3 ms·

> Idk why governments think they can make things cheaper simply by just saying "this is now the new price and you can't change it". Because authoritarian regim

by ethbr0 3y ago

> Idk why governments think they can make things cheaper simply by just saying "this is now the new price and you can't change it". Because authoritarian regimes and price controls are two sides of the same coin. Economic power == political power By ceding economic power to the public to kickstart their economy, authoritarian regimes would be ceding political power. In contrast, by implementing price controls and vouchers/subsidies, they place the government in charge -- only government-permitted economic activity exists, which prevents people from gaining power themselves. To those regimes, scarcity is preferable over price increases. Scarcity makes everyone grumble, but allows winners and losers (via the government choosing). Price increases just make everyone grumble and realize how poor they are (internationally speaking). Or in summary, you're optimizing for efficient economic activity. They're optimizing for regime stability and survival.

kodisha 3y ago
Living in one such country, with one such authoritarian dictator - this is one of most accurate explanation of why is this happening.
dmix 3y ago
That's a good point. You see this in western countries w/ the housing crisis: fighting NIMBY groups is politically dangerous and creates powerful enemies. Plus liberalizing development policy like zoning = municipal gov loses power to control which developers get juicy contracts. So instead they enact rent-control. Which famously in 1970s NYC/Toronto caused a significant increase in housing shortage because no one wanted to invest in new properties for fear they'll also be rent controlled in the future. No one did renovations either so existing stock went into disrepair. Some of them simply burned down their own buildings because they were too expensive to maintain, which was a major cause behind the famous pictures of Harlem looking like a warzone in the 80s. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59af5625a803bb43462899e4/1510609463847-6JZTNWI4RTLDF7MLZK20/filmvacation-new-york-1980s-lucas-compan-13.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59af5625a803bb... I was just reading the website for the new (projected) mayor of Toronto and, surprise, no mention of reform. But she is planning to launch a campaign for city wide rent control. Some things never change.
tomp 3y ago
> By ceding economic power to the public to kickstart their economy, authoritarian regimes would be ceding political power. China has figured it out so it's clearly possible. Something like: - strict one-party rule - tight competition and selection process for leading party members (i.e. to become "president" you first have to successfully lead a city/province etc.) - totalitarian speech control - public "disappearances" of non-desirables to scare the rest of wannabe dissidents - encourage economic growth, independence, entrepreneurship - make "economic growth" one of the main political promises of your one-party totalitarian rule - control economy only at the top (e.g. by disappearing entrepreneurs that become too powerful), laissez-faire otherwise
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > tight competition and selection process for leading party members This worked until it didn’t. Now Xi is a dictator making dictator-like mistakes. There are valid additions to political thought the CCP has brought. But its solution to executive power is little evolved from the Roman monarchy. It counts on a serious of rationally-chosen benevolent autocrats who each pinky promise not to abolish term limits. It works until it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, it fails spectacularly.
  - Obscurity4340 3y ago
    > on a serious of...benefactors... Auto-correct is cancer
- realusername 3y ago
  > China has figured it out so it's clearly possible. They did not figure it out completely as seen during the disastrous economic policies during covid. There's only a single developed dictatorship on earth, it's Singapore and it's still a debate if it's possible to achieve the same results outside of a city state.

by ethbr0 3y ago

kodisha 3y ago

Living in one such country, with one such authoritarian dictator - this is one of most accurate explanation of why is this happening.

dmix 3y ago

That's a good point. You see this in western countries w/ the housing crisis: fighting NIMBY groups is politically dangerous and creates powerful enemies. Plus liberalizing development policy like zoning = municipal gov loses power to control which developers get juicy contracts. So instead they enact rent-control. Which famously in 1970s NYC/Toronto caused a significant increase in housing shortage because no one wanted to invest in new properties for fear they'll also be rent controlled in the future. No one did renovations either so existing stock went into disrepair. Some of them simply burned down their own buildings because they were too expensive to maintain, which was a major cause behind the famous pictures of Harlem looking like a warzone in the 80s. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59af5625a803bb43462899e4/1510609463847-6JZTNWI4RTLDF7MLZK20/filmvacation-new-york-1980s-lucas-compan-13.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59af5625a803bb... I was just reading the website for the new (projected) mayor of Toronto and, surprise, no mention of reform. But she is planning to launch a campaign for city wide rent control. Some things never change.

tomp 3y ago

> By ceding economic power to the public to kickstart their economy, authoritarian regimes would be ceding political power. China has figured it out so it's clearly possible. Something like: - strict one-party rule - tight competition and selection process for leading party members (i.e. to become "president" you first have to successfully lead a city/province etc.) - totalitarian speech control - public "disappearances" of non-desirables to scare the rest of wannabe dissidents - encourage economic growth, independence, entrepreneurship - make "economic growth" one of the main political promises of your one-party totalitarian rule - control economy only at the top (e.g. by disappearing entrepreneurs that become too powerful), laissez-faire otherwise

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> tight competition and selection process for leading party members This worked until it didn’t. Now Xi is a dictator making dictator-like mistakes. There are valid additions to political thought the CCP has brought. But its solution to executive power is little evolved from the Roman monarchy. It counts on a serious of rationally-chosen benevolent autocrats who each pinky promise not to abolish term limits. It works until it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, it fails spectacularly.
- Obscurity4340 3y ago
  > on a serious of...benefactors... Auto-correct is cancer
realusername 3y ago
> China has figured it out so it's clearly possible. They did not figure it out completely as seen during the disastrous economic policies during covid. There's only a single developed dictatorship on earth, it's Singapore and it's still a debate if it's possible to achieve the same results outside of a city state.