Financing your 'pet projects'

Financing your 'pet projects'

I love books. I like libraries. Most libraries happen to be financed through theft of one sort or another. I would rather give up libraries than force people who do not value them to financially support the library. It's a matter of principle.

If a library is a good thing to have, as I believe it to be, I would be willing to pay a fee for each book I take home. Or buy an annual membership. If that isn't enough to keep the library going I might be disappointed but it would be wrong of me to claim the authority to steal money from you in order to finance something I like.

This brings to mind the mention I recently made of the Albuquerque Balloon Museum, and the crooked ABQ mayor's extortion attempts using the museum as his hostage.

If the market won't support a particular program or endeavor why can't it's supporters ante up and support it themselves? After all, they are the ones claiming a value for their pet project. Prove your sincerity. Charity has a long and honorable history. If money runs short, find a better way that costs less. If they who value the project can't afford to keep it going, it's probably not really worth doing.

It's like asking anti-war types to pay the military to kill journalists and children in other countries, or asking religious conservatives to pay for abortions. If you wish to support something with your own money, I should not be able to stop you, although you should be held accountable for any harm you cause, but if you want to support something I am ethically opposed to you have no claim on my money to use for your purposes. The same goes for me and my likes. Me wanting something does not obligate you to help provide it for me.