In chapter 8, the author talks about unnecessary subsidies. Wheelan points out that many of these subsidies appear to be small and not significantly effecting the economy as a whole; however, he says, "But in total, these things-and the tens of thousands of others like them-are significant. Little inefficiencies begin to disrupt the most basic function of a market economy." As government continues to protect individuals in the market, the abundance of subsidies that are only benefiting the well being of smaller groups increases. In the end, as Jona mentioned, the majority of us are losing out on benefits that would be gained if the economy was given the chance to grow. Wheelan states the overall problem pertaining to these "tax shelters": "Governments should not be in the business of providing incentives for people to do things that would not otherwise make sense."
Small groups have incentive to get what they want from the Government. If the Government is willing to help them, why shouldn't they? The problem of these 'small' acts of kindness made by the Government are, in reality, too large of acts due to the fact that the rest of society is losing out on opportunity to expand. The individual citizens asking for help are not the only people who are acting the way they are, out of self interest. The politicians to whom they are turning to are purposefully handing over the solution the small groups desire because in the end the politician gains more voters. Developing a stance on the issue is hard because people are almost always going to act according to what benefits them. Wouldn't most of us ask for help if we were about to lose our farm or become unemployed? Is the issue even possible to fix?
No comments:
Post a Comment