8 ms·

It's amazing how the highest rates of inflation are in the industries that are most affected by government intervention (housing, education, healthcare)

ceejayoz 3y ago
They're also the industries whose providers know you can't really go without. US healthcare and education is abberantly expensive compared to the rest of the OECD, most of which regulate them more.
dwallin 3y ago
I know you only implied it but be careful with causation here. We know that there are situations where the free-market does not lead to ideal outcomes. Does it not seem likely for government to involve itself more in areas where the free market is most likely to fail?
- complianceowl 3y ago
  You mean like involve itself in housing by requiring the industry to grant a certain amount of home loans to make the "American Dream" a reality, thereby creating a housing market bubble, then when the bubble popped and tanked the economy, blamed it on the banks?
- pydry 3y ago
  The free market is a neoliberal fairy tale. A mystical idea. A hypothetical concept. There are no markets anywhere which are unsullied by the "dirty" touch of government in this reality. Government intervention also covers such a broad range of things that you can't lump them under one umbrella. Governments routinely create competition in some markets and suppress it in others and prices behave accordingly. This idea doesnt fit in a soundbite unfortunately but "government bad, regulations bad, markets good" is catchy. Thats why this soundbite message was carefully marketed to an American audience by Koch think tanks in response to their epic fights with the environmental protection agency.
ushiroda80 3y ago
This happens in the USA. The regulation is pushed by private companies to increase cost of market entry ( I.e. decrease competition) Japan has none of the crazy inflation in these categories. The other key variable is these are core essential needs hence people will continue to pay.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

ceejayoz 3y ago

They're also the industries whose providers know you can't really go without. US healthcare and education is abberantly expensive compared to the rest of the OECD, most of which regulate them more.

dwallin 3y ago

I know you only implied it but be careful with causation here. We know that there are situations where the free-market does not lead to ideal outcomes. Does it not seem likely for government to involve itself more in areas where the free market is most likely to fail?

complianceowl 3y ago
You mean like involve itself in housing by requiring the industry to grant a certain amount of home loans to make the "American Dream" a reality, thereby creating a housing market bubble, then when the bubble popped and tanked the economy, blamed it on the banks?
pydry 3y ago
The free market is a neoliberal fairy tale. A mystical idea. A hypothetical concept. There are no markets anywhere which are unsullied by the "dirty" touch of government in this reality. Government intervention also covers such a broad range of things that you can't lump them under one umbrella. Governments routinely create competition in some markets and suppress it in others and prices behave accordingly. This idea doesnt fit in a soundbite unfortunately but "government bad, regulations bad, markets good" is catchy. Thats why this soundbite message was carefully marketed to an American audience by Koch think tanks in response to their epic fights with the environmental protection agency.

ushiroda80 3y ago

This happens in the USA. The regulation is pushed by private companies to increase cost of market entry ( I.e. decrease competition) Japan has none of the crazy inflation in these categories. The other key variable is these are core essential needs hence people will continue to pay.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]