3 ms·

The beauty of free market is that it can create markets where there otherwise would be none. Once you normalize lobbying in your society, possibilities are virt

The beauty of free market is that it can create markets where there otherwise would be none. Once you normalize lobbying in your society, possibilities are virtually limitless.

oakesm9 10y ago
Is it really a free market if you need to stop one party (the government) doing something to keep your market?
- dagenleg 10y ago
  Why would you want to word it like that? Let's not call it 'stop' but rather 'financially discourage'.
  - oakesm9 10y ago
    I meant is it really a free market when Intuit needs to pay off the government through lobbying to stop them making tax filing simpler so they can keep their market.
    - PeterStuer 10y ago
      Yes. Others are 'free' to pay more to get candidates elected that would simplify the tax return. The 'beauty' of concentrated benefits and distributed pain is that the organization overhead combined with the real but sufficiently diluted pain for each individual sufferer sort of pre-empts this. This is why in these so called 'free' markets you end-up with all these complete absurd situations at the societal level.
    - bigtimeidiot 10y ago
      >I meant is it really a free market when Intuit needs to pay off the government through lobbying to stop them making tax filing simpler so they can keep their market. You make it sound as if the government is just dying to simplify this stuff, but Intuit won't let them. Intuit lobbies in its self interest. There is nothing wrong with that. The damage is done by the politicians who listen to the lobbying effort and play along.
    - strictnein 10y ago
      The government made taxes complex to begin with. Pretending like the only thing stopping them is Intuit is pretty disingenuous. All the handouts to various groups (homeowners, parents, college grads, etc) would go away under a simpler system. You're going to be the congressman to tell home owners in your district, you know, the ones who vote frequently and donate money to campaigns, that they no longer get to deduct their mortgage interest and property taxes? Very, very doubtful.
- PeterStuer 10y ago
  Rent seeking alongside concentrating benefits and externalizing woes is the pinnacle of 'free' markets.

The beauty of free market is that it can create markets where there otherwise would be none. Once you normalize lobbying in your society, possibilities are virtually limitless.

oakesm9 10y ago

Is it really a free market if you need to stop one party (the government) doing something to keep your market?

dagenleg 10y ago
Why would you want to word it like that? Let's not call it 'stop' but rather 'financially discourage'.
- oakesm9 10y ago
  I meant is it really a free market when Intuit needs to pay off the government through lobbying to stop them making tax filing simpler so they can keep their market.
  - PeterStuer 10y ago
    Yes. Others are 'free' to pay more to get candidates elected that would simplify the tax return. The 'beauty' of concentrated benefits and distributed pain is that the organization overhead combined with the real but sufficiently diluted pain for each individual sufferer sort of pre-empts this. This is why in these so called 'free' markets you end-up with all these complete absurd situations at the societal level.
  - bigtimeidiot 10y ago
    >I meant is it really a free market when Intuit needs to pay off the government through lobbying to stop them making tax filing simpler so they can keep their market. You make it sound as if the government is just dying to simplify this stuff, but Intuit won't let them. Intuit lobbies in its self interest. There is nothing wrong with that. The damage is done by the politicians who listen to the lobbying effort and play along.
  - strictnein 10y ago
    The government made taxes complex to begin with. Pretending like the only thing stopping them is Intuit is pretty disingenuous. All the handouts to various groups (homeowners, parents, college grads, etc) would go away under a simpler system. You're going to be the congressman to tell home owners in your district, you know, the ones who vote frequently and donate money to campaigns, that they no longer get to deduct their mortgage interest and property taxes? Very, very doubtful.
PeterStuer 10y ago
Rent seeking alongside concentrating benefits and externalizing woes is the pinnacle of 'free' markets.