[e-gold-list] Re: looks like

[Jim Davidson]

Dear Pete,    

> So what would happen if people started spending chocolate liberties?

Someone would eat their profits?

> to make the scenario more realistic, suppose I came up with a design 
> which was eligible for copyright.  I offered "limited edition" prints of 
> this design.  Now, it so happens that the design looks very like a 
> currency note.  I don't mean that it's a forgery of an existing currency 
> note, but just that by its appearance it could be taken for a national 
> currency that you haven't seen before.

Actually, I think legislative history might reveal that this idea
is what was meant by "original design" in the uttering money law.
Of course, the uttering money law has not seen a Supreme Court test,
so it'll be interesting.  I would say, "go ahead" if you have a
strong desire to make a small fortune out of a very large one.

> I also offer a "money back guarantee" where anyone owning one of these 
> prints can receive the purchase price by returning it to me.

Of course you do! Otherwise, how could you ever imagine getting
credit card acceptance services?

> Perhaps it would become customary for people to barter these prints for 
> goods.

Oh, my gosh.  How serious.  You know, Dr. Ron Paul has a sign on
his desk, "Don't steal.  The government hates competition."  I
think that applies to stealing through inflation or even profiting
from seignorage, too.

>  I didn't ask anyone to do that, but of course I didn't ask them 
> not to either.

You weren't aware, comrade, that everything which is not forbidden
is compulsory?  Egads!

But, don't forget, those things which are merely compulsory are
also licensed.  You are also forbidden to do that which is compulsory
without a license.  Licenses are now digital and may be revoked
without notice by a remote bureau-rat sitting in his office.  Did
I mention that the police are instructed to shoot anyone engaged
in unlicensed compulsory activity on sight?

>  As far as I'm concerned I have simply sold someone a 
> print, and if anyone is dissatisfied with one of them, I will provide a 
> refund like a reputable trader should.

What do you think America has become, a free market?!

> Am I now, in law, a money transmitter?

Yes, no, maybe so?  Who knows?

You write as though you suppose that the egregious and nearly
un-numberable laws of the United States and of the several
states and of the counties and municipalities were in some
fashion comprehensible, or even *meant* to be comprehended.
They are not.

"Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris.
"We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's
not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power
and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only
power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals.
Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One
declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible
for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-
abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass
the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced
or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers
– and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system,
Mr. Rearden, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll
be much easier to deal with." (_Atlas Shrugged_ 1957)

So, that's the system, Mr. Chown.  Or it could be.  Who knows?

I would say that if you want to know whether or not you are
allowed to engage in trade or commerce as market demands seem
to indicate you should, you have some choices.

1. You can await the decisions of venerable judges, though
only venal ones might be available.  Certainly there is a good
chance that anything determined by any judge or judges in the
Liberty Dollar or e-gold cases is going to be opined after the
judge is briefed, probably in secret, that the government cannot
function and continue to pay his/her salary unless a ruling is
made in favor of the government.  Keep in mind that until the
nine senior cross-dressers opine, there is no certainty.

2. You were looking for a jurisdiction where you could have a
stable business environment, where transaction costs were low,
and where the laws were written, in simple language, and were
generally enforced as written?  Then you might be looking for
a different country.  You might, however, be looking for what
never was and may never be.  So, if you don't find a happy home
somewhere overseas, try starting your own country.  It is a long
and boring project, with a few moments of stark terror, in my
own experiences.

3. You can simply go ahead and do what you think is right. You
might be right, in which case, you'll have righteousness on
your side when those in power determine that they want what you
have created, either some of it, or all of it.  You might be
mistaken, too.  The game is certainly rigged, but if it proves
to be the only game in town, if you don't play, you can't win.
(The fact that it is rigged suggests that if you do play, you
also cannot win, but don't be such a pessimist.  They always
sucker in more from the marks if it looks like someone is
winning, just a bit.)

4. You can go on strike, along with the rest of us who are not
contributing everything our minds have produced, because we are
prepared to stop the motor at the center of the world.

5. You may find a fifth thing I haven't even thought of.  May it
bring you great pleasure and much prosperity.  If it works,
please, please send a note.

Regards,

Jim
 http://www.hisovs.org/
 http://www.golightspeed.com/
 http://vertoro.com/blog.htm

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