is free software in part encouraged by high taxation?

[Bernhard R. Link]

* Sam Liddicott <sam at liddicott.com> [110315 12:15]:
> If a business fails the entrepreneurs loses all his money, if it
> succeeds he get's to keep only half of the "winnings".

That's a very simplicistic view. It is most likely at least as wrong
as saying that when a entreprenour loses, they only lose a bit of
invested money while the society has to pay all the time (for
infrastructure and other things) which noone paid for while when
they win the get to keep all the winnings (and only pay for the
infrastructure they use in this case, and sometimes not even for that).

> Or, in other words if regulation and tax were lower, how many free
> software authors would never have taken an interest in free software?

That's hard to say. I can also imagine that with lower taxes and thus
less of an social savety net, less people are willing to risk anything
thus more salaried employes thus more people with time to do something
in their free time or with employers big enough to let some employees
work on free software.

	Bernhard R. Link