Recent content by Togo

Given that we were specifically talking about tax rates, the fact that it's a special rate means it's not taxed as income. The proposal is still the same. You say income tax is 7.7%, lower than capital gains. So we should encourage investment by taxing capitals gains as if it were income...

How do the figures compare to other sciences? The article mentions a 50% rate for pre-clinical trials... QI (http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/qi/episodes/11/7/), a program dedicated to unusual or remarkable facts, mainly scientific facts, pointed out that the half life of facts in their...

No, you really don't. Sex differences are a complex interaction of social, cultural, developmental and environmental influences covering everything from diet to conditional responses to eye-contact, all of which can interact with hormonal differences in both directions. No, the topic was the...

But the power doesn't 'go away' - it gets transferred to someone else. A road is kept up and maintained by taxes. If you don't pay those taxes (road tax in this example), a guard comes along and stops you using the road. After the glorious libertarian revolution, the government doesn't own...

In other words, nationalisation is theft because it's not 'rightful'? That's not terminology, that's just labelling as theft any property transfer you don't like. By that logic any kind of fine, or asset seizure is theft, including for bankruptcy or debt, as is deliberately paying low wages...

Well, it's not just a procedural thing, it's a cultural thing too. We're talking about a country that regularly uses the term 'victim' as a pejorative. This makes it harder to help victims.

Based on this definition, what caused the sub-prime crisis was still central planning, by market participants, particularly the largest banks, who used their political and financial influence to force through changes weakening the neutral rules of the marketplace set by the industry, mainly via...

No, I'm not talking about capital gains taxed at some figure you've arrived at. I'm talking about taxing capital gains as income. Since you're convinced that income tax is only 7.7%, that's the same thing, right? So it's settled then. Dismal and I support taxing capital gains as income...

There's also the problem of radar. US nuclear defence relies in part on sensory equipment in Europe. Are we supposed to run and guard these facilities if the US does not? Are we going to get paid for that? Can countries who don't want to be a high-priority target for attack dismantle these...

I taught my cat abstract rules by example. Or more specifically, he took my behaviour, extrapolated abstract rules from that, and then tested me for approval or disapproval at breaking them. I'd say that qualifies. Of course a lot depends on how you define philosophy. Abstraction from...

Of course it's an issue - it effects what statistical measures are valid to use, and what conclusions are valid to draw. You can't use non-correlational statistical analysis on a correlation, and you can't use a correlation to claim anything more than that two effects tend to co-occur for...

I'm not denying anything. I just have no idea what you're referring to. If it's that obvious, just say it.

Sorry, not sure what you're talking about. The energy of what? You can define cause in a such a way that it doesn't really exist. Why would you want to, and is anyone likely to agree with you?

So you'd be in favour of replacing capital gains taxes with income taxes instead? Since the rate is so much lower? Or does your chosen comparison break down at that point?

How does that square with voluntarily entering into a binding contract? Or voluntarily entering a communal organisation - such as a worker's union? What this does do is make the link to conservatism much clearer. Putting property ownership as a fundamental right, and emphasising freedom...