When I was young and stupid, I asked my WOS teacher (Polish civics class):
“If alcohol is so harmful, why doesn’t the government just raise taxes on it really high? People would drink less, and the state would collect more money.”
My teacher answered:
“Because if the price gets too high, people don’t stop drinking, they just find workarounds. They buy from the gray or black market instead. That means the government loses tax revenue, and far worse: unregulated bootleg alcohol isn’t checked for quality or safety, so you get more poisonings from methanol and other contaminants.”
That single conversation taught me more about unintended consequences and human incentives than 90 % of today’s politicians seem to understand when they push for mandatory ID verification and social media bans.
People respond to incentives. Raise the barriers high enough and demand doesn’t vanish... it simply shifts underground, often into places that are harder to monitor, less safe. The policy looks good on paper, but the real-world result is usually the opposite of what was intended.
(It is already happening in Australia btw)
Different issue, same fundamental pattern
If you really care about the kids you should stop the digital ID and age verification, and I say this even tho I'm against kids being on social media
Unfortunately, I can no longer read a "it's not this, it's that" construction without immediately raising my AI hackles. Just total rhetorical style death.
In 2009, Stephen Hawking decided to host a Time Traveler Party. He did not disclose the party's date and location until after the party had taken place. Predictably, no one showed up. This is because of Hawking's ties to Jeffrey Epstein, which any time traveler would be aware of
“I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.” -Charlie Kirk
https://t.co/W9qMQw7KfL
£49.18 is the standard weekly allowance for asylum seekers.
It's reduced to £9.95 if meals are included with accommodation.
You need a national insurance number to claim benefits or work. Asylum seekers do not have one.
No free phone (or Ipads). Occasionally, sims, or recycled phones are provided by charities.
Just in case anyone is interested in the facts.
If you stole $5000 from your employer, you’d be fired, and possibly sent to prison.
When companies steal $50 billion in wages from workers each year… nothing. They just get more tax breaks.
This is what people mean when they say crime is a social construct.