Dell Rebate Hbuttle to rest 18

Scott en Aztlán

Very broadly, the reason you want economic activity is not because it keeps people off the streets at their jobs, but because in any voluntary transaction, people disagree about value, B valuing Z more than the money, and C valuing money more than the Z, so B and C trade Z for money.

Both come out ahead! (That's why it's voluntary.)

What has happened? The standard of living of the nation has gone up.

Anytime people disagree about value, you can build an economy that raises the standard of living, by nuturing voluntary transactions. That, and not ``jobs,'' is why you want economic activity. Communism has plenty of jobs but no voluntary transactions, and always sucks, because both sides don't profit : they just stand in line at bare shelves.

Okay, so what happens when Dell offers a computer for $399 (after $100 rebate) and they don't let you have the rebate?

Dell comes out ahead, but you don't (at least if you value the computer at less than $499). That's fraud, and it's frowned on because it fakes a voluntary transaction but becomes a coerced one. The standard of living of the nation no longer rises but rather declines.

Moral : it is vital always to up-front about price, in order that transactions complete on the terms that profit both sides. -- Ron Hardin

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.