Our tax dollars hard at work

[thefunk]

Makes good tv. Not sure about all the 'frothing at the mouth hysteria' that people have with social responsibility. Sure some people will take advantage, but even if 50% of handouts went to the wrong people, thats 50% distributed to the right people. You will never be able to ensure all government distribution goes to the right people.

The alternative is to stop all handouts. Welcome to bigotry.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Makes good tv. Not sure about all the 'frothing at the mouth hysteria' that people have with social responsibility. Sure some people will take advantage, but even if 50% of handouts went to the wrong people, thats 50% distributed to the right people. You will never be able to ensure all government distribution goes to the right people.

The alternative is to stop all handouts. Welcome to bigotry.

I see what you did there with the "frothing at the mouth hysteria" ad hominem. I expected better.

So you're thinking a 50% efficiency rate is good? Not only is that a pretty terrible level of economic efficiency generally, it's also short-sighted. We see time and time again where well-intentioned government programs to help the poor tend to not only fail to adequately support the original intent of the programs but also cause ripple effects that drag down other sectors of the economy, including countries other than the one that implemented these glorious programs. Pre- and Post-Mao China's growth rates. North Korea vs South Korea. Uganda vs Ivory Coast. The US housing industry during the price controlled WW2 period and after and (most rofl-worthy if it weren't so sad) the most recent housing bubble due to bad loans to poor folks who weren't responsible enough to make good _even with double-subsidies_. Rent-controlled housing in England and Wales post-WW2. Egypt's rent-controlled housing crisis over the latter half of the 20th century. The dilapidated state of subsidized housing in the US and France. India's standard of living increases pre- and post-government-controlled economy.

Ask any former soviet satellite nation how "social responsibility" enforced by inefficient government flunkies promoted by nepotism rather than ability worked out for their families. Ask people in the former Yugoslavia whether they appreciated the army taking their tractor from them, which by the way had been producing about 30% of the grain for their village for the last decade. Then using it to prematurely harvest grains to support the regional capital and then leaving it out to rot over the winter, resulting in both the failure of the seeds for the next season AND now a 30% grain shortage for that village for the forseeable future since nobody could buy tractors anymore without government permits.

Government inefficiency isn't just something you hear about in a drab BBC docudrama -- it's a very real problem with much wider implications than anyone wants to admit once they start to Feel Good again about helping the po' folks at the bottom with Rich Folks at the top's money.

Hell, dude, even Marx and Engels knew better than to fuck with price controls.

Oh, and as far as bigotry, I'll take the bigotry of a steadily improving standard of living for our poor through the hard work of free men and unfettered growth of a market economy with its many warts and bruises over the dehumanizing and insulting soft bigotry of low expectations any day of the week and twice on Sundays.


Frothingly Yours,
A Silly American

[edit] P.S. I don't really expect you to understand. I mean, my country was founded on your country's lack of understanding -- and active repression of -- our values and beliefs.