[whatshisface]

If you show up at the tax assessor's office with a check for more than the self-reported value of my home, realistically plus the premium the government pays in eminent domain cases, you get the title. That idea is pretty much "eminent domain for all."

[jermaustin1]

This is terrible. I don't want to loose a priceless family heirloom (grandma's Sheraton-style rocking chair from 1890s) just because someone wants it and can write a check for $1 more than the assessed value. That discounts sentimental value. And if I now have to declare sentimental value and pay taxes on it, I'd rather burn it to the ground (grandma would approve).

[whatshisface]

A lot of people hate eminent domain too, for that exact reason. I think libertarians want to get rid of it entirely because it's an involuntary transaction.

[JamesBarney]

Yeah eminently domain isn't great. But also it's better than the alternative which is having a country without roads.

[lotsofpulp]

Not being born to a grandma who could afford a life stable enough to preserve and pass down such a chair is also an involuntary transaction, but libertarians don’t seem to talk about that.

[BobaFloutist]

That seems really annoying to deal with. It's possible it would lead to a better society eventually, but in the short term I'd rather speculators not buy my shitbox car out from under me because they spotted the chip shortage before I did.

[whatshisface]

It might not be so bad if you were allowed to accept an increase in your tax assessment rather than selling at the new price.

[JumpCrisscross]

> might not be so bad if you were allowed to accept an increase in your tax assessment rather than selling at the new price

Sounds like a bonanza for developers.

[whatshisface]

I think that's the point, to free up all the economic activity that's being held up by patents, copyright and land underuse, and to get fair tax assessment on assets previously exempt from property taxes as a bonus.

[JumpCrisscross]

I don't see how this has anything to do with patents or copyright. Presumably, those would be subject to this seizure mechanism and thus flow to those most willing to enforce their claims.

Like, 99% of the activity under such a mechanism would be transfers of financial assets.

[lotsofpulp]

A power law land value tax would take care of most of the problem at almost no cost (since land is assessed regularly anyway).

This should completely replace income tax. Copyright terms should also be 10 years, maybe 15 max. Patents could probably stay as is, but I don’t see any problem reducing them too.

[throwway120385]

The unstated assumption here is that efficiency is the most important thing, rather than any of a number of other things we could value like stability, security, safety, reliability, and so on. The problem with efficiency-driven ideas is that they almost always will result in a bunch of people with money descending on a bunch of people without money and exploiting the difference to...make money.