The Moneyless Man

[fandor]

Quite interesting and extreme way how to retire early. Mark Boyle, 31, gave up using money in November 2008. Here is article about him in the Telegraph http://tinyurl.com/328d8r9
He set up the Freeconomy in 2007 (http://www.justfortheloveofit.org), an online network that encourages people to share skills or possessions and now has 17,000 members.
He also wrote a book The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living -cheapest online store + free shipping here: http://tinyurl.com/Moneylessman
What do you think guys? Some people call him parasite since he use most of the resources other people had to make or pay.

[djc]

I followed his blog for quite a while though I stopped recently. He seems like an intensely good person who follows the beat of his own drummer.
I certainly wouldn't call him a parasite in any way.

[George the original one]

Technically, I suspect his arrangment with the farm would be taxable in the US (barter is taxable, though rarely enforced). As long as the total value is still under the income threshold, then he's free.

[Q]

I think the most frustrating thing of being a US citizen is that every damn thing you do is taxed. Helping someone change their oil? And oh, you are a mechanic by trade, and that guy does your taxes? TAXED!
Mow lawns for the elderly? TAXED!
Sell girl scout cookies? TAXED!
Cheesus.

[jacob]

Don't hold me up on this, but I think the key is to avoid conditional reciprocation. Then it would be a tax free donation, right?
I figure taxing barter is in effect because otherwise a group of 10-15 people (or however many it takes to become self-sufficient) could avoid income taxes on all the work they do for each other. In my opinion taxing bartering is then equivalent to taxing income.
Bartering or swapping things (don't know about services) which are substantially identical (two different CDs are substantially identical) is not taxed. This is why swaptree and paperbackswap transactions aren't taxed.
Of course the solution to all this is simply to stay below the personal deductions in terms of income. Or do more and more for yourself (your own work for yourself isn't taxed).