An International Project and Other Life Changes

[tcpip]

One of the challenges of being the sort of person who publishes events and reflections in their life sometimes a degree of subtle writing is required. This is not so easy when one is chomping on the bit to make an announcement, but in a formal sense that will have to wait. What I can reveal is that I have initiated a project that could make a very significant change to certain environmental issues along with some other impressive side effects; mitigating negative externalities, enhancing positive externalities, that's one of my schticks for public economics. So far there are four other people who know in some detail what I am doing; two relevant politicians, a person with relevant international contacts, and a fellow scientist-engineer. If it succeeds, and I will be making every effort to do so, it will certainly be the most important thing that I have done in my life and with lasting benefits for millions of people, which will reward enough in itself. Something of this scale obviously takes time and planning, and thankfully my prior knowledge and experience in project management is already mapping out such a path. If this gets legs, nothing else in my life will be more important than this.

But this said life changes do go ahead. I've made the final payments for my new home in Southbank, which means I am pretty close to flat-broke (a curse on Stamp Duty, we hates it my precious) with almost everything I own now tied up in various fixed assets and superannuation. I am a little disappointed with myself in my lack of recent writings, although there was a recent Edublog piece on an "Ecology of Teaching Tools". This Friday is the work forum on the breaking of Zodiac cipher, which I've organised. Hopefully, a more public gathering will be coming up in the near future. Finally, the bug of ennui that hit me last week has largely lifted. The West Australian election results helped a little (oh, but beware hubris), a major social gathering with Anthony L helped further, but most of all, the March for Justice on Monday; let's hope that there are some relevant changes in policy in behaviour.

Comments

[warriorsavant]

Here, "stamp duty" on houses is satirically called the "Welcome Tax," charged by the municipalities. Kind of a pun, b/c the provincial revenue minister under whose watch it was instituted was a M. Bienvenue, which translates literally to "Mr. Welcome." Government officials tend to be annoyed when we honest citizens call it the Welcome Tax instead of whatever official bureaucratic name has officially been imposed, but the name suits.

[tcpip]

Haha, that's hilarious.

But seriously, all transaction taxes make all produced item more expensive, the cost shared between the buyer and seller and with aggregate losses due to a loss in trades.

Land tax on the other hand makes land less expensive.

[warriorsavant]

Any tax is partly counter-productive.

[tcpip]

Ah yes, sometimes you want to be counter-productive. Such as less pollutants in the atmosphere. We literally want to produce less of those.

And sometimes the good in question is already produced, so supply remains the same, regardless.

[ariaflame]

You might feel disappointed with yourself on lack of production but to be honest I feel downright unproductive compared to you.

[tcpip]

There is a degree that I know that I am typically very productive, albeit my motivations are probably not that healthy for my mind. "Driven by despair" I was once brave enough to announce. Being in my head when I'm productive is not always a great place to be.