Alec's AMA

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Alec
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Ask me anything.
TheRealNihilist
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@Alec
Are you actually autistic?
(I am sure you said that once just one to make sure of it)

Do you think you have confirmation bias?
(Just search up the last two words you'll understand eventually.)

Why aren't you a social democrat/neoliberal?
(You better have a good reason or I'll have nothing to work with)

What is your favorite game of all time? 
(There is a wrong answer and lynching will be involved)

What is worse living a mundane 80 year life or living happily for 20 years of your life?
(These are set in stone you can't change that)

That is all for now. I'll ask more if I can think of more. 
Alec
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@TheRealNihilist
Are you actually autistic?
Yes.  Asperger syndrome.

Do you think you have confirmation bias?
Unsure.  I imagine everyone has it to some extent but I have been watching some Secular talk in addition to Prager U.

Why aren't you a social democrat/neoliberal?
I am fine with some left policies, like reduced college and UHC/Medicare for all, but what prevents me from being a lefty is how I want them funded.  I want them funded with a sales tax.  Moreover, I want the income tax abolished on the federal level and replaced with a national sales tax.

What is your favorite game of all time? 
Maybe chess.  I like strategy games and don't like games based off of luck.

What is worse living a mundane 80 year life or living happily for 20 years of your life?
Mundane 80 year life.  I value being alive.
TheRealNihilist
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@Alec
Yes.  Asperger syndrome. 
Difficulty with change : Me too
Extreme focus on a topic of interest : Me too
Challenges with empathy : Yes
Engaging in stereotype, repetitive behaviors : I am very out of the norm so no me too
Hypersensitivity to sensory "assaults: Don't have problems with over-tasting food or something. 

What difficulties are you willing to share that you have in daily life?
Unsure.  I imagine everyone has it to some extent but I have been watching some Secular talk in addition to Prager U.
To me both are propaganda channels. I know it is shocking for me to call a left leaning platform propagandist but I think it is true. Watch Destiny instead. He does debates and recently he did a debate with Hasan Piker of the Young Turks. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLfAuWe3xho

I consider him my favorite political commentator even though he doesn't like to do it. I think he doesn't. I wouldn't be the person I am today without him. I would still be an uniformed conservative masqueraded as a centrist. He might not be as big as help as he was for me for you since I know of others who have know of him but haven't changed but it is still worth a try. 

About confirmation bias: I think everyone has it but it is best to be aware of it so that you are not willfully accepting ideas that wouldn't go through the framework you use.
I am fine with some left policies, like reduced college and UHC/Medicare for all, but what prevents me from being a lefty is how I want them funded.  I want them funded with a sales tax.  Moreover, I want the income tax abolished on the federal level and replaced with a national sales tax.
Wouldn't abolishing the sales tax and income increase wealth inequality?
Maybe chess.  I like strategy games and don't like games based off of luck.
Lynching will commence. Joke by the way. Chess to me is boring. It is not visually stimulating or something I am invested in outside the video game. It helps to be invested into lets the UFC so that I am more familiar with the characters. There are other games I like which I have become more familiar due to games similar to those which can be good or bad.
Mundane 80 year life.  I value being alive.
That's a yikes from me. 
Alec
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@TheRealNihilist
What difficulties are you willing to share that you have in daily life?
It's very hard to focus on hard stuff.  Also, when I'm on break mode, it's very hard for me to get stuff done.

To me both are propaganda channels.
As long as I watch both left and right wing stuff, it's better then a Pro-Con video because the biased videos will say things that you won't hear in an introduction video.

It's 3 hours.  Seems like a long time.

Wouldn't abolishing the sales tax and income increase wealth inequality?
I want the income tax abolished and replaced with a sales tax.  The left ought to support it because the rich have ways to avoid paying income tax.  The really rich hire lawyers to find loopholes that allow them to pay nothing in income taxes.  It works for Trump and the Amazon CEO.  If the rich don't pay income tax, why should the poor?  A sales tax I don't think would create any loopholes.  This is why according to my calculations, a 1% rise in the sales tax raises about the same amount of revenue as about a 2% income tax rise on everyone.

TheRealNihilist
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@Alec
It's very hard to focus on hard stuff.  Also, when I'm on break mode, it's very hard for me to get stuff done.
Me too. I think mine was more of a nuture then it ever was a nature but still of a problem of mine. Mine goes around not really caring which goes into difficulty into focusing. It is hard for me to get stuff done at all given I couldn't give a shite.
As long as I watch both left and right wing stuff, it's better then a Pro-Con video because the biased videos will say things that you won't hear in an introduction video.
Both sides can make shite arguments. Just watch good left wingers. My advice is Destiny.
It's 3 hours.  Seems like a long time.
Watch it in chunks. 15 minutes one day the another 15 minutes tomorrow until you have finished it.
The left ought to support it because the rich have ways to avoid paying income tax. 
This isn't a case against tax instead case for bad implementation. Are you against all tax because the rich can find loopholes in all of them? This very same argument can be used for anarchy. Just want to make sure you understand it.
The really rich hire lawyers to find loopholes that allow them to pay nothing in income taxes.
So we should abolish taxes altogether?
If the rich don't pay income tax, why should the poor?  A sales tax 
Which is why it should be improved instead of outright abolished right?
A sales tax I don't think would create any loopholes. 
Same tax loopholes will exist. Your plan doesn't address the problem it simply masquerades it in a new form.
This is why according to my calculations, a 1% rise in the sales tax raises about the same amount of revenue as about a 2% income tax rise on everyone.
Are you an economist or mathematician? 

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@Alec
You have espoused several viewpoints that I would personally describe as unusual. Some of which may include but are not limited to seeding Americans into Canada to annex Canada via vote and conquering Africa

Do you discuss these ideas IRL and what reactions do people have to these ideas?

Dr.Franklin
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Can we stop with the AMA
Alec
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@TheRealNihilist
Just watch good left wingers. My advice is Destiny.
I prefer both sides.

Are you against all tax because the rich can find loopholes in all of them?
Not all taxes.  For example, how can they find loopholes from a sales tax that's implemented nationally?

Which is why it should be improved instead of outright abolished right?
If you close one loophole, then the rich find another loophole and some non rich people can't use that loophole that was closed.

Same tax loopholes will exist.
How?  Most rich people will pay the $125 tax for their IPAD and move on.  They won't hire a $200 lawyer to get around $125 of taxes.

Are you an economist or mathematician? 
I am very good at math.  Top 3 in my PreCalc Honors class.  I don't think the math I did on my sheet is hard.  It's a bunch of multiplication and some addition.  You can check it out if you want.
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@dustryder
Do you discuss these ideas IRL and what reactions do people have to these ideas?
What does IRL mean?
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@Alec
I prefer both sides.
I meant for left wingers but now that you mention it I prefer someone to be well informed on topics instead of listening to propaganda so no PragerU and sometimes no Sam Seder, Kulinski etc.
Not all taxes.  For example, how can they find loopholes from a sales tax that's implemented nationally?
A rich person can avoid taxes and with your logic we shouldn't have taxes given that rich people can tax avoid. What is your statement against that?
Taxes are implemented nationally already yet the rich tax avoid.
If you close one loophole, then the rich find another loophole and some non rich people can't use that loophole that was closed.
Which is why a rich person can still tax avoid your sales tax. Implemented is not a distinction because most taxes are national like the income tax.
How?  Most rich people will pay the $125 tax for their IPAD and move on.  They won't hire a $200 lawyer to get around $125 of taxes.
So you are telling you are taking away $125 from a rich person? What world has less taxes improved wealth inequality again?
I am very good at math.  Top 3 in my PreCalc Honors class.  I don't think the math I did on my sheet is hard.  It's a bunch of multiplication and some addition.  You can check it out if you want.
So no. Being good at something doesn't make you qualified. Qualified people can be good but that is not always the case. John Lott is an example of a bad qualified economist if my thoughts about him are correct.
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@Alec
What does IRL mean?
Can't believe I am telling someone else and acronym.
IRL = In real life
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@Alec
Why have you thought of sales tax favorably over corporate tax and income tax?
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@Alec
I am fine with some left policies, like reduced college and UHC/Medicare for all, but what prevents me from being a lefty is how I want them funded.  I want them funded with a sales tax.  Moreover, I want the income tax abolished on the federal level and replaced with a national sales tax.

Do you understand why a 25% federal sales tax is essentially the same as a flat 25% income tax assuming everyone spends 100% of their income on items subject to said sales tax?
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@TheRealNihilist
Which is why a rich person can still tax avoid your sales tax.
They won't because it would be a small amount.  It's not like they will bring a lawyer with them to a grocery store to avoid paying a sales tax.  They currently don't do that.

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@Snoopy
Why have you thought of sales tax favorably over corporate tax and income tax?
An income tax discourages income production.  A corporate tax discourages making businesses.

A sales tax encourages you saving your money.


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@Discipulus_Didicit
Do you understand why a 25% federal sales tax is essentially the same as a flat 25% income tax assuming everyone spends 100% of their income on items subject to said sales tax?
Not everyone pays the income tax, so it's not the same.  The rich don't pay income taxes due to loopholes and they have a lot of money.  So even if the average American saves 10% of their money, 1% of sales tax raises the same amount of money as a 2% income tax for everyone.

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@Alec

An income tax discourages income production.  A corporate tax discourages making businesses.

A sales tax encourages you saving your money.

What is the good in having all of that money if they aren't going to spend it?  I expect that savings aren't what you really have in mind.


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@Snoopy
What is the point of adding the sales tax when what you are asking would not even reach 1 billion?

Taxes aim to give money to the government. This can be used to reduce unequality of the classes. What do you propose to help that divide if you are asking for what I think would generate less than a billion. Maybe I am wrong about how much but what I am going with is that it will be less than the actual tax you want to remove.

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@Snoopy
What is the good in having all of that money if they aren't going to spend it?  I expect that savings aren't what you really have in mind.

They could save the money for retirement if they need it, or they could invest the money to get more of it.  This applies to the poor/middle class.  The rich earned their money and can use the money for more investment in companies that create jobs that give people wages.  


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@TheRealNihilist
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/136MFNyPCnOs50_QltxPvkBpS2OydnNfG7WZYb21qTrM/edit#gid=0 states that a 24.3% sales tax would generate $6.718 Trillion.  This would be enough to fund UHC, reduced college, and most currently existing government programs, plus our foreign debt can be paid off in 4 years.  Currently, the US government spends about $3.3 trillion per year.
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@Alec
Do you like exemptions on healthcare, toiletries, food, clothing etc...?
TheRealNihilist
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@Alec
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/136MFNyPCnOs50_QltxPvkBpS2OydnNfG7WZYb21qTrM/edit#gid=0 states that a 24.3% sales tax would generate $6.718 Trillion.  This would be enough to fund UHC, reduced college, and most currently existing government programs, plus our foreign debt can be paid off in 4 years.  Currently, the US government spends about $3.3 trillion per year.
Tell me again are you a mathematician or economist?

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Are you a genus Mr.Alec
Alec
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@Snoopy
Do you like exemptions on healthcare, toiletries, food, clothing etc...?

Since exceptions to nessesities would cause tax revenue to plummet, I wouldn't provide an exception for these.  It raises too much revenue for an exception.
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@TheRealNihilist
I am not a mathematician or an economist.  Despite that, I think my math is accurate.  Are you a mathematician or an economist?
Alec
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@dustryder
Do you discuss these ideas IRL and what reactions do people have to these ideas?
I prefer doing it online.  Gives both of us more time to make effective responses.

TheRealNihilist
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@Alec
I am not a mathematician or an economist.  Despite that, I think my math is accurate.  Are you a mathematician or an economist?
Do I need to be tell you you are not or tell you you are unqualified to speak about the subject?

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@Alec
Flat tax or influx tax?
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@TheRealNihilist
Unless there is a mathematician or an economist that can prove why a sales tax instead of an income tax is a bad idea, I would say that my tax plan is pretty good.