Martin Armstrong, the well-known and somewhat infamous theorist of economic cycles, just published a blog post with this title, Will Society Ever Wake Up? Here are some choice excerpts: This subject had been on my mind as well since having to deal with a couple of victimless traffic fines recently, for completely reasonable behaviour. I was left wondering, to what degree is one born as a slave to the state? To what degree is one obliged to be bound by the arbitrary and ever changeable dictates of a ruling clique of politicians and bureaucrats whose financial appetite is insatiable? Does the state really have a claim over one's possessions for which it can enact arbitrary laws to give justification to taking? Increasingly it is obvious that it is the power of might which gives government arbitrary authority over individuals rather than any moral authority. When every single individual in a population is terrorised by the enforcement of arbitrary laws constructed to justify the theft of private property, and I know of no one who has not been fined, does that not make the laws themselves anti-social and unjust by definition? I often drive along a main road in Melbourne where the speed changes from 70km/hr, a very reasonable speed for the conditions, to 40km/hr and where speed cameras have just been erected. Needless to say, with every change of traffic light that I have seen since the installation of the speed cameras, the unwary, momentarily distracted and uninformed are "caught" driving over the current nominal speed limit. Will society ever wake up and say, "that's enough of the big government with their totalitarian controls and unrelenting demands on private property?" Or has the population become captured by a dependence on government that exposes the moral hazard of giving up individual sovereignty and initiative, destroying our economic potential as Armstrong suggests? I think, just looking at the lecherous and increasing dependence of governments on fine revenues in Australia clearly identifies that Australia is trapped in an unholy interdependence. A spiral of diminishing returns where the population is dependent on the government to sustain it, losing its entrepreneurial initiative and economic potential in the process, resulting in a dwindling indigenous corporate tax base that forces governments into increasing reliance upon and enforcement over the population to fund itself. Is the only option to break this cycle of governments creating increasing totalitarian controls that persecute and fine the population at large, to quote Armstrong, a reboot? Unfortunately, the population is too hopelessly cowered by over-bearing enforcement and restricted in temporal freedom, due to historically high debt servicing commitments, to resist such laws. Clearly there is no incentive for government to limit its own power to claim private property, in fact they infinitely justify increased powers, so they can never be expected to turn back the rising totalitarianism themselves. With a population that is increasingly time and resource poor and with a political process that requires ever increasing wealth and power extracted from the population, what hope is there if not a "reboot" after some dystopian end game plays out? I think there is only one hope to turn things around within the current system and that comes from independent politicians, who are not dependent on politics for their career or wage, and whose philanthropic dividend back to society is to fight for its freedom and resist the totalitarian inclinations of career politicians.
In short, in reference to speeding fines. They are revenue. In Vic @ least, this revenue is "expected" to come in in order to pay for their many projects. Nothing more than legal theft of course. Speed zones are there to trap motorists as was in Sherwood Forest. Trap the unweary who otherwise would enjoy their trip to wherever.....Nazi state? Of course not hehe....Wjat of the exorbitant toll fees in Vic? Compare to Qld! Outta make your blood boil. Oh & don't not pay the toll on time or you'll really feel the hip pocket pain.....
I still find it amazing that they can suspend your drivers license for not paying a train fare infringement. It is all a sign of infinite growth grinding to a holt. We will go through a transitional period in the next decade or so. Perhaps with war involved.
It depend on how you define a reboot. Using the computer analogy you can have a soft reboot or a hard reboot which is turning off the power. What does a reboot mean to you (or Armstrong)? Economic correction? Recession? Depression? War? Back to the cavemen days and start again? I think there isn't much doubt amongst those who are aware that Australia is on an economically unsustainable path. That something is going to have to happen at some point. My personal view is that the only realistic thing is to talk about it with as many people as possible. The more aware people you have the better off you will be. Thinking we can get to 100% or even more than 50% is probably completely unrealistic though. In saying all that I think this is an exponential process. I have seen great growth in libertarian ideas in the time I have been involved. It's still a small percentage of the overall population but it is global and rising. It is the force of history, albeit a 2 steps forward 1 step backward process and I have great hope for the long-term future if not for the short-medium term.
I think if an independants policies included banning speed/red light cameras & the plethora of civil liberties being taken away im sure they would gain traction pretty quick . Just for the fact the idiot do gooders who think they are a safety measure would start bleating like stuck pigs & the media would be all over it .. Ok whos going to run as the independant ? Theres a few thousand voters here just on the site
Armstrong talks about collapsing into a "dark age", similar I presume to that period after the collapse of the Roman Empire. I guess "reboot" in this context could be summarised as a discontinuity of the operating system of hierarchical governance. Or as it has been colloquially termed, when the SHTF. I think the idea of a reboot is a very good metaphor, with the commencement of an operating system delayed by the time taken to load it into system memory again. Speaking to people is all well and good, but it does not get things done. It just provides a sense of accomplishment in communication. Change is effected by those who take action, epitomised by the quote: So as important and beneficial as discussion of concepts is to the spread of ideas, it is worth absolutely nothing without someone taking action to precipitate change. Even if the initial action is just the last snow flake that starts the avalanche of a whole movement of change, or the demolition of skyscrapers to plunge the world into war, change will never occur without that precipitating action. Speed cameras and associated highway robbery are a very interesting case, because everyone detests being fined and it would not take much of a spark to set ablaze a movement against them. In fact, with every new camera and every issued ticket, the weight and latent energy of the counter-reaction against them is increased.
The difference between a "dark age" and well, not a dark age can be more relative than anything else. For example, I think that when future historians look back on the 20th century it will be seen as a dark age. The 20th century marked the rise of governments, two horrific world wars (and a lot of other wars) , massive levels of genocide, recessions and one huge depression, virtually unlimited propaganda and lies, the rise of the banking elite, public schooling indoctrination (which began at the end of the 19th century), etc. For all that most people will say they didn't have it that bad and that is very much true. Now the primary reason this dark age came about, I think, was to do with a change in the information medium. When the enlightenment came about it was driven very much by people's increased access to information through books and newspapers. As the 20th century this began to change to radio first and then TV. The ability for people to communicate in these ways was limited and the government was more easily able to propagate it's lies and propaganda. And that's been the story for much of the 20th century. Then, right at the end, we get the internet. Now information flows freer than ever. Just think of yourself personally and how much you have been exposed to, how much you have learnt via the internet. For me it's incredible. I wouldn't have known a fraction of the stuff I know now without it. This information is not transmitted over TV or radio or even in the newspapers. Even when there was valuable information that you get that way, there was a limited ability to discuss it with others and put it in a larger context. Govt truly dominated society's information. But now all those walls have been broken down and you can get access to virtually anything. I argue that we are at the beginning of a new age of enlightenment, a second renaissance if you will. Does that mean it's all smooth sailing? No. When it is looked back at in the history books, people may say the 21st century was the beginning of a new age. Well, that's all well and good but for us on the ground that is 100 years. More than most of us will live. Bumps that are quite rough to us will look a lot smoother when reading about it in a history book. And they will focus on the positive end result more than the bad stuff. And that's what is happening right now. We are in a period of turmoil which marks a transition from a dark age to an age of enlightenment. It can be a time of great pain but is also a time of great opportunity. As for not doing anything, people are doing things. They are writing books and articles, they are creating videos and documentaries, they are devising new means of exchange (Bitcoin) and infrastructure which surrounds it and other things. Things are being done. A lot is under the surface of the mainstream but it's happening. Personally I think we need to keep pushing in this direction. I don't think political action is completely worthless and would not say to people that I don't think they should do it, but to me personally the ROI isn't worth it.
The tipping point is when people have nothing, or nowhere near as much to lose. If you stand up and make a song and dance about how the system is broken and how the people need to overturn the government, they'll find a law to shut you up or discredit you publicly. You can lose your assets, lose your credibility, lose your physical freedom (gaol), lose your ability to have a job and so on. If the price you have to pay in order to NOT say anything and stand in line like a good boy is extremely high, there's a lot more motivation to act, as the act of not doing anything itself is only slightly less painful than acting and having the book thrown at you. Like hawkeye said, the ROI isn't there for me to personally "make a change". My silent protest begins with a lack of voting. Others act on it in another way, lol: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...768084173?nk=6f4137c18093dde2d093d9fcab0aa63b
You dont have to pay it. Been born didnt sign you into a contract of obligation, 'The State' relies on our compliance, Income Tax, Car Rego and licensing is all vouluntary... Look it up !! A well written letter can get you out of any fine!!
I hear the noise & yes, even in the US, income tax is basically illegal expectation. Try getting away with not paying though. In Aus, try driving without a license & when caught, just send the court a letter. As matter of fact. I'm off to court Sept to explain that I never received my friggin renewal notice due to VicRoads never sending it (found this out after I was caught) What a blatant waste of time & inconvenience for me & the courts. Luv the laws here lol.....
The entire problem with all this is that Judges are employees of the state. Their income relies on the state being able to take money. Try going to court and I think most, if not all, would summarily dismiss you and tell you to pay or go to jail
