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 AWAKENINGS: Amazing Greed
   by Dave Bealer
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   The 1980s were known as "The Decade of Greed." From where
 I'm sitting the nineties haven't been doing too badly on the greed
 score, either. High technology has brought new forms of greed, as if
 any more were needed.

   Shareware was the new marketing revolution of the eighties. The
 "try before you buy" plan was a great way of doing things in the era
 of buggy commercial software (anyone know when that era will end?),
 plus it allowed software authors to release their products without
 the usual barriers to entry in the traditional retail marketplace.
 The tandard estimate is that one in ten people who uses a shareware
 package regularly actually pays the registration fee. Still, many
 authors felt that 10% of something was far better than 100% of
 nothing (since they lacked the funds to go the standard retail
 route).

   The truth is that far less than 10% of shareware authors ever made
 any real money from their products. Of course, not all the blame can
 be laid at the feet of greedy users. There are plenty of authors
 trying to collect hefty shareware fees for a simple program that the
 average high school programming student could whip up in an hour or
 two (and claim a patent on the algorithm, to boot). These twerps are
 no doubt surprised when the user community isn't willing to fork over
 $25 for their latest 50 lines of spaghetti code - Mortimer Nerd's
 idea of programming perfection.

   Not that high tech greed is the only thing going -- good old
 fashioned low tech greed is still in fashion. Gambling is becoming
 legalized in more and more states. Why? Taxes. States and localities
 love anything new they can tax. Vice taxes are especially popular
 because few will argue the amounts charged. Nuisance taxes (a
 redundancy if ever there was one) are also popular, especially
 nuisance taxes on vices. Goverment may one day tax violence on TV -
 will it be called a Miami Vice Tax?

   Atlantic City now charges a $2/day parking tax for each car
 parked at all the casino/hotels in the city. The smarter hotel
 operators (e.g.the folks who run the Sands) are eating this tax
 themselves and still offering free parking to their customers.
 This begs the question of what's next? Tax meters on hookers?

 Copyright 1995 Dave Bealer, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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