• commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    when you drive over a bridge, do you tip the engineering form? the contractors? they’re the ones who created this experience for you.

    • shrugal@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I pay taxes, those were used to pay the people who build the bridge. And yes, taxes should be fair. If it’s a private bridge then the owners have every right to demand a fee for crossing it.

      • commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        not the owners: the designers. what if I copy the bridge and put it in my front yard: do you think I owe royalties to the engineering firm?

        • shrugal@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Yes, of course. They created the design, it cost them time and money, you want to use it, so you should pay part of those costs. Or to put it differently: You both use the design, why should they be the ones to pay for its creation, and not you?

            • shrugal@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              Who says you can only owe something if you take something away first?

              Think about how rent works. The building or appartement will still be there, loose value over time and need repairs whether you live there or not, yet you still owe the owner rent if you do.

                • shrugal@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  No it’s not. Why should someone let you stay in a building they payed and/or worked for, without you paying for a share of the upkeep, repairs, insurance etc., and the fact that the building exists in the first place?!

                  • adderaline@beehaw.org
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                    1 year ago

                    if you feel like rent as it currently exists even vaguely approximates the kind of model you claim you haven’t been paying attention. rent is, at its core, having other people pay for something because you own it. landlords are infamous for not paying for upkeep and repairs. the incentives behind owning property that other people live in lead to bad outcomes for people who can’t afford to own.

    • MJBrune@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Yes, you do, in the form of buying gas or paying taxes. You don’t even have to use the bridge to have to pay for it.

        • MJBrune@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          It depends on the system. In taxes, yes. Use isn’t tied to paying. In consumer goods and services, they are not paid by taxes. So they do have a direct use/buy causation.