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A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

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Re: A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

#331

Post by tills13 »

mikem170 wrote: post #293
tills13 wrote: post #216

He's not living off _his_ money. He's living off my money -- literally, being a tax-payer in Victoria. Additionally, he's actively using resources designed to help people who are in situations where they cannot work or cannot find stable income. What a jerk.

Are you sure he's asking for any of your tax money? I didn't notice in the article any mention of him collecting benefits. He dumpster dives for food if nothing else. People give him some things, of their own free will. And don't forget about all the rich people that your tax monies subsidize [0]. Those are people who have money, and are being given more from your taxes. How much different is this guy than those rich…

The article mentions he gets his coffee from a local food kitchen.

> And don't forget about all the rich people that your tax monies subsidize

This is What-about-ism.

I can be upset about both.

Re: A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

#333

Post by mikem170 »

kalenx wrote: post #326
mikem170 wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like I said, the original post I replied to seemed to say they couldn't imagine the dishes getting done without money: "He wants everyone to suddenly stop using money. If that happened, who would wash the dishes?" I'm fairly certain the Iroquois didn't need to trade wampum with other bands to get the dishes washed? Just like you said you don't need to pay someone in your family to do the dishes, families (and friends…

I think scale is the key here. You can do that within a family, you might do that within a village, perhaps in some perfect circumstances you will be able to do that within a group of a few 1000's people, but never at the scale of our societies. It's not about the type of society or people, it really has to do with the number. You'll have a much harder time convincing someone to work for someone else he doesn't know…

Agreed. I never said that no-money would work at the scale our modern society is used to working at. I brought up the idea that smaller scale societies have functioned without money, though.

My thinking is that lack of money wouldn't stop the dishes from being washed, but would stop bigger projects.

Re: A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

#334

Post by dr-detroit »

saltdoo wrote: post #142
an_opabinia wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We could probably 10x the number of “handouts” as you call them, at least in the US, and nothing would change. We’ve auditioned it already: $4T in stimulus, the $600/wk employment checks, etc. What negative negative impact really did that have on an average person’s day to day life? “Handouts” made pay rise for the first time in decades. Even the landlords. I don’t know any landlords who are on the street because of…

Rising inflation says otherwise. Worst effects may be yet to come.

the great trump recession + a very weak republican government getting owned by OPEC flooding the markets caused the inflation

Re: A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

#335

Post by Chris2048 »

Retric wrote: post #240
Chris2048 wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What moral standpoint does Disneyland represent? You've far from proved the net harm of Disneyland, but what has that got to do with homelessness in BC? > It’s a demonstration that taking part in the economy is not inherently superior sure, but this is a straw-man. The proposition isn't that participating in the economy is automatically of greater value, it's that not participating (other than to leech off it) produc…

> What moral standpoint does Disneyland represent? The GP listed doing anything productive as a moral stance, Disneyland is therefore part of that anything. > net harm of Disneyland Promoting millions to take longer trips and regularly visit the middle of Florida directly causes travel related pollution. Simply developing that land is harmful to the local ecosystems. Producing all the merchandising is similarly an is…

> anything productive as a moral stance

If Disneyland is harmful, it isn't productive

> rest of the economy

which this guy is also dependent on

Re: A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

#336

Post by [deleted] »

helsinkiandrew wrote: post #74

I’m not sure living in the city off handouts, charity, and free tax payer provided facilities exactly promotes his no money philosophy. His life relies on the things he despises, if the economic collapse he predicts comes he will be among the first to starve to death. Go into the wild and grow/hunt food or trade some skill - the post money society doesn’t need philosopher poets scavenging cigarettes from trash cans

[deleted]

Re: A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

#338

Post by [deleted] »

LightBearer wrote: post #323
noduerme wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard the nobility of homelessness and joblessness expressed as an ethos countless times by people who wouldn't care for the work of living off-grid. I happen to work in a town with some of the highest taxes in the country that's also one of the most attractive places for indigent campers. The park across from where I live has become a tent city. I get the pleasure of paying for its "upkeep" while also having to…

You sound mad that this fellow has found a way to not contribute to the society you think everyone should. Jealous?

[deleted]

Re: A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

#339

Post by noduerme »

iamadog1029 wrote: post #202
MeinBlutIstBlau wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only difference is, at least in my experience, many hippies don't actually do the things necessary to create change. They are individuals touting a known consensus. It's the reason why green measures generally fail in politics but stupid things like protecting the second amendment are upheld strongly. There is no centralized institution to fight for these beliefs. This is why you see the Freedom From Religion Fou…

It couldn't possibly be that the inertia of the system at large is highly resistant to progressive policy?

"The system" is just the full stack of human avarice. The eradication of which had proven to be nontrivial throughout recorded history. As soon as someone wants more than the next guy, you have a system.

Re: A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

#340

Post by smsm42 »

One can find a lot of words to describe this lifestyle, but I think one that fits the most is "parasite". And as most healthy organisms, a modern city in a modern society can tolerate a number of parasites, and they may not even do any harm when they're in small quantities. But if it spreads beyond certain measure, the lives of both the host and the parasites become very miserable.
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