I had various ideas which I was hoping to incorporate into
some brilliant novel, but the plot itself evaded me. So rather than let these ideas waste away
without a PKD/RAH-influenced novel to enshrine them in, I’d just as soon blurt
them out in a blog instead of reviewing another concert or movie.
Warning: I started
out as a Republican and drifted towards the Libertarians, so keep that in mind.
Vices. For some reason, many people have
successfully convinced the federal and state governments that vices such as sex
(prostitution), gambling, and drugs should be illegal, mainly because “we don’t
like them”. But they can’t stop us
wanting these things, so we have to resort to illicit sources, e.g. organized
crime, to satisfy many of these needs – with a few exceptions. Since 2012, however, states like Colorado
and Washington, among others growing by the year, have astutely recognized
that, at least with regard to marijuana, these vices can not only be managed,
but actually serve as an excellent source of income for the state government.
I say, take it a
step further, and legalize all drugs, prostitution, and gambling. But give the government a monopoly on them,
at Federal Pleasure Centers. The
feds can recruit Class A courtesans, Class B porn actresses, and Class C any
woman or man willing to have sex for money and doesn’t have VD or some other
hangup or problem, and set up brothels.
Essentially Uncle Sam becomes a pimp.
These centers can also serve as casinos, raking in
money from poker, blackjack, roulette, etc.
We already have a form of legalized gambling subsidizing state budgets,
called the lottery. It’s 100% voluntary
and pays out a fraction of what it takes in; in 2016 state lotteries made a
profit of $20 billion. Expand the idea to
more traditional forms of gambling.
Finally, these centers can sell pure and authentic drugs,
mass-produced at low cost, and consumed in facilities monitored with health
care personnel and killer soundtracks or even club spaces to feature live
entertainment. That includes heroin,
meth, LSD, psychedelic mushrooms, marijuana, etc. all rendered less dangerous
by at least being pure and authentic, not cut with anything else. Security are on board to take care of anyone
who decides to get violent or cause problems. The Acid Tests of the mid-60s brought
back again under federal auspices. So
now it’s not just the lottery raising money voluntarily.
Proper Function of Government. At the same time we’re raising money
voluntarily, we can see about reducing the size of government. Cut out corporate subsidies and reduce the
military (GOP indulgences). Nix this
nonsense about social welfare (see below) and redistributing wealth (Democrat
indulgences). Once we cut the fat from
the budget we have a fighting chance of being able to fund the truly legitimate
functions of government by purely voluntary financing.
Roads. This is a tricky business as roads aren’t
about protecting individual rights, so could fall outside the traditional
libertarian functions of government. But
the economists among us recognize them as public goods which incur free rider
problems. The way around this is to fund
roads with gas taxes and tolls, the latter made simpler these days with EZPass,
as we’re no longer chucking coins into baskets at toll plazas. Can the roads be maintained solely with gas
taxes and tolls? I don’t know. Get the CATO accountants to figure it
out. But it’s worth at least nominal
consideration.
Homeless. I thought about this and came up with what I
think MAY be a solution. There are
three types of homeless people. Class A
are the disabled, either physically or mentally, who are legitimately incapable
of being self-supporting in their lifetimes.
No amount of training or therapy will push them high enough to pay their
own way. They will need to be looked
after until they’re no longer living.
Class C are the able-bodied who lost their jobs and had no
savings, but would be ready and willing to work if someone found a job they
could handle – ideally with their existing skill set but retrained if necessary. They have no principled objection to working
and no physical or mental impediment to doing so.
Set up homeless communities – not shelters in the center
of town – which are isolated and secure. Their purpose is to look after Class A’s
indefinitely. They can be staffed by
Class C’s. “Out of sight, out of
mind”? If the homeless are truly being
cared for indefinitely I’d say that’s a moot point, we’ve addressed the
substantive issue of people who cannot support themselves being looked after
and cared for, which is what matters.
Oh, and what I would call Class B – I don’t know how many
there are. They’re the slackers and
“bums”, anyone who is technically Class C but insists on being supported like
Class A’s, or solicits charity pretending to be homeless. If the shelters can successfully accommodate
the Class A’s and C’s as described, we’re no longer concerned about the Class
B’s.
These shelters will not be self-sufficient and
will require some form of subsidy. However, we’ve heard plenty of people claim
to care about the homeless. Leaving
aside the Donald Trumps and other wealthy types intent on holding on to their
money (as they have every right to do, as meanspirited as it may sound), nevertheless
it seems there are also plenty of rich people who at least profess to care
about the less fortunate. I sense they
realize they have more money than they can use in their own lifetimes and
derive some substantial and genuine self-satisfaction and pride in sharing it
and helping their less fortunate comrades.
Add up all the $$ it would take to successfully house all the Class A’s
in our country, present the total amount to a clique of sincere wealthy
philanthropists, and see if they can meet the bill pro rata. For all we know it can be done without a
single penny in taxes.
I have no idea if these are actually practical or doable –
that would a good job for a think tank to determine (e.g. CATO). But the sum total is to provide a support
structure for the truly hopeless, pay for roads without public funding, and
harness our baser instincts in a safe and profitable manner to pay for the
legitimate functions of government WITHOUT TAXES. I’d say that’s worth looking into.
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