When you have too many 'public' servants, they stop serving the public's interest and start serving their own interest. Petty popinjays must defend and expand their empires by creating purpose and funding it so that they can continue with their snout's in the public trough. All you have to do is find a rationale that is hard to attack and you can introduce almost any legislation. "But what about the children" being the classic. We have introduced an extraordinary number of ridiculous rules and regulations which only serve to propagate the industry of enforcement. Speed cameras, building regulations, planning regulations, any number of 'control' measures are thought of in endless and pointless meetings, and promoted because it is 'saving people from themselves' or 'protecting the innocent' or 'punishing the hoons'. Big Brother is comprised of small minded public servant prigs and functionaries that have no concept of what the term liberty means.
Rego doesn't pay for roads and the bulk of your rego is for Compulsory Third Party Insurance. I ask, how many cars have you reported? I'm willing to bet ZERO. I see cars break the rules and endanger others, I see that ALL the time. I've even seen cop cars run red lights. And if you HAVE reported a car I'm willing to bet pennies to the pound that the cops weren't interested in the slightest. And on a different tangent. Bikes save money for the community. It free's up car parks for cars. The health benefits of regular exercise decreases health care costs to the community (unless a car hits them of course), there's a decrease in pollution (noise and exhaust), less demand for raw materials, less demand for fuel (meaning cheaper fuel for others) at the end of the bikes life it doesn't create as much landfill and the bike being cheaper to buy and maintain allows the rider to carry less debt and to put more money into the local community as opposed to the Banks pockets. Hell, maybe motorists should subsidise cyclists? And lastly, I know of five people who have killed pedestrians with their cars. Not a single criminal conviction. We'd probably have single digit road tolls if we all rode bikes, ok double digits. Of course Police and Politicians and CEO's and celebrities could still drive cars. That's the Aussie way
Travel is a RIGHT of citizens. The moment you slap Registration and License on that RIGHT is no more and becomes a PRIVILEGE . There is a BIG difference between Right and Privilege. Today, you need license for just about everything, you can't burb and fart without license. As if the government haven't taken enough rights and freedom of citizens already. And now they wanna take citizens right to ride a push bike!??? The only right New Jersey residence have left is the right to walk with their 2 feet. But who knows maybe they will lose that right too one day. I wouldn't pass anything on this government. Honestly, at the rate of lost of freedom today I can envision you can't walk 2 blocks down the road without coppers stop you as ask "Papers please!..."
at what point of total acquisition of the interventionist governments will the revolution start i wonder. i remember like 8 years ago or so someone pointing out that the effective tax rate is about 72% in australia, third only to i think finland and sweden. when they say 'effective tax rate' think about a bag of potato chips. about 3 bux for a 100 grammer. well, for a start, the retailer is buying them at about 1.50. out of that 1.50 they make off it, probably about .50 is wages. about maybe 0.7 is rent. and out of the remaining 0.3 which goes to the proprietor, whack another 50% out. 30% on the wage, 10% on the rent, and 10% off the top of that right off, so another .15, off the top of my head i'd say that about .70 or so just went to tax. now that 3 dollars you paid, you already sent 30% of that out, so that's already a dollar you had to give away to get that bag of chips, then 70 cents went on the tax for the retailer. then next consider the distributor and manufacturer... so by my off the top of my head calculations already for that 3 dollars of chips the goverment can clap 1.70, and the manufacturer probably nearly another .70 on that which leads us to 2.4 which is probably teetering on 84% i'm sure someone with more accountant juju can give me some more accurate numbers but i doubt i'm far off the mark. that 72% number i remember reading was, i'm pretty sure, published before the introduction of GST. how far do you think they can go in taking money out of the economy and, of course, mainly consuming it, or effectively consuming it in unprofitable ventures, before we get to a situation like tunisia where the impact on the price of food and shelter rising due to government dabbling exceeds the average wage? i personally think that what we are seeing right now is precisely that in the process of happening. in my calculations above i forgot to mention inflation. and i forgot to add in the taxes that the potato farmer paid as well. it'd be quite cool to see someone actually go and talk to all the various parties involved in making a bag of chips and explain where every component of the final cost comes from. in a theoretical economy in equilibrium (evenly rotating economy) there is no profits, everything in a price on the market comes originally from a cost of production. only those who are seizing a new opportunity that sucks up demand from other established lines of production and sales make real profits. of course such a expose is going to be kinda complicated, cos you gotta remember that every business that proceses a product may well have varying rates of cost-absorption on products, for example a top selling product may be priced higher to absorb the losses from the other products they sell as loss leaders. anyhoo. i was just, really, musing on the topic of just how much money the governments suck out of the economy. i am in the process of reading chapter 37 and 38 of 'Human Action' by mises and he's talking about, at the point i was just last reading, how interventionist governments (which is what they all are at this current time) must by their nature eventually raise their cost on the market to 100% and become bankrupt and cause revolutions, obviously it's gonna be somewhere between 80% and 100% because economies run just fine up to 80% effective tax rate, albeit increasingly stultified and inflexible. at some point after that it becomes impossible to do business and the revenue rate curve crosses the tax rate curve and ignite the fuel of popular frustration.
Yes I did report a drunk driver, lights off all over the road doing about 20 in a 70 zone, drifting into on oncoming traffic. You guessed it, cops didn't give a stuff.
Being in control of two and a half tons of steel as it hurtles down the road at 110 km/h is a privilege that plenty of people prove themselves unworthy of on a depressingly frequent basis. Licensing doesn't affect your right to travel, it only demonstrates your ability to safely operate the vehicle you're traveling in. But yeah, licensing bicycle riders perhaps taking things a bit far.
As I said before, Gerald talks about this regularly : [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p7_s97ZbEU[/youtube] Note Trend 3 baby... TREND 3!!!
maybe you would support licensing of that 1.5 or so kg of grey matter between the ears of your average human which has the capacity in some cases to build atomic bombs.
It is in a sense. Licensing doesn't affect your right to travel, ONLY AFTER you already got the license. Licensing means you cannot do what you want to do without Authorization from higher up. Licensing in it's very nature is "to restrict", that is by definition is already effecting your right. Being licensed means you are privileged to do (whatever...), your right to do, only go as far as your "Authorization" go, the moment that privilege (license) taken away your right disappear. That is not a right at all. Licensing solely to demonstrate your ability to drive is akin to College diploma demonstrating that you are competent in your area of study. I understand your position in driving license, it make sense to have license to operate more complicated vehicle such as cars or airplanes, especially if you are taking passengers. As much as you need license to be a pilot or electricians. But having license to ride a push bike is just too much. How many people died from Bike attack??? How complicated is it to ride a push bike needing to get a license for??? How many push bikes are on the street? You can argue there are dangerous cyclists as much as I can argue there are dangerous pedestrians that will mug you or kill you on the street.
the way you see some people drive you might wonder whether this license really means anything... the fancy special licenses granted to cops and soldiers to handle automatic weapons have no effect on incidents of the misuse of weapons... why do people think that government authority grants some kind of special credibility and trustworthiness? i regard einstein as a great mind of theoretical physics, because he proved his capacity in this through his achievements. what does a government do except grant meaningless licenses, take your money by force, and kill people in your name and steal in your name, where does such an organisation get credibility from? 'political power grows out of the power of the gun' - mao tse tung perhaps you might suggest that government is just a violent gang of pompous, self important thugs?
What about a licence to have kids? That's more important than driving a car or fishing! Yeah yeah I know, not pratical, human rites etc....
don't worry, they are working on that... when you look at the history of it, a system of subservient slaves and privileged elites cannot exist with the population levels we have now. in fact the whole 'industrial revolution' a perjorative invented by marxist and elitists to make this entirely peaceful event that actually solved the problem of growing population enabled by technology but disabled by social regulation (serfdom, guild laws, etc) seem negative. before you start pointing fingers at the low grade bogans i'm sure you are referring to when talking about these low grade people, i should point out that though they produce 2-3x as many children typically as the rest of us, their lifespans are also about 1/2 to 1/3 of ours... and they would not present a serious social problem if they weren't given out free money by the government who stole that money from the more economically capable middle classes, they wouldn't be able to afford to buy and run cars in any significant numbers.
The bike is one of the best investments you can make. I have saved literally thousands. It is truly a freedom machine and probably the last in common use that isn't taxed to hell (except for the helmet laws, which are ridiculous). It is so easy to get your money back on a bike and from there on it's pure profit (and it benefits your body, too). If you're lazy like me, and wouldn't dream of being bored and unmotivated hitting the gym, and a bike is the best. That's why it's very depressing to read that article. It's bad enough we have helmet laws which are quite frankly ridiculous nanny-state policies that have the effect of limiting our freedoms and have proven to not reduce head injuries and have resulted in far less cyclists on the roads. As for road behaviour, I can say it goes both ways. Majority on both sides are good, but there's always that minority. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone yelled something from their cars as they drove past (for no good reason). Restricting the freedom of bike-riders is very bad news. Much like gun owners and innocent knife-carrying people of this country. Do you see where this is heading?
Just waiting for the Govt to impose a "water catchment" Levey for all those landholders who took the Govt's handout to buy water tanks, plus making it illegal to build a new house without water tanks in Brisbane so they can catch more fish in the same net & yes they already have it planned out just waiting for the "right" time to implement it. I tried to put a water tank up 25 yrs ago & was told no by the Brisbane council, they said it was due to the inability to stop mosquitoes, rats & viruses from bird dropping on the roof getting into the tank water. What a crock.
Yes, as if the regular, dull boring bureaucrats weren't bad enough - then there's the germophobes that make a career out of everyone else's food and water safety. Like I could give a sh!t if some wowser is a bit squeamish about the various uses for raw milk or how many birds have crapped on the roof of the house with its own water tank. But these same morons will happily pour fluoride into the water supply that is used for everything from direct human consumption and industrial food production to flushing my toilet. Funnily enough, the last of those is the only thing I find that contaminated water fit for. Filtered tank water is far preferable to the reckless chemistry experiment that comes out of most people's taps...
i have an RO setup under my kitchen sink, and i refuse to drink any significant quantity of anything except beer (which sadly is made with that filthy fluoridated water) that is made with regular water ... maybe it's time i got brewing again... wait i can think of better fun things to make with water it's time we threw those bums out. i advocate every type of peaceful anti-state action at any moment anyone gives me the opportunity. and btw, i am suffering from many of the symptoms clearly caused skeletal fluorosis level toxicity. i think also bromine has played a part, as has... oh, how could i forget.... hypochlorite and chlorine gas in tap water is even worse in its' legal levels and it is also carcinogenic and causes endocrine malfunction. my hate for these slimebags who let things like this be done is in my bones. yes, it's that fluoride they pushed into it. it's coming to rescind your right to your ill gotten wealth.
Source unknown but highly appropriate folksong - Tax his land, tax his wage, Tax his bed in which he lays. Tax his tractor, tax his mule, Teach him taxes is the rule. Tax his cow, tax his goat, Tax his pants, tax his coat. Tax his ties, tax his shirts, Tax his work, tax his dirt. Tax his chew, tax his smoke, Teach him taxes are no joke. Tax his car, tax his grass, Tax the roads he must pass. Tax his food, tax his drink, Tax him if he tries to think. Tax his sodas, tax his beers, If he cries, tax his tears. Tax his bills, tax his gas, Tax his notes, tax his cash. Tax him good and let him know That after taxes, he has no dough. If he hollers, tax him more, Tax him until he's good and sore. Tax his coffin, tax his grave, Tax the sod in which he lays. Put these words upon his tomb, "Taxes drove me to my doom!" And when he's gone, we won't relax, We'll still be after the inheritance tax.
TaxMan by George Harrison Let me tell you how it will be There's one for you, nineteen for me 'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman Should five per cent appear too small Be thankful I don't take it all 'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman If you drive a car, I'll tax the street, If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat. If you get too cold I'll tax the heat, If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet. Don't ask me what I want it for If you don't want to pay some more 'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman Now my advice for those who die Declare the pennies on your eyes 'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman And you're working for no one but me......
George was complaining about the taxman taking nineteen shillings and sixpence of every pound the Beatles earned - hence the flight of so many British musicians to the south of France and their tax laws. I like the Kinks version of the taxman - a bit of reality in the overpaid world of rock superstars:
