08-15-2008, 10:40 AM | #571 | |
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I am sometimes reminded of something I once hard on a public radio broadcast. They said that of all "functional adults" (this does not include children, mentally incompetent, sick, extreme elderly, etc.) that 50% could not even take care of themselves. Of the remaining 50%, 30% could only take care of themselves. The remaining 20% were carrying society. I initially thought this was a very harsh and pessimistic statement. But then I began thinking of people I knew and ultimately concluded that it was rather optimistic. What I'm getting to is that the 20% carrying society are the only ones who can be expected to support the "Arts". I realize that as my financial abilities have increased, I have become more supportive of the Arts, even those that I find little to appreciate because I now understand what I did no as a younger person, everyone sees art differently. Maybe sometimes we just need to set a good example and wait for others to gain both wealth and appreciation. |
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08-15-2008, 11:53 AM | #572 | |
fruminous edugeek
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I'd agree that only 20% are carrying society... if that. Everyone else is dodging whatever they can. At least in the US. |
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08-15-2008, 02:38 PM | #573 | |
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I don't see how this means that he didn't get paid for writing? BOb |
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08-15-2008, 04:25 PM | #574 | |
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08-15-2008, 04:36 PM | #575 | |
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Look at the number of "street people". Are they taking care of themselves. If you're only talking basic survival, then yes, but otherwise the answer is no. Look at the number of people who are now having their home foreclosed on. Many, but certainly not all, are there due to being overextended in their personal debts. Can we honestly say they are able to take care of themselves. Is you artist/writer friend who has declared bankruptcy able to take care of himself. As Bob pointed out he could have had health insurance had he planned properly. (And I am not trying to offend you are your friend who may have planned well - I don't know.) But there are many people who are in financial trouble just because they were not able to plan properly for bad possibilities and probably many more who also have not planned well but have just been lucky. |
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08-15-2008, 04:43 PM | #576 | |
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That's less than alot of people pay for their Cell phone or cable TV. And that is high considering it is Blue Cross. No one with a decent income should leave themselves open to going broke due to a serious illness. BOb |
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08-15-2008, 04:54 PM | #577 | |
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08-15-2008, 04:59 PM | #578 |
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I don't know, Slayda... if we exclude from the "able to take care of themselves" category anyone who hasn't managed to "plan properly" (perfectly) or been very lucky, I think the percentage of the population who would qualify is even lower than 20%.
It's apparent that you and I disagree on how things like health coverage should be provided, and I think we've wandered pretty far afield of questions of ebook "piracy" and IP ownership or compensation. So I'm going to drop out of the conversation, and you (or anyone else) who wants to have the last word is welcome to do so. |
08-15-2008, 05:25 PM | #579 |
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last word.
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08-15-2008, 07:20 PM | #580 | ||
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Not to worry. It seems to be a recurring theme on the forums. |
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08-16-2008, 04:56 AM | #581 |
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This is AFAIS not a specific trait of forums, but of human discussion in general. Its only because forums always make it more appereant what the topic "should" be, people get the idea its a trait of forums. ...
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08-17-2008, 11:25 AM | #582 |
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"Torrent hoarding"--maybe I'm just old but I've not heard that expression before. Does it mean downloading stuff off BT and then never even looking at it? 30 years ago, in the CP/M era, I knew a guy who would pirate every 8" floppy disk any of his friends had, and then just keep them in a box. I doubt he ever even ran most of it. Same psychology, I'd guess.
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08-17-2008, 02:38 PM | #583 |
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I'm wondering if "taking care of yourself" was defined as contributing more to the tax base than the cost of the services you consume. If that's the case then, I would wonder what time scale they're using. If they look at a person in a year that they have children in school or after they retire, then most are not a net gain. They may have many other years where they are putting a lot more in. There is also the difference between the value their productivity adds to society and their actual salary and tax payments.
As for the author and his health care, if his coverage has ever lapsed and he had a pre-existing condition, he may have healthcare but no coverage for that condition. I had a friend who was recently diagnosed with a heart issue. Her coverage had lapsed for a few months a year before. She's rather overweight. Her insurance company denied coverage for the heart issue because her weight was pre-existing. They will go to great lengths to avoid taking care of you. It may not be so simple as him not bothering to get insurance. |
08-19-2008, 07:14 PM | #584 | |
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I often buy large quantities of consumer goods that are regularly "improved", but where the current version meets certain requirements that the vast majority of such products do not, such as comfortable shoes or the special hats and sumglasses I need to function in normal lighting situations. Such "hoarding" behavoiur is based on past experience or on expectations (sometimes irrational). So this would imply that many downloaders fully expect the files to be removed or blocked at any time. Probably with good reason. |
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08-19-2008, 08:07 PM | #585 |
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I don't think that's it, actually. I assume that when you buy several pairs of those comfortable shoes you make a rational calculation taking into account your projected life expectancy and don't buy enough to keep you shod until 3100 (if the Singularity hits you can keep yourself happy with digital copies until the heat death of the universe). Judging from the sizes of the torrents, the "torrent hoarder" mentality seems to be one of raw collection, gathering more books than the hoarder could ever possibly read in the next hundred years.
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