6 ms·

Upon learning about the $6,000 cost to get in, I shall think of TED Talks as a tax on rich people to provide free, online quality content to the rest of the wor

Upon learning about the $6,000 cost to get in, I shall think of TED Talks as a tax on rich people to provide free, online quality content to the rest of the world.

mmelin 17y ago
I think this is a fantastic model and would love to see it more widely used. For example, a small portion of the tuition of Stanford and MIT students (among others) finance the creation and publication of free quality education material to the rest of the world. How much faster would our world develop if all education was made available this way, financed by people who have the money to spend to be the first to learn something/have the benefit of real-life interaction with the original professor?
wheels 17y ago
I'm actually surprised by the public spat over $6000; I figured it was much more or invite only. I mean, heck, a lot of the web conferences are $2000-3000.
- dcurtis 17y ago
  It is invite only. You have to be invited, and then you have to be willing to pay $6000 to attend.
- rdouble 17y ago
  "I don’t have $6,000..." More surprising is that Scoble's been doing whatever it is he does for so long and he doesn't have $6000.
  - jhancock 17y ago
    I believe Mr. Scoble has a family. Anyone here with a family that still works for a living will tell you that you don't have $6000 to spend on yourself.
    - deleted 17y ago
      [deleted]
    - rdouble 17y ago
      Thanks for clearing that up. I read somewhere that he had children, but wasn't aware that he worked for a living.
      - dnsworks 17y ago
        Working for a living? I thought he was a tech blogger.
fexl 17y ago
It is not a tax, because no force is involved. But you're right, it is a delightful business model.
- crystalis 17y ago
  http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=lottery+tax+poor http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=lottery+tax...
  - fexl 17y ago
    Hmm, should I really jump into this? Mark Thornton at Mises.org has one thing right: "I believe in the unrestricted right to gamble." But he goes on to say: "Despite this, I oppose the adoption of a state lottery." I would like to agree with him here but I think he's missing the point. I don't oppose people setting up a lottery, even if those people call themselves a "state." I do oppose those people forcing out competition at the point of a gun. So go ahead, "state," and set up your lottery with your ridiculously horrible odds. But when the competition arrives and provides far better odds with ease, and you send armed men to shut them down, that is where you cross the line. I just like to focus on the truly important moral principle at stake, which is to avoid initiating force against other people.
- fnid2 17y ago
  Tax is not forced. The government doesn't force you to pay taxes. They punish you if you don't pay taxes and you earn more money than you spend keeping your business running. However, there are myriad ways to legally pay zero tax and many people do it every year.
  - dnsworks 17y ago
    The threat of force is still force.
lionhearted 17y ago
> Upon learning about the $6,000 cost to get in, I shall think of TED Talks as a tax on rich people to provide free, online quality content to the rest of the world. I would be in favor of overhauling the tax system so it's more like TED, and would happily pay TED-like taxes where I get a high level experience for an expensive price and the whole world benefits as well. Also, it's optional and you don't get arrested/shot for not buying a ticket.
- zackattack 17y ago
  > I would be in favor of overhauling the tax system Not gonna happen. What could happen, though, is that you could start something like TED, and charge wealthy people for a high level experience, and let the whole world benefit as well.

Upon learning about the $6,000 cost to get in, I shall think of TED Talks as a tax on rich people to provide free, online quality content to the rest of the world.

mmelin 17y ago

I think this is a fantastic model and would love to see it more widely used. For example, a small portion of the tuition of Stanford and MIT students (among others) finance the creation and publication of free quality education material to the rest of the world. How much faster would our world develop if all education was made available this way, financed by people who have the money to spend to be the first to learn something/have the benefit of real-life interaction with the original professor?

wheels 17y ago

I'm actually surprised by the public spat over $6000; I figured it was much more or invite only. I mean, heck, a lot of the web conferences are $2000-3000.

dcurtis 17y ago
It is invite only. You have to be invited, and then you have to be willing to pay $6000 to attend.
rdouble 17y ago
"I don’t have $6,000..." More surprising is that Scoble's been doing whatever it is he does for so long and he doesn't have $6000.
- jhancock 17y ago
  I believe Mr. Scoble has a family. Anyone here with a family that still works for a living will tell you that you don't have $6000 to spend on yourself.
  - deleted 17y ago
    [deleted]
  - rdouble 17y ago
    Thanks for clearing that up. I read somewhere that he had children, but wasn't aware that he worked for a living.
    - dnsworks 17y ago
      Working for a living? I thought he was a tech blogger.

fexl 17y ago

It is not a tax, because no force is involved. But you're right, it is a delightful business model.

crystalis 17y ago
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=lottery+tax+poor http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=lottery+tax...
- fexl 17y ago
  Hmm, should I really jump into this? Mark Thornton at Mises.org has one thing right: "I believe in the unrestricted right to gamble." But he goes on to say: "Despite this, I oppose the adoption of a state lottery." I would like to agree with him here but I think he's missing the point. I don't oppose people setting up a lottery, even if those people call themselves a "state." I do oppose those people forcing out competition at the point of a gun. So go ahead, "state," and set up your lottery with your ridiculously horrible odds. But when the competition arrives and provides far better odds with ease, and you send armed men to shut them down, that is where you cross the line. I just like to focus on the truly important moral principle at stake, which is to avoid initiating force against other people.
fnid2 17y ago
Tax is not forced. The government doesn't force you to pay taxes. They punish you if you don't pay taxes and you earn more money than you spend keeping your business running. However, there are myriad ways to legally pay zero tax and many people do it every year.
- dnsworks 17y ago
  The threat of force is still force.

lionhearted 17y ago

> Upon learning about the $6,000 cost to get in, I shall think of TED Talks as a tax on rich people to provide free, online quality content to the rest of the world. I would be in favor of overhauling the tax system so it's more like TED, and would happily pay TED-like taxes where I get a high level experience for an expensive price and the whole world benefits as well. Also, it's optional and you don't get arrested/shot for not buying a ticket.

zackattack 17y ago
> I would be in favor of overhauling the tax system Not gonna happen. What could happen, though, is that you could start something like TED, and charge wealthy people for a high level experience, and let the whole world benefit as well.