The government could tax bitcoin by mining it.

[Anonymous]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

[tomcollins]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

The government could pay for a lot by operating like a business, but it's a lot easier to do business at the barrel of a gun.

[deadlizard]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

The government could pay for a lot by operating like a business, but it's a lot easier to do business at the barrel of a gun.

Government is force. If they where to run it like a business then it would cease to be Government

[tomcollins]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

The government could pay for a lot by operating like a business, but it's a lot easier to do business at the barrel of a gun.

Government is force. If they where to run it like a business then it would cease to be Government

It could fund itself like a business, but mandate stuff (like the post office when it banned competitors).

[deadlizard]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

The government could pay for a lot by operating like a business, but it's a lot easier to do business at the barrel of a gun.

Government is force. If they where to run it like a business then it would cease to be Government

It could fund itself like a business, but mandate stuff (like the post office when it banned competitors).

You can't ban something without using the threat of force.

[allinvain]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

The government could pay for a lot by operating like a business, but it's a lot easier to do business at the barrel of a gun.

Government is force. If they where to run it like a business then it would cease to be Government

It could fund itself like a business, but mandate stuff (like the post office when it banned competitors).

You can't ban something without using the threat of force.

The government should offer protection as a means of earning income and little to nothing else.

[deadlizard]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

The government could pay for a lot by operating like a business, but it's a lot easier to do business at the barrel of a gun.

Government is force. If they where to run it like a business then it would cease to be Government

It could fund itself like a business, but mandate stuff (like the post office when it banned competitors).

You can't ban something without using the threat of force.

The government should offer protection as a means of earning income and little to nothing else.

if I'm free to choose my protection provider or if I even want one then it's not a government, it would just be a business.
If I'm not free to choose then it's not a business it's the Mafia 

[allinvain]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

The government could pay for a lot by operating like a business, but it's a lot easier to do business at the barrel of a gun.

Government is force. If they where to run it like a business then it would cease to be Government

It could fund itself like a business, but mandate stuff (like the post office when it banned competitors).

You can't ban something without using the threat of force.

The government should offer protection as a means of earning income and little to nothing else.

if I'm free to choose my protection provider or if I even want one then it's not a government, it would just be a business.
If I'm not free to choose then it's not a business it's the Mafia 

You most likely will not be free to choose your protection agency. As it currently is, the government IS a type of Mafia. They have the monopoly on the acceptable use of force because they pay for, direct, and control the biggest concentration of force in the land - the army. It would be far easier for the government to transition from its current state into being a sole protection agency.

The only way to ensure that you do get to chose your protection provider is to cut off funding to the government - ie pay no more taxes (and btw everyone would have to do so, because as long as the government is the one that receives the largest sum of money then they'd still have a position of greater power which they could use to regain their previously held monopoly on power).

You know what. I for one would be happy if the government wanted to tax my bitcoins, BUT and this is a big BUT, they HAVE to revalue the national currency in terms of bitcoins. This would curtail their fiscal powers greatly and it would be essentially like going back to the hard gold standard of yore. So to keep a reasonable government running (to do only the things that society deems are necessary to be handled by a institution with a monopoly on that particular task) every citizen would be asked to pay a universal flat tax of 10% regardless of income. You could register a "tax paying" bitcoin address with the government, go online, log in, pay your yearly taxes and tell the government to go shove it and start doing something useful with that money - "build me some roads"

Ideally though no government at all is best, but what I typed above is more about making small compromises to reach a better state of affairs with the hope of gradually approaching the ideal state. Government will truly cease to exist when a few other "killer paradigm changing technologies" come into widespread usage. The internet was one of them, and I'd venture to say that cheap and universally available nanotechnology will be the next one. Basically any revolutionary technology that empowers the individual is good for society but bad for any group of people or institution that seeks to control others (ie government)

If I may be so bold as to say this, but I think that bitcoin represents one of these paradigm changing technologies because it takes away control of money from government.

OK, I think I'm going off on a rant here, so I will end it here

[S466531257BOSS]

Hi , jus to annotate your necessarily fine grained and straight defined ' Essay ' of ' How things could establish ' :

Do you come from Germany ? If so , the ElStEr ( Elektronische Steuer-Erklärung Software and Program could be a term you run into - it allows german tax payers to do it over-all digitally , by now actually there is also no need anymore to store the prints for transactions | contracts  | etc ; They can be taken as a shot via Smart-Phone and are accordingly processed via OCR ( Optical Chracter Recognition ) .

As you stated :

''' So to keep a reasonable government running (to do only the things that society deems are necessary to be handled by a institution with a monopoly on that particular task) every citizen would be asked to pay a universal flat tax of 10% regardless of income. You could register a "tax paying" bitcoin address with the government, go online, log in, pay your yearly taxes and tell the government to go shove it and start doing something useful with that money - "build me some roads" ''' :

In Germany we have ( since the wall was teared down in '89 - thanks Mr. David Hasselhoff )  the ' Solidaritäts-Zuschlag ' - a non-free-not-tax-but-due--UNIVERSAL-FLAT-PSEUDO-TAX of officially around 2 to 3 percent , realistically around 11 Percent , because it was split into a bunch of counter-reacting premises that fullfill the work without being in need to officially raise the amount ; That would have been such a bad press , that even the government behind the government ( BMG | Bertelsmann Media Group / Stiftung ) who is the maxime lobby director behind the curtains ,would have had problems to wash it pure . They found a way . And as always in Germany -- Whatever you think of out there in your world , in the german world it is done without asking , backed by the government . - Son anything you stated here is real for years , partly decades .

In general , since ' Schäuble ' ( well known politician , once was stabbed with a knife at a CDU voter parties proclamation by a woman ( until today - no official statement why exactly ) , since then paraplegic and tragically he gained such an amount of might ( near magic ) a.k.a. political power that he has straightened the whole system up to a fully functional state as defined by your terms . This is reality . I live in it .
 But , do not wonder if you ask 10 different people in Germany , you get 10 different opinions and you must be lucky to run into one that follows the political warfare delivering our luxury economy .
 The thing is , all this avtually happens , and as far as i know : Germany is the only Nation on this planet that has the power to do and already does .
 Effectively .

Just some thoughts to be added , coz i think it is worthy to respect them when ( hopefully ) someone tries to eliminate the backdoors , so the watchmen can be watched again .

At the moment , we should push the Bit-Coin-Processing with all effort to the max .

Why ?

Because !


P.s.: In Germany you do not need to start a campaign against the regime to be observed and visited by guys with blue plastics ; Believe me ( tragically had to say - it is for real ) : In this state of mind of our nation we live in a golden cage .
 How that belongs to this Forum and especially your article ? Think about it . Maybe you find a niche to start a digital revolt , because that is what will happen . The Question is : Who will steer this Revolt ? The BND ( Bundes-Nachrichten-Dienst ) alias The Observer alias The Watchmen alias the most efficient processing of Secrecies alias the Europol Director ?

To all you guys - You really should take a look what Germany has had already established when bitcoin was ' invented ' - most of the ideas coming up here are already in hands of the monopolist .


Thanks for the Interest .



PAETH CLAUDIUSRAPHAEL

S466531257BOSS

[cozk]

Why would they do that ? They can force your hand instead. Waay easier.

[spazzdla]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

The government could pay for a lot by operating like a business, but it's a lot easier to do business at the barrel of a gun.

This, the gov are just a bunch of mobsters.  They don't want to actually work that's to difficult.

[wachtwoord]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

The government could pay for a lot by operating like a business, but it's a lot easier to do business at the barrel of a gun.

Brilliant idea

[zolace]

I dont think the gov would be interested in that, but give them any ideas, to do so, you want them to control the btc?

[vnvizow]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

Only possible if a government accepts Bitcoin, so far no luck 

[franky1]

If they simply start mining coins they get a share of the economy and possibly pay down some of their debt....all voluntarily and without threatening anyone. If I want your services I will pay for them (if you set up a bitcoin address).

I suppose its easier to point guns than actually think creatively.

1) who says governments already arnt mining bitcoins?
2) government employees would not mine bitcoins to pay off world debt. governments make money because of debt, thats how they profit.
3) they would simply get a pay rise/salary bonus for all the politicians etc not distribute the hoard to the public

[Stuartuk]

What Government are we talking about?

[franky1]

What Government are we talking about?

any government. imagine the chinese government told BANKS not to mine/trade bitcoins, purely so that politicians could buy cheap coins before private banks raise the price. same goes for russia.

after all it took 2 years for the SSL community of multiple skilled programmers to MISS the heartbleed issue, and have an outsider hand the fix to them on a plate. so open source is only as good as the people that actually read the code

[BitcoinTees]

Doesn't the FBI hold the biggest Bitcoin wallet? It would be a bit unproductive for them to shutdown Bitcoin completely. 

[Trongersoll]

Gee, the Gov. could do this, and the Gov. could do that. the US is a country of laws and laws specify what the Gov. can and can't do. One thing the Gov. can't do is operate as a business or compete with a private enterprise.

The things that people who don't know what they are talking about say, geesh.