"There will be a day when you will wish that you had done a little evil to do a greater good."
--Sybilla (Kingdom of Heaven)
Statists often use rationalize government programs using some variation of this mental accounting:
number of people helped by the program - number of people hurt by the program = net people helped
If the net is positive, then the program is judged to be a winner. If the net is negative, then the accounting rationale migrates toward the following:
gross number of people helped
If the gross is deemed > 0, then the program is deemed worthwhile. Never mind those who are hurt by the program.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Greater Good Accounting
Labels:
agency problem,
democracy,
measurement,
moral hazard,
socialism,
war
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The forgotten man... He works, he votes, generally he prays, but his chief business in life is to pay.
~William Sumner
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