[steveBK123]

I propose a ban on all non-productive trips by car. Only good people should be allowed to emit carbon unless for productive reasons that pass the carbon threshhold for the amount of carbon the trips will emit.

Good people as defined by a social credit system. I will decide what is a productive reason & what is the carbon threshhold!

People totally have the option of living under this type of government - it exists in top down centralized places like China.

[kristjansson]

This is a great idea! We could break ones social credit down into units. What to call them ... Rallods, maybe? Everyone could earn Rallods for doing productive, pro-social things. People could even send some of the Rallods to each other, in exchange for taking on productive, pro-social task they'd prefer not to do. Rallods could even be exchanged for goods!

Oh wait ...

[imtringued]

A lot of rich people want more money not because they need it but rather because they want money to act as social credit and therefore they want to maximize this number even though other people need the money more.

[steveBK123]

There are a class of people for which money is more of a scoreboard which I think is what you are getting at here.

I think for most rich people, having a lot of money means, as ironic as it sounds, not having to think about money.

Growing up fairly middle class and eventually making a lot of money once I made it out on my own, the types of tortured price comparison shopping & concerns that my parents made (and I did my first 5 years of career) are just not something I worry about.

Being able to just go to a grocery store and fill the basket/cart until I have everything I want (NOT need, and without checking every items price and cross checking every price option for every items competitors), and then pay whatever it rings up to.

Doing weird as it sounds things like - cross shopping a $40k & $120k car because, well, they both sort of hit different parts of my interest lists.. and maybe I just keep my current car + add the $40k, vs trading in towards the $120k.. or really.. who cares, just buy the $120k car anyway.

Being able to knowingly overpay for home repair/renovation contractors because they give you a much higher level of confidence, communication and convenience. We got 3 bids, the guy who was 2x the price of the other guys was just such a professional we decided to go with him. He was like dealing with a professional tech/bank project manager rather than a squirrel guy you can't get hold of.. He started on time, finished days early, went not a penny over budget and gave us start&end of day updates with plans of attack for the next day.

Meanwhile some of our friends who did not have budget to pick the highest bidder had contractors disappearing to do work on other houses, had to call their contractor daily to force him to show up, had guy starting the work day at 2pm and then taking an hour lunch break, and every other crazy home renovation story you hear where 2 weeks of work takes 3 months.

So for those outside the billionaire class, being rich mostly means not having to deal with the inconveniences of being on a budget.

[tonguez]

“People totally have the option of living under this type of government - it exists in top down centralized places like China.”

you’re right, i much prefer to live under a decentralized government like the United States.

[steveBK123]

This is one of the benefits of the federal / state divide in the US too. If you are worried about the other side being crazy, you can live in a state that solidly on your side of the aisle, and be insulated from when the other side is in power at the federal level.