Would You Pay for Air to Breathe?

[Saiyan Lusitano]

A few years ago this would've come as a joke because air has always been free (not always) so why pay now? But with pollution being transparent (not always, of course) and you don't even notice it you're breathing it until, for example, you clean your nose and notice all the black dirt that comes out of it due to the pollution.

This video below was filmed in Georgia (located in Eastern-Europe, not the American state ) where they made a fake tax that people had to pay and those hit with it though that it was real.

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Would I pay for air if it'd get even worse? Probably not but maybe in an emergency, I would.

 

[Veho]

Paying for air sure sounds ludicrous, doesn't it?






We already pay for drinking water (one way or the other), I can see it happening with air some day.

 

[Alexander1970]

It´s only a matter of time.



and money

If you want good medical care you habe to pay more than the standard.....
If you want good and "valuable" food,you have to pay more than for the standard
If you want good and clean water you have to pay more........
If you want a good quality of living you have to pay........

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Only a person serious enough to kill the human race would want such a thing to be reality.

 

[x65943]

A few years ago this would've come as a joke because air has always been free (not always) so why pay now? But with pollution being transparent (not always, of course) and you don't even notice it you're breathing it until, for example, you clean your nose and notice all the black dirt that comes out of it due to the pollution.

This video below was filmed in Georgia (located in Eastern-Europe, not the American state ) where they made a fake tax that people had to pay and those hit with it though that it was real.

​

Would I pay for air if it'd get even worse? Probably not but maybe in an emergency, I would.

Smart insurance company

They said that stunt increased their sales leads by 400%

They are obviously only in it for the money

I don't know if this will be an issue on Earth any time soon - but paying for air is going to be a reality if we colonize mars or some other planet with poor atmosphere/low O2 content

 

[spotanjo3]

Those hit with it though that it was real must be dumb. Anyway, it will never happen, lol. NEVER! Surely, the air would be so bad that nobody will survive no matter where you hide.. but extinct 100 percent easy.

 

[Nerdtendo]

I firmly believe the world will be destroyed long before this is necessary

 

[the_randomizer]

Two words: "Hell no".

 

[spotanjo3]

I firmly believe the world will be destroyed long before this is necessary

Seriously ? You mean Earth itself will be Destroyed as it doesn't existed anymore in the space ?

 

[RHOPKINS13]

Yup, this is where we're headed. Here in the USA we're on the verge of legalizing Marijuana, yet there are no laws on the books about containing the smell.

I had a neighbor that would smoke it on his back porch. Normally I'm of the opinion that it's your body, it ought to be your choice what you put in it. If it kills you, gives you lung cancer, etc. that's your own dumb fault. As far as I'm concerned, in a world where we're supposed to be "free," there should be no such thing as illegal drugs. As long as you're not putting other people's lives at risk (example: you want to drink and get drunk as fuck, go ahead. Your body, your freedom. But you do NOT have the freedom to get in a car and put MY life at risk while you're intoxicated.) Anyway, the problem I have is that the smell was so bad it wreaked outside, and because of it I couldn't let my son play in my backyard.

You wanna smoke weed? That's great, I think you should be able to. But I shouldn't have to deal with the aftermath, keep that shit contained.

Anyway, I know the smell has been a bigger problem in D.C. where they've legalized it to some degree. But to my knowledge they haven't made any laws regarding second-hand smoke or the smell.

... that's totally on purpose. In two decades I wouldn't be surprised if we had to pay for "pure air" the way people think they're paying for "pure water" now. It'll be the only way of breathing without smelling skunk everywhere.

Don't mind me, just working on the next big conspiracy theory...

 

[Taleweaver]

Sorry, but this is a stupid topic. None of us wants to pay this tax, but we all know that we'd pay it when it was forced upon is. I mean...it's not like we have an alternative.

 

[Nerdtendo]

Seriously ? You mean Earth itself will be Destroyed as it doesn't existed anymore in the space ?

Actually yes

 

[kuwanger]

To a certain extent, we already pay a tax in the form of having government regulatory agencies that enforce rules upon usually companies to not poison the air (too much). As far as being a new joke, you should look back in history a bit. It wasn't until 1963 that the US had the "Clean Air Act". Plenty of sci-fi or dystopian movies have explored the idea of, one way or another, paying for air.

As comparing to paying for water, that's a bad analogy because drinkable water isn't naturally pervasive on most the Earth surface. Keeping fresh water sufficiently clean of pollutants is a regulatory thing, and plenty of people possess a well or other water source so the only cost of water is the energy to collect and treat said water. Ie, there's no water or food tax in most countries precisely because “That the power to tax involves the power to destroy; that the power to destroy may defeat and render useless the power to create….”. Ergo we have general taxation to regulate, not a use tax on anything which is deemed sufficiently necessary to exist.

 

[spotanjo3]

Actually yes

Hahaha. Alright, I believed it is not going to.

 

[DuoForce]

Capitalism is going to kill us all.

 

[Viri]

They're called air filters. You want nice clean fresh air, buy an air filter. I can only imagine the air filter market is booming in China, and wildfire places like California.

 

[Asia81]

You know what?
It exist it Paris, when you can pay for breath air in Oxygen bar
That's pathetic.

 

[FAST6191]

Those saying "never" have a look at what CO2 concentration does to intelligence scores, ability to concentrate and just how little you have to have in you before things change drastically. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.1510037

As comparing to paying for water, that's a bad analogy because drinkable water isn't naturally pervasive on most the Earth surface. Keeping fresh water sufficiently clean of pollutants is a regulatory thing, and plenty of people possess a well or other water source so the only cost of water is the energy to collect and treat said water. Ie, there's no water or food tax in most countries precisely because “That the power to tax involves the power to destroy; that the power to destroy may defeat and render useless the power to create….”. Ergo we have general taxation to regulate, not a use tax on anything which is deemed sufficiently necessary to exist.

There are places in the US where it is illegal to catch the rainwater that falls on your land ( https://worldwaterreserve.com/rainwater-harvesting/is-it-illegal-to-collect-rainwater/ ). Similarly there are also places that require you to drill a well if you express an interest in collecting rainwater for your use, the former being a finite resource in the case of most aquifers (itself a fun topic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/08/vanishing-midwest-ogallala-aquifer-drought/ ).

 

[kuwanger]

There are places in the US where it is illegal to catch the rainwater that falls on your land ( https://worldwaterreserve.com/rainwater-harvesting/is-it-illegal-to-collect-rainwater/ ). Similarly there are also places that require you to drill a well if you express an interest in collecting rainwater for your use, the former being a finite resource in the case of most aquifers (itself a fun topic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/08/vanishing-midwest-ogallala-aquifer-drought/ ).

Which reminds me of a short story called "The Thirst Quenchers" by Raphael Rick. It was clearly written at a time before desalination plants were viable but while the idea of ubiquitous nuclear power was still vogue. In any case, there's a lot more of a fresh water crisis brewing than one of breathable air. Even so, it's hard for me to believe we'll get to the point of taxing water. Rationing it, especially for agriculture, or making more strict rules about collection from aquifers, rain, etc? Yes. It's definitely something that'll be a lot harder to push through than burn rules or mandatory recycling.

 

[Viri]

Those saying "never" have a look at what CO2 concentration does to intelligence scores, ability to concentrate and just how little you have to have in you before things change drastically. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.1510037




There are places in the US where it is illegal to catch the rainwater that falls on your land ( https://worldwaterreserve.com/rainwater-harvesting/is-it-illegal-to-collect-rainwater/ ). Similarly there are also places that require you to drill a well if you express an interest in collecting rainwater for your use, the former being a finite resource in the case of most aquifers (itself a fun topic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/08/vanishing-midwest-ogallala-aquifer-drought/ ).

I think it's illegal more if you leave the rainwater sitting outside, because it attracts Mosquitoes. If you store it inside something, I think it's perfectly legal. I could be wrong though.