An analogy, and a (not so fantastic) fantasy.

A question about : An analogy, and a (not so fantastic) fantasy.

We're all familiar with vending machines selling fizzy pop, sweeties etc. untouched by human hand.

Those machines must be expensive bits of kit. So why don't the vendors just put out a tray of their stock with an honesty box? Their costs would be much lower.

The answer, of course, is obvious: their precious stock would disappear and they would lose money hand-over-fist. So they recognise that, in order for their business to work, they need to physically protect their stock, if not with boots on the ground then with a machine. Doubtless the cost of this increases their prices and hence reduces their sales but hey, that's business, what are you gonna do?

But if they did plonk out a tray of, say, fizzy pop with an honesty box, they could perhaps put up signs like this:

POKEY POLA Ј1.01 PER BOTTLE
Failure to pay the correct price will result in a Junkfood Charge Notice of Ј100

Does this business model have a ring of familiarity to it?

Of course, it won't work because most of us don't have a serial number tattooed on our forehead which they could use to buy our personal details from some government database in order to pursue us for Ј100 over a 1p underpayment. That is the only difference: the PPC's get away with it because of number plates and a corrupt government agency willing to illegally sell them private information.

But remember, however, that every new passport issued contains biometric data gleaned from your passport photo. As a result the government is building up a database by means of which it is possible to identify us from facial photographs.

Supposing Mr. Beavis loses, what's the betting that in 5 or 10 years ParkingEye-style parasites will be pushing free-to-the-customer, penalty-issuing services in all kinds of contexts based on facial recognition software? With the Passport Office happily flogging personal details to them at Ј2.50 a pop? Sellers of all kinds of products get to reduce their costs massively by doing away with staff and/or machines, the government gets a new revenue stream, everyone's happy right?

Best answers:

• Actually honesty boxes generally work very well.
  https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7041447.stm
  In Freakonomis (https://freakonomics.com/2008/12/12/s...e-honesty-box/) the author found they sometime make more money, as most people are basically honest. Perhaps surprisingly, it was better off offices/ employees that didn't contribute fairly.
• I suppose it depends on where you site the honesty boxes. In Littlehampton you may get a fair return, in Liverpool the box might get stolen.
• Thats a pretty narrow minded and stereotypical view of the people of Liverpool.
  It is, and I am mortified, I doubt if I shall ever forgive myself.
• I must admit I lived in Liverpool for several years and to this day hearing that accent has me checking that my wallet is still there...
• It used to be said that F1 teams should employ their pit crews from Liverpool. There was a fundamental problem though ... whilst they were super-quick in removing wheels, they didn't know how to refit them.