tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post9205311674005879087..comments2023-06-15T09:13:45.467-04:00Comments on Liberty's Torch: “Millions Would Die!”Francis W. Porrettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862584203772592282noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-21057240151972910962020-10-14T12:38:16.203-04:002020-10-14T12:38:16.203-04:00The "some benefit / some suffer" assessm...The "some benefit / some suffer" assessment applies even when neither the benefits nor the costs are concentrated, Paul. It can't be any other way, for governments have no methods but compulsion and prohibition -- and once either of those is deployed, there must be both persons who will profit and persons who will lose.<br /><br />The income tax laws are an excellent example. There are many facets of those laws that help some people, while simultaneously penalizing others. Mortgage interest deductibility is only one such case. The benefits and costs to involved parties are seldom really high, except in the case of persons who routinely deal in transactions in the millions of dollars. But note how utterly unwilling the beneficiaries are to give up the benefits -- and how little thought goes to those whose lives have been made more expensive or more difficult by them.Francis W. Porrettohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05862584203772592282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-44167443689626656532020-10-14T12:12:21.416-04:002020-10-14T12:12:21.416-04:00This is the old "concentrated benefits, diffu...This is the old "concentrated benefits, diffuse costs" problem. The beneficiaries have great incentive to lobby (AKA buy congresscritters), because their benefits are large. The rest of us have little incentive to invest time and effort to stop it, because the cost to each of us is usually low (although for Obamacare, there is a substantial cost to some of the people). It's hard to imagine it working any other way. That's why I think our problem is a structural one, not something solved by electing the "right" people.Paul Bonneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15279129269584372919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-32894177127875217192020-10-14T09:52:29.874-04:002020-10-14T09:52:29.874-04:00You will never hear that question, “If the consequ...You will never hear that question, “If the consequences of this policy prove detrimental to the general welfare, will you admit that you were wrong and vote to repeal it?” even from a Republican. It's the ratchet - the Left advances, the Right stops but doesn't reverse it. That's one reason Trump is so hated... he's actually reversing.NITZAKHONhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04110716447757507226noreply@blogger.com