When are we going to learn...

My dad recently sent me an article about economic externalities. For those of you who are not familiar with the concept and externality is something that has a "cost" but is not "captured" within the normal relationship between supply and demand.

This is very true; it is EXTREMELY hard to put a price on externalities. For example, if you calculate your cost of your commute per mile to work...how do you account for the 20% of the time you are stuck in traffic and not moving (i.e. wasting fuel)?

The REAL issue is that government has NO BUSINESS trying to run the economy. WHATEVER the government does, it sends false signals about supply and demand to the entire market...and screws things up.

Case in point - the current financial crisis. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made it EASY for ANYONE to get a loan. Once the banks realized how much money could be made, they "jumped" in the pool. Were the banks wrong? ABSOLUTELY...but would they have gone down that road on their own without Government "interference?" And WHO was "the government" driving that? Guess who?

You want to fix the economy? Don't create another government program to suck money away from us (read the link carefully - higher taxes) and provide us with less than we have now. Cut taxes 10% across the board and let the American people decide how to spend THEIR money. Then WATCH how this country responds...