> The most important point is to make it so the system can realistically > and consistently raise the funds it needs to operate. In the past, > we've sometimes created such systems without doing that. In the past, > we once tried to raise funds via proposal fees that decreased when > Agora was running low on cash (the theory being that that increased > volume would more than compensate for decreased prices). It was an > absolute nightmare. I had to do 20 proposal distributions *two weeks > in a row,* after the pending price dropped down to like 1. *shuts > eyes* Anyhow, the taxing thing is an absolute necessity if we're going > to try such a balanced budget system.
I'd be interested to observe how the system could work without taxes (with other ways for Agora to raise money). I have this fantasy of a government getting its hands on a big enough endowment (equivalent to Agora's rules having a monopoly on proposals etc?) that it can just operate on investment income and abolish taxes. This usually pops into my head right around when I have to fill out my tax returns. Anyway, as tempted as I am to try to fix the problem you describe, implementing taxes is a good idea if it's more different from what's been done before in Agora. - Falsifian
