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The government’s money all comes from taxes. If the government pays out money to people that aren’t you, it’s as if you had paid them directly and skipped payin
by bobbylarrybobby 6y ago
The government’s money all comes from taxes. If the government pays out money to people that aren’t you, it’s as if you had paid them directly and skipped paying taxes. If you wouldn’t want to give someone free money then you similarly shouldn’t want your government to give them that money.
- fr11 6y agoThis is true, but misses the main point for how to determine whether the government providing money is better than not: positive externalities. As an example, we all benefit hugely from the existence of an EMS (911, ambulances, emergency rooms) system, even if most of us don't use it much. That's a positive externality that's worth the government making sure happens, as it wouldn't necessarily happen without government involvement. Similarly, public schooling (or publicly paid school) provides externalities: a literate society, a basic level of civic and cultural knowledge that people can assume as a baseline, opportunities for social mobility. None of those exist with a voluntary system. This proposal doesn't seem to pass that test: at least, nobody has proposed positive externalities that come out of this.
- linspace 6y agoNot really true. The government adds coordinated action and scale in situations where individual action is ineffective. Also, there are a lot of issues about which I simply don't have enough knowledge to have an opinion.
- defertoreptar 6y agoMaybe, but in this case we're literally talking about moving tax money directly into people's student loan accounts. I'd say, "yes, really true."