by James Corbett
TheInternationalForecaster.com
August 10, 2016
Freedom. Terrible, terrible freedom. It’s almost like people are naturally inclined to seek it out. And if you’re not careful, it can pop up anywhere.
Take this “Peer-to-peer economy” that the plebs are talking about these days. They actually want to trade products and services directly, without going through the transnational corporate slave structure that we’ve spent so long honing to perfection! The nerve!
And apparently it’s working out for them. Did you know that professionals who sell their services directly to clients through the P2P economy are now making a median income of $61,000 a year, higher than the national average of $54,000?
And that’s just the income they’re willing to admit to making. Who knows how much people make working under the table for cash, or participating in community exchanges! None of that income will ever be taxed, of course. So who, exactly, is going to pay for the Pentagon’s next trillion dollar boondoggle or the next war of aggression in the Middle East?
And what of our beautiful taxicab medallion system? You know, those monopolies on the government-granted privilege of making money by giving someone a ride? That system was working out so well for corrupt city officials and their crony business friends. Why, in the 10 years from 2001 to 2011 alone the price rose nearly 6000% to $1 million. In the next two years it more than doubled to $2.5 million. $2.5 million just to buy the right to operate a taxi in New York City! What a beautiful system.
But then these ride-sharing services came along. The gall of them, letting drivers communicate directly with customers to arrange rides via their phones. Faster service. Cheaper rides. No million dollar medallions or golden handshakes or taxi monopolies. Freedom. Terrible, terrible freedom. And the people seem to like it. The majority of taxi users in Australia now use ride sharing apps.
But wait, it gets worse. When the city of Austin ran both Uber and Lyft out of town with proposed regulatory burdens, something strange happened. People didn’t sheepishly go back to using the city-approved taxis. They started looking for even greater freedom. Now instead of using bloated, government-colluding corporate ride-sharing apps they began looking for decentralized, peer-to-peer ride-sharing alternatives. Within weeks an alternative had sprung up with 30,000 riders and drivers connecting directly to each other without a corporate middleman.
And here’s the worst part: That ride-sharing platform teamed up with a sharing economy charity that distributes discarded food from restaurants and grocery stores to the homeless. Together they have now delivered 1,000 meals to the homeless in Austin.
So what’s next for these freedom-loving degenerates, you ask?
Free, peer-to-peer global cash transfers that eliminate delays, bank charges, and even the need for a bank account? It’s already here.
A decentralized social messaging system that alerts a social circle of your choosing in the event of an accident, emergency or run in with the police? There’s an app for that.
Freedom cells, conscious agorism and a general awakening to countereconomics by which people can support each other rather than wait for the government to do it for them? Check, check and check.
Do you realize what this means? It means that the plebs are actually starting to spontaneously organize in new and innovative ways to help each other. This is a disaster! What if they stop believing that all charity on earth must be provided by the government? What if they start creating self-sufficient communities? Or collaborating without corporate middlemen? Or transacting around the world without the knowledge or oversight of our tax collectors?
Freedom. Terrible, terrible freedom. What if there’s no putting a lid on it?
Good news for a change !!
Beautiful!! I am still looking at all the fabulous links.
What great Activism!
Agorism. I love it!
Corbett is going to help change the world, because he is an Activist in that he promotes powerful solutions.
This line of thought will be contagious…watch the trends in the alternative media shift partly as a result of what Corbett is doing.
Well he’s a Canadian Anarchist living in Japan…. so let’s elect him already! He’s more qualified than our current President or the two losers running this year. My only problem with it of course is I don’t wish for anyone to be faced with the all corrupting influences of our amoral political system. I don’t wish that on anyone.
Last year, I toured Andrew Jackson’s home, The Hermitage in Nashville, TN. The tour guide told of how Andrew Jackson thought of himself as a good slave owner. He considered his slaves his “black family.” His black family live in small shacks within spitting distance of the Hermitage mansion. As I stood there, I tried to imagine how someone could think they were a good slave owner when the squalor of dirt floor cabins were a few steps away.
Then a funny thing happened when his black family had a chance to leave The Hermitage, they did. Many bolted when the Union army was close. After the civil war, nearly all the rest did.
This says a lot about the mentality of the slave owner versus the slave. I imagine that some of our slave owners regard themselves as kindly overseers. When the reality is, we would slit their throats if given the chance.
That’s what these small revolutions are – the slaves or plebes slitting the throats of the elites. If enough small revolutions happen, the slave owners will bleed out in their mansions.
I just want to commit on how alive and well the grey market and barter economy is doing. Transactions in trade or part cash and trade are more common than you think. I used to own a bakery and did very good trade with other businesses to get things I used every day such as coffee, meat, and produce. I also traded for the service of handy men and contractors. I kept a log of what they got denominated in U.S.D. and they ran a tab up or down accordingly. Larger items can even be traded for. I got a few rifles in trade(legal where I live). The man whom traded them was happy to have a big part of his grocery bills relieved for several months. I traded for 1/3rd of a pick-up truck that I use for hauling wood, compost, and heavy equipment. You never know what people are willing to trade. Money is just the intermediary, cut out the middle man and trade wealth for wealth. Just be sure to follow any laws in regards to trading things that can be taxed or need to be registered. I did do a title transfer and put the truck into my business accounting. No need to have your assets taken, spend thousands in court, or be put into a rape box because you are to stubborn to claim an asset. I hate all these laws but I love my CPA for helping me navigate them and stay out of trouble. It all fits into the category of tax avoidance, which is legal, and out of the area of tax evasion, which is a crime. For example my truck allows me to help friends move furniture and bulk crap(literally manure), so they can avoid renting or paying a service that is taxed several times. I do this as a GIFT to them. Sometimes they GIFT me some pork, sauerkraut, plumbing help, home brew, ETC to me. All of this wealth transfer is not taxable but facilitated by equipment from the taxed and registered economy.
Communication is the key to successful trading. You never know until you ask what people are in need of! I mean in person, not everyone trolls the internet looking for barter stuff. Most productive people are too busy for that.
Fantastic Ben Franklin-style* satire! Flipping the rhetorical paradigm really shows how insane the central planners are.
* http://www.ministers-best-friend.com/BEN-FRANKLIN-on-Islam-Mohammed-and-MUSLIMS.html
Wow, the Cell 411 app is a great idea! Especially for those like me who cannot use twitter coherently.
And it’s completely free as well as user friendly.
Direct link…
https://getcell411.com/
Great article, James. Here’s a clip/commentary telling what actually happened at the DNC in Philadelphia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHD_bj5fXO0&feature=em-share_video_user
It seems that the “Plebs” are really having an impact. The system vis a vis the powers that be are starting to get scared. Imagine that!
And what ever happened to the F-17’s through F-34’s?
-Trying (too) hard to laugh at tyrants.-
And past all the $ legal tender fuss there is the horror of what these aircrafts are made for in the first place, F whatever.