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| Economy |
| Forget China, 'System D' Is World's Second Largest Economy (Infographic) |
| 2012-01-23 |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #4 The black market is, in effect, the Laffer Curve for people who are not wealthy. For the wealthy, once taxation becomes intolerable, tax revenues go down, because they change their means of income and investments to either less taxes or untaxed sources. For the not wealthy, who cannot change either their source of income, or their investments and purchases, once taxes are raised, they can only be avoided (legal) or evaded (illegal). One example is cigarettes. When taxes were raised, not for revenue, but to discourage the use of cigarettes, the first response of many was to buy untaxed cigarettes on Indian Reservations, which is legal, thus avoiding both the taxes and the government social engineering behind them. Then when efforts were made by some to choke off this supply, there was no other option but to buy black market cigarettes. The critical lesson in all of this is not just about taxation, however. It is about government control. When government creates means of control that are seen as oppressive or unfair, or are done for other "illegitimate" reasons, the natural response is to defy the government. So, in being oppressive, the government is not only trying to defy market forces, but human nature, which between the two will creatively win the struggle. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2012-01-23 17:53 |
| #3 "It's the crapaud for me, and no more System D, I was Drunk and Assaultin' the Guard!" |
| Posted by: mojo 2012-01-23 15:41 |
| #2 Not a surprise to me. The unslaved economy is bound to grow faster than the one infected with the extortion parasite of marxism. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2012-01-23 15:39 |
| #1 the second largest is the worlds "real" economy and will only continue to grow until Governments and their monetary policies are irrelevent. |
| Posted by: 746 2012-01-23 14:01 |