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Joseph Chianti's avatar

It was worth the wait. Thanks man.

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Fukitol's avatar

The first and most obvious problem with making a plan to ensure all boots cost $450, and are of such high quality that you only need one pair for your whole adult life is: we do _not_ want a bureaucracy setting standards of quality, or picking winners and losers. That guarantees not only mediocre quality but no hope of innovative improvements. Besides it gives those armigers more undeserved power.

Instead of that, here's a thought: instead of taxing goods at point of sale, tax them at the landfill. When a pair of boots shows up at the dump, send a disposal bill to the cobbler. This bill should be pretty exorbitant and independent of the sale price, such that if your boots regularly end up in landfills and don't sell for very much you're ruined. Bonus: no bill if the cobbler is dead. Every cobbler strives to make a boot that outlives him. Because then he never pays the boot tax. Set the tax at say, 25% of the average sale price of a boot. Think it through. How long before walmart closes its footwear department?

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