In reading Chapter 10, I found some of the elements Frank brings up to be quite
fascinating.
Some of the ways in which he approaches various issues in this particular
chapter, I agreed with. Other elements, I feel, he kicked to the curb rather without considering their potential.
It is well known that trickle-down theory is an idea which is often used to
dispute the use of taxes because it provides a type of hypothetical comfort that all
money spent will be dispersed among those with lower-incomes and not be held
hostage in the upper-income brackets. To some extent, I think this
theory holds true by emphasizing how funds may be
distributed through the basic laws of supply and demand.
On the other hand, I am not naïve enough to think that the application of this idea, while it looks good on paper, is
not drastically more complex to apply in real life circumstances. Not always will those
funds trickle down the way they are expected to. In this respect I agree with
Frank but on the other hand, I don’t think that just because those resources may not reach lower
income brackets as effectively as they do in our heads, the concept should be
abandoned all together.
Personal incentives are crucial in the shaping of a market economy, and in
many of his examples, Frank seemed to be attempting to prove that because those
incentives may appear inefficient, having those areas controlled with taxes
will magically solve his personal perception of inefficiency. Sure, the tragedy of the
commons is just what it is: a tragedy which everyone deals with in some respect
on a daily basis, but there are other angles which I feel Frank purposely avoids.
Community land and resource priviledges are abused primarily because there is
no sense of ownership. If there was ownership, then someone would have the
incentive to intervene in the preservation of resources and mediate between
various self-interested users.
In reality, if public parks or fishing waters were privatized, the incentive
structure would still exist, and the tragedy would not occur. Yet, Frank seems
to believe that if something must intervene, it must be the government. While I don’t entirely disagree with him, I
feel he weakens his point by ignoring the positive possibilities which privatization
may present.
Also, I was rather perturbed at the way in which Frank was so bold as to
blame the state of the current economy on college graduates stating that if they had
simply chosen different field of study, curing life-threatening illnesses or working
on solar panels, perhaps our economy would be in a better state instead of sending "the nation into the deepest economic downturn since the Great
Depression.” (Pg. 167)
College students, just like any other individual, respond to personal
incentives and will react accordingly. Fame and fortune go a long way in
western culture, so can we really blame younger generations for responding to
the incentive structure of those that came before them? I think not.
Personally, I feel taxes serve some relavant purpose in this day and may be necessary in some respects
by allowing groups of individuals to put their collective resources to work to gain services which they value collectively.
That being said, Frank still seems to believe that more diverse taxation is the prescription
which cures all ills and that the government is the ultimate doctor which will
generally guide the economy towards the most health-conscious outcome. While this
may be true in some respects, I can’t help but wonder if Frank’s
good-intentions will only lead to a governmental overdose, leaving me to ponder...
Is
too much really better than none?
http://i.imgur.com/QNI2F.jpg
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