From: frantz@netcom.com (Bill Frantz)
Date: Fri, 5 Apr 1996 19:43:02 +0800
To: Charles Bell <tcmay@got.net>
Subject: Re: Why pay???
Message-ID: <199604050818.AAA25870@netcom9.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At  7:14 PM 4/4/96 -0800, Charles Bell wrote:
>On Thu, 4 Apr 1996, Timothy C. May wrote:
>
>>
>> (Goldwater and Heinlein got it slightly wrong when they said "There ain't
>> no such as a free lunch." While true in many ways, TANSTAAFL ignorest the
>> great willingness of people to donate time, effort, articles, etc. In fact,
>> I've put many thousands of hours into the Cypherpunks list, for which I've
>> received not a single centime of compensation. And I have no problem with
>> this, provided it remains voluntary.)
>>
>
>The fact that you choose not to charge for your time does not make your
>time worthless.  The value your voluntary efforts add should be assigned
>due compensation even if you choose to waive it.
>
>The failure to take such contributions into account is one of the most
>serious flaws in all current economic paradigms.  I think this will become
>more apparent in decades to come, as old concepts of `work' and `jobs'
>obsolesce.

IMHO, another failure is that not all compensation can be expressed in
money.  Feeling good about making a contribution is an example.  Another is
the "guaranteed" place in heaven for the suicide bomber.


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