Fair Use and Free Money

[tleberle]

One of the first things that my stepmother did after joining our newly minted family was to put a little pewter tankard under the downstairs phone. It was the Fair Jar. Anytime either my ster or I said "That's Not Fair!" we were fined a quarter. And at that age, a quarter was damn good money. It didn't matter how cruelly we were wronged, if the

Comments

[jiggery_pokery]

Not just that, but the idea that you should get something for nothing seems positively un-American.

That's true, but life doesn't have to be like that, though it's fascinating to see how you were brought up and how your views have been developed. There are other countries in the world where life, and the way people think about life, isn't like that. I'm not saying the UK has all the answers; I'm thinking of the likes of Sweden and Denmark here, and I support moves to make the UK more like Sweden and Denmark, and I sometimes idly think about trying to work for a Swedish (etc.) company with a possible view to relocating there some day. It's all a grey scale, and I'm not at either end of the scale. For instance, some people don't think Sweden and Denmark go far enough; I'm not one of those.

I do think Sweden and Denmark are happier, better countries as a result of people agreeing that that's the way a country should run. Yes, you do get some degree of free riding, and you don't get the things that only the exceptionally rich can make

[tleberle]

What's great is that you can say "I would prefer to live in a country that does things in a particular way" and I can say "I like this way." If you dig the high taxes/lots of public services way that Sweden does it, I say go nuts and enjoy. That's what makes the world so great: that there are so many different opinions and ways of doing stuff.

(And nice to have you back around, Mr Dickson. C'mon back any ol' time.)