RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
| Subject: How to Fund Roads with Bitcoin Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:58 am | |
| Anyone who has ever tried debating the merits of free markets over government monopolies has certainly run into the tired old question “But who will build the roads?” And while the possible answers to this question are limited only by the imagination, many people won’t even attempt to brainstorm some ideas before spitting out those six words, and declaring themselves Supreme Debater of All Things Political… But for those who are willing to listen to some new ideas, I want to talk about some of the possible ways that bitcoin can solve this problem.
For those who don’t know, bitcoin is an encrypted payment network that can process transactions far more efficiently than legacy debit and credit systems. One of biggest impacts of this technology is the viability of so called “micro-payments”. Due to the overhead costs of legacy systems (including the cost of mitigating $25 Billion per year in credit fraud), small payments can often cost the merchant more money than they make on a sale. That is why many places have a “minimum purchase” when using credit or debit cards. With bitcoin, these fees are drastically reduced, and can even be completely waived, if you don’t mind waiting a little longer for your payment to get processed.
By now you are probably wondering what this has to do with roads… Total state and federal spending on roads approached $200 billion in 2008, BEFORE the financial crisis, and the “shovel ready” infrastructure spending boost. That comes out to 7 cent’s per mile, or approximately $1500 per household. Traditionally that money has come from taxes, enforced, at great cost, by various state and federal tax agencies. At the federal level alone, the IRS has a budget of over $10 Billion. Imagine what that money could be used for in the private sector! So here are a few potential business models that could fund our crumbling infrastructure in the near future, in a way that is voluntary, efficient, and profitable!
http://www.notbeinggoverned.com/how-to-fund-roads-with-bitcoin/ |
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