A Victoria man has gone two decades without money

"The nicer flute arrived the next day. “I'm sitting at the harbour. And some guy is sort of dressed like me, I guess casual, has this three-foot-long bamboo flute and a cup of coffee, and he is walking. And I say, ‘Can I have a sip of your coffee?’ ‘Is that a flute?’ ‘Can I try it?’” The man gave Johnston permission for both requests—and then he gave Johnston the flute.

Stuff like that “happens constantly,” he tells me."

There's a second interpretation of this interaction. I'd like to hear it from the other side.

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 people getting tax breaks? Which begs the question why there is such a visceral reaction against this poor guy, but not all the rich who get propped up by the government. I guess we aspire to be one of those rich people who do nothing, and resent the people who choose not to play the game that most of us aren't winning.

[0] https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/24/tax-loopholes-canad...

I assume so. I was curious how modern society deals with quakers and the amish in this regard, and found this:

> The Amish are subject to sales and property taxes. As they seldom own motor vehicles, they rarely have occasion to pay motor vehicle registration fees or spend money in the purchase of fuel for vehicles.[114] Under their beliefs and traditions, generally the Amish do not agree with the idea of Social Security benefits and have a religious objection to insurance.[115][116] On this basis, the United States Internal Revenue Service agreed in 1961 that they did not need to pay Social Security-related taxes. In 1965, this policy was codified into law.[117] Self-employed individuals in certain sects do not pay into or receive benefits from the United States Social Security system. This exemption applies to a religious group that is conscientiously opposed to accepting benefits of any private or public insurance, provides a reasonable level of living for its dependent members, and has existed continuously since December 31, 1950.[118] The U.S. Supreme Court clarified in 1982 that Amish employers are not exempt, but only those Amish individuals who are self-employed. [0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish#Life_in_the_modern_world

Yeah. I’m not sure how that can’t be taken for parasitism. You can be pleasant about things as he seems to be, and still be a parasite. I’m sure he knew when he asked to try the flute he might end up with it.

Ultimately his lifestyle is supported by the community around him and the hard work of others.

> Tangential, but I tend to feel this way about a segment of van life philosophy

Ah, I know what you mean. I've thought about this myself. One of those "it wouldn't work if everyone did it" kind of things. You could do van life while working for an oil company, there's people with all kinds of van life jobs, it's a way to cut expenses and have more time outside of work. But things would need to be quite different if everyone did it.

But then again, if everyone wanted to escape the drudgery of conventional society we would end up with different conventions.

I don't think it's any wrong for this guy to do what he does, or van life people. It seems like it would be wrong to expect/force everyone to adhere to our current conventions when they don't want to. At least ideally. And he's no more of a mooch than the rentier rich and corporations who plunder the common good for profit.

I found it interesting how money and productivity are such trigger issues for many people. Perhaps because we all work a lot more than we'd like to, and aren't rich, and resent those who don't buy into the same rules.