Current Events > Scenario: Your son has superpowers but uses them to extort government for money.

(+) Yeah! (+)

You used to wonder why it always rained on you and why he was laughing all the time when he was a toddler.

Now you know, your son has the power to control the weather.

He doesn't have full control over it but he has enough to end droughts and stop wildfires/hurricanes/Earthquakes/tsunamis. Allow crops to grow and prevent/mitigate disasters

So there'll be wildfires raging through California, Romania and Australia, killing many, obliterating wildlife and destroying homes

"Oh that's tragic" Your son says to the government. "I could stop that for you, for say... 120 million dollars. "

"No you say? Oh I thought you couldn't put a price on life? But I guess you just did and its less than that. Enjoy your billions of dollars of infrastructure damage and all the funerals."

Then refuses to stop it and let's people die/destruction reign if they don't pay.

"What? " he says "I'm not causing any of this, I'm not doing anything wrong. If they want my services then they gotta pay like everyone else."



Pictured: Your son in Egypt

He's also trying to get sporting agencies, NFL, cricket, Baseball, soccer etc to pay him to ensure perfect weather conditions for games.

How do you react ?
What do you do?

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UnfairRepresent posted...

How do you react ?

Pride. My son is a true capitalist

Ive seen bright burn

Ill just enjoy my wealth trait

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I'd be proud of him for not letting himself get taken advantage of. He's right; you want his services, pay for it. That's the idea America was founded on.

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so he's asking to be paid for his services?

wait, is this the world where my daughter is an evil genius who's planning to kill my son with the super powers!

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But when a traveling preacher does it hes a con man! Hypocrites.

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Damn, have a heart for Australia, son. Save those koalas.

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Didn't read the whole scenario, but based off the title alone "atta boy!"

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UnfairRepresent posted...

"What? " he says "I'm not causing any of this, I'm not doing anything wrong. If they want my services then they gotta pay like everyone else."

He's not wrong. He knows what his ability is worth.

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3PiesAndAFork posted...

I'd be proud of him for not letting himself get taken advantage of. He's right; you want his services, pay for it. That's the idea America was founded on.

Even if innocent people die that you could save?

As well as property and homes

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This reminds me of Rob McKenna in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books.

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UnfairRepresent posted...

Even if innocent people die that you could save?

As well as property and homes

Their blood is on the govt's hands as it always has been for centuries throughout recessions and wars.

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UnfairRepresent posted...

Even if innocent people die that you could save?

As well as property and homes

Firefighters get paid to rescue people from burning buildings

Doctors get paid to keep people alive

Why shouldn't my son be paid saving people on a level magnitudes greater than either?

Id be happy. I hope he give me a couple million dollars too

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What kind of son have I raised that he could control the weather and still care about money?

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Fine with me.

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so my son is like Homelander. well kinda.

thats not very reassuring to know...

Rathinor posted...

Firefighters get paid to rescue people from burning buildings

Doctors get paid to keep people alive

Why shouldn't my son be paid saving people on a level magnitudes greater than either?

Those are professions, rather than circumstance

This Is more akin to someone hanging from a cliff and screaming "helped! help me" while you stand there and say "how much will you pay me for helping you?"

Jagr_68 posted...

Their blood is on the govt's hands as it always has been for centuries throughout recessions and wars.

how are natural disasters on the governments hands?


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ZevLoveDOOM posted...

so my son is like Homelander. well kinda.

thats not very reassuring to know...

Homelander brutally murdered people for fun. This is just a man wanting to be paid for the service he provides

Monetarily, the property loss and lives saved far outweigh 120 million

UnfairRepresent posted...

Even if innocent people die that you could save?

As well as property and homes

You mean innocent people that the government could save. It's not even much money at all for them.

UnfairRepresent posted...

Those are professions, rather than circumstance

This Is more akin to someone hanging from a cliff and screaming "helped! help me" while you stand there and say "how much will you pay me for helping you?"

False equivalence. That's a one time scenario. My son is able to provide this as a service.

Think of this as my son having the profession of "weather controller"

He has a monopoly on it and can set his own rates without competition

Some people grow up to be doctors, my son grew up to control the weather

Should he be forced to perform his services completely unpaid for? Would you turn my son into some kind of weather manipulation slave?

ranagrande posted...

You mean innocent people that the government could save. It's not even much money at all for them.

This is how your son thinks

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UnfairRepresent posted...

This is how your son thinks

It's also true.

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Doesnt the government literally do this to others? Not the weather, but taxes, trade etc..

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Its ok if I let people die because the government does but I will also take any and every opportunity to shit on the government for doing so

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UnfairRepresent posted...

how are natural disasters on the governments hands?

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/05/texas-gov-knew-of-natural-gas-shortages-days-before-blackout-blamed-wind-anyway/

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Jagr_68 posted...

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/05/texas-gov-knew-of-natural-gas-shortages-days-before-blackout-blamed-wind-anyway/

lol fair point

Should never underestimate the GOP

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Rathinor posted...

Pride. My son is a true capitalist

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Rathinor posted...

False equivalence. That's a one time scenario. My son is able to provide this as a service.

A service based solely on happenstance

Think of this as my son having the profession of "weather controller"

He has a monopoly on it and can set his own rates without competition

Some people grow up to be doctors, my son grew up to control the weather

They took years of training and put themselves into 6 figure debts to develop the skills needed to excel at those professions which is why they are paid more for that service

They don't just extort people for acts of God

You won't see a heart surgeon up the price of surgery by 20 million because the patient can't reach another surgeon in time

Should he be forced to perform his services completely unpaid for? Would you turn my son into some kind of weather manipulation slave?

Now you're strawnanning

You're reminding me of those teens who watched a man drown, laughing at him and mocking him as he died a while back who everyone hated

You're now implying anyone who was upset they didn't help him was advocating for slavery

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UnfairRepresent posted...

You won't see a heart surgeon up the price of surgery by 20 million because the patient can't reach another surgeon in time

It's about proportionality. If you're charging one person for their own medical treatment, you can't charge millions because they can't afford it and the competition will offer a better price.

In this case, my/our son is the only one who can offer the service, and he's offsetting potentially billions of dollars in damage for a measly $120 million. It's cost effective, and it's a fair asking price given the amount he's saving these governments in the long run. Hell, if the government won't pay, maybe insurance companies will. An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure, so they say.

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UnfairRepresent posted...

A service based solely on happenstance

OK, so someone born a genius can't take advantage and profit off his genius because it was solely based on happenstance?

UnfairRepresent posted...

You won't see a heart surgeon up the price of surgery by 20 million because the patient can't reach another surgeon in time

Surgeons demand more and more money based on their performance and skills. This is a skill my son has and because he has no competition, he can dictate how much it is worth. Free-market principles.

UnfairRepresent posted...

Now you're strawnanning

You're reminding me of those teens who watched a man drown, laughing at him and mocking him as he died a while back who everyone hated

You're now implying anyone who was upset they didn't help him was advocating for slavery

Again, that's a one time circumstance

Sure, my son having these abilities is happenstance, but the actual application of said ability is not. However, the teens are not able to consistently be in a position to save people from drowning.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

It's about proportionality. If you're charging one person for their own medical treatment, you can't charge millions because they can't afford it and the competition will offer a better price.

What if he could afford it because he was rich?

Rathinor posted...

OK, so someone born a genius can't take advantage and profit off his genius because it was solely based on happenstance?

No one is born a genius. Even people with advantages work hard to achieve

Only exception is people born into wealth, and they get A LOT of criticism for extorting people

Surgeons demand more and more money based on their performance and skills. This is a skill my son has and because he has no competition, he can dictate how much it is worth. Free-market principles.

Again, that's a one time circumstance

Sure, my son having these abilities is happenstance, but the actual application of said ability is not. However, the teens are not able to consistently be in a position to save people from drowning.

I don't get your logic of if you can save the innocent once then you're morally obligated to do so

But if you can save them twice then charge them or let them die.

That's very Fordian logic

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

It's more the people he's sticking it too

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UnfairRepresent posted...

What if he could afford it because he was rich?

This does happen. It's why there's a black market for human organs.

ranagrande posted...

This does happen. It's why there's a black market for human organs.

And most people disapprove of it

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And he was never seen again

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Good. Let the world burn.

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UnfairRepresent posted...

And he was never seen again

He's in my belly.

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BloodMoon7 posted...

He's in my belly.

That would explain it

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He's the best politician of all time. Good job.

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As long as he isn't causing the natural disasters there isn't technically anything wrong with what he's doing

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