government said interest paid on bearer bonds wasn't a deductible expense any more, and they basically disappeared).
I don't think the drug war is driven by the age of the voters. I think it's driven by the desire for power and money.
What percentage of the population wants to legalize heroin? How much of the population gains power and money from its illegality?
(Also, the above post may have been intended with a mild spirit of sarcasm)
You don't understand. It's not the people who want to continue the drug war for power and money. It's the government and its enforcement arms.
You don't happen to think that government lacks agency and just meekly fulfills the desires of the voters, do you? X-D
Government has agency, but only a limited amount. When it comes to things like Congressmen being allowed to insider-trade legally, I'll totally believe that's political agency at work. But implementing popular policies aggressively is just common sense, not a manifestation of political corruption.
I think we have deep disagreements about this :-)