There is an interesting development in the United States that is laying the precedent for the darkest sort of future. Vendors cannot legally refuse to sell to certain groups, eg Whites only restaurants are illegal. More interesting is that buyers cannot refuse to buy from certain groups, eg boycotting Israel is illegal federally and in most US states. This raises an interesting question, is commerce a choice? Is the free market being replaced, not by the labor theory of value, but instead by the mandatory market. Neither vendors, nor customers have the absolute right to withdraw from commerce anymore. How long until they are made to?
Sellers (being porkies and all) should ideally be heavily regulated (to the point where they really question whether they should keep on existing). I don't see the problem with that sort of thing.
In 90% of cases it has to do with foreign trade, eg only buying Iraqi apples instead of Israeli apples.
Not really, since Republicans repealed the Individual Mandate from Obamacare. That is a better example which suits your argument better. For context, the Individual Mandate required Americans to buy health insurance from a private company or buy it from a government-subsidized private company or else be charged 2% of their income on their taxes as a fine. This was likened to mandatory car insurance laws, and Democrats defended it on that basis (even when confronted with arguments for socialist or goverment-run healthcare).
The question is who gets to determine who is an is not a vendor or customer? If I want to buy your car did I force you to become a vendor? If you refuse to sell to me is that unlawful discrimination? If you want to sell me your car did you force me to become a customer? If I refuse to buy from you is that unlawful discrimination?
Nolan Perry
When it passes and people actually go to jail for it, get back to me.
What would be better for porkies than to erode your right to not buy?
Logan White
Actually giving money and time to proles so they can buy things, and keep the system limping for another… decade, instead of squeezing blood from the stone and starting a revolution within a year.
Easton Walker
My Senator (Dianne Fienstien) has tried for years to make criticism of Israel illegal on college campuses as a means to crush student activism. For context, her husband runs the largest public university network in the US - the University of California system, who has also tried to make criticism of Israel illegal on college campuses by branding it as "hate speech" - which has major weight recently as UC students themselves are reconsidering allowing free speech on their campuses at all following Holla Forums's constant trolling of them.
