In a message dated 9/7/02 1:15:49 AM, tango_dancer@... writes:

<< In the end, it may be cheaper to launch from the US and jump through
all of the bureacratic hoops, than it would be to spend $10-20
billion dollars on a launch platform and floating island for a new
nation of space enthusiasts who don't want to have bureaucratic
oversight from any government organization. >>

Tango, you need to look beyond the actual costs of materials and exam how
regulations and taxes adds to your operation cost which can affect your
cashflow far more than you think.

Last year, I learned that all those regulations and taxes and mandates
together cost me 80% of a dollar. "C" Incorporation help but only if you
earn $50,000 or less which then let you to pay only 15% of taxes. Millions in
earnings can briing on taxes far greater than individual earner's. Plus you
have to consider that most of the "benefits" promised by the state are
useless. Building a base and manufactering rockets are one-time cost. They
seem big but they are actually on the cheap side of business. The real story
is the operations where you have to have a smooth system running with just
enough people knowing their places and paying them well enough to make them
happy while paying your investors and servicing your company debts. Now debt
that buy assets are not a problem because those assets can pay for itself,
assuming that you are able to reach fair market place by price feedback. You
have to keep an eye for those debts that don't pay for themselves. if you
have trouble making ends meet in the operations, you will have trouble paying
for the intital cost of manufactering too.

And that's where the state's power of regulations and taxation make a real
difference. In a place with low or no taxes or regulations, you have more
room to be able to pay your employees and creditors a bigger bang in buying
power for their work and still be able to keep going. In place with high
state inference, the state can easily push you into bankrupty. And they can
do that even without bad motives for a simple reason that there is no real
economic feedback to moderate their regulations or taxes because they are
imposed by the silent threat of force. That is a big difference from market
price which is far more like ecosystem in which the price get feedback from
many different factors in the enviroment and is changed accordingly as the
seller try to make a living from his relationships with the customers.
Unlike a prvate business in which you just stop by the owner's office to have
a private talk for a five mintues to complain about the price or service at
no cost to you but time, with state, you would have to spend millions just to
get their ears while competiting with other pressure groups and some will be
VERY unfriendly to your goals. Sooner or later, with billions at stake,
corruption will become more attractive to you as a way to oils your
relationship with the state in order to get breaks from pressures that
shouldn't be in place in the first place. That is why most of people in the
states today are very corrupt and because they made big gains from
corruption, it is in their interest to adds more laws and regulations in
order to encorage corruption futher. That is one reason why despite 20
years' of work, the state barely get smaller. So your operating cost will
not only stay high, but it will get higher, especially with costs that will
never see the light of the day such as kickbacks. Only way to survive in
such enviroment is to start with millions and billions of dollars but if your
business attracted only few investors then your chanch of failing get higher.
Failure is not a problem as your network is more important, but the state is
the problem.

The only way to make the operation cost lower for your struggling business is
to encorage compeitition between states. By drawing any businesses outside a
high tax state, you deny that state taxes and a drain big enough will force
them to cut its size down. Doing so will not only benfits your own selfish
interest, but it will also benfits your business network's selfish interests
as well which result in greater buying power for your target market who will
have more money to buy your services and products in greater number.

Carl E. Mullin
visionary artist and entrepreneur
homo asteralis
ravenart@...
www.ravenartstudio.com
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions,
that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when
wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little
rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere."

"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as
necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful
rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of
the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should
render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions
as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound
health of government." ----Thomas Jefferson

I thought you might find the Mobile Offshore Base concept
interesting. As for the politics, I'll give you the last word on
that subject.

--- In spacesettlers@y..., Ravenart@a... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 9/7/02 1:15:49 AM, tango_dancer@h... writes:
>
><< In the end, it may be cheaper to launch from the US and jump
through
> all of the bureacratic hoops, than it would be to spend $10-20
> billion dollars on a launch platform and floating island for a new
> nation of space enthusiasts who don't want to have bureaucratic
> oversight from any government organization. >>
>
> Tango, you need to look beyond the actual costs of materials and
exam how
> regulations and taxes adds to your operation cost which can affect
your
> cashflow far more than you think.
>
> Last year, I learned that all those regulations and taxes and
mandates
> together cost me 80% of a dollar. "C" Incorporation help but only
if you
> earn $50,000 or less which then let you to pay only 15% of taxes.
Millions in
> earnings can briing on taxes far greater than individual
earner's. Plus you
> have to consider that most of the "benefits" promised by the state
are
> useless. Building a base and manufactering rockets are one-time
cost. They
> seem big but they are actually on the cheap side of business. The
real story
> is the operations where you have to have a smooth system running
with just
> enough people knowing their places and paying them well enough to
make them
> happy while paying your investors and servicing your company
debts. Now debt
> that buy assets are not a problem because those assets can pay for
itself,
> assuming that you are able to reach fair market place by price
feedback. You
> have to keep an eye for those debts that don't pay for
themselves. if you
> have trouble making ends meet in the operations, you will have
trouble paying
> for the intital cost of manufactering too.
>
> And that's where the state's power of regulations and taxation
make a real
> difference. In a place with low or no taxes or regulations, you
have more
> room to be able to pay your employees and creditors a bigger bang
in buying
> power for their work and still be able to keep going. In place
with high
> state inference, the state can easily push you into bankrupty.
And they can
> do that even without bad motives for a simple reason that there is
no real
> economic feedback to moderate their regulations or taxes because
they are
> imposed by the silent threat of force. That is a big difference
from market
> price which is far more like ecosystem in which the price get
feedback from
> many different factors in the enviroment and is changed
accordingly as the
> seller try to make a living from his relationships with the
customers.
> Unlike a prvate business in which you just stop by the owner's
office to have
> a private talk for a five mintues to complain about the price or
service at
> no cost to you but time, with state, you would have to spend
millions just to
> get their ears while competiting with other pressure groups and
some will be
> VERY unfriendly to your goals. Sooner or later, with billions at
stake,
> corruption will become more attractive to you as a way to oils
your
> relationship with the state in order to get breaks from pressures
that
> shouldn't be in place in the first place. That is why most of
people in the
> states today are very corrupt and because they made big gains from
> corruption, it is in their interest to adds more laws and
regulations in
> order to encorage corruption futher. That is one reason why
despite 20
> years' of work, the state barely get smaller. So your operating
cost will
> not only stay high, but it will get higher, especially with costs
that will
> never see the light of the day such as kickbacks. Only way to
survive in
> such enviroment is to start with millions and billions of dollars
but if your
> business attracted only few investors then your chanch of failing
get higher.
> Failure is not a problem as your network is more important, but
the state is
> the problem.
>
> The only way to make the operation cost lower for your struggling
business is
> to encorage compeitition between states. By drawing any
businesses outside a
> high tax state, you deny that state taxes and a drain big enough
will force
> them to cut its size down. Doing so will not only benfits your
own selfish
> interest, but it will also benfits your business network's selfish
interests
> as well which result in greater buying power for your target
market who will
> have more money to buy your services and products in greater
number.
>
> Carl E. Mullin
> visionary artist and entrepreneur
> homo asteralis
> ravenart@a...
> www.ravenartstudio.com
> "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain
occasions,
> that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be
exercised when
> wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a
little
> rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere."
>
> "I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing,
and as
> necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.
Unsuccessful
> rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the
rights of
> the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth
should
> render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of
rebellions
> as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for
the sound

On Saturday, September 7, 2002, at 06:28 AM, Ravenart@... wrote:

> Plus you
> have to consider that most of the "benefits" promised by the state are
> useless.

The US has suffer only one major attack (9/11) by a foreign power since
1865. If you think this defense is useless, discuss the effects of
inadequate defense with Afgani's, Europeans who lived through the Second
World War, Kuwaiti's, Iranians who lived through the 1980's, or anyone
else who's country has been invaded.

The materials in one asteroid (the largest ) are sufficient to make
orbital space colonies with ~500 times the surface area of the Earth in
usable real estate. See http://lifesci3.arc.nasa.gov/SpaceSettlement/
for details.

Al Globus
CSC at NASA Ames Research Center
http://www.nas.nasa.gov/~globus/home.html