>I think there is an inconsistency in your argument. You've just suggested a mode of action by government, not something government cannot do. You have a logic

>I think there is an inconsistency in your argument. You've just suggested a mode of action by government, not something government cannot do. You have a logical point but I think everyone understood what I was saying just fine - so your point does not apply to the reality and context of the situation. Some might say you are "trolling" myself, I think that you are just very anal. >...is fundamentally flawed. The theoretical efficiency of competitive markets is intimately tied to the assumption that both the benefits and costs are known to and born by the participants in the decision making processes, aligning rational self-interest with efficient decision making. In the charities competing for money from givers to provide services to those in need, the features which make markets theoretically efficient do not apply. Your argument may again carry weight by logical reasoning, but that is your fallacy. The competition would be maintained by the citizens emotional and humane (these are not logical things) drive to see the money coming out of their pocket actually directly and effectively help someone in a meaningful and lasting manner. That is what the competition is all about. >That's because bad news is good for selling media (the perception that the world is a dangerous place and you need to keep consuming the media source from which you got that impression to know where the next imminent danger is very useful to holding an audience, independently of any connection it has to real circumstances), not because lives aren't turned around by welfare and other social services. You missed my point. I was merely stating this example because the majority of people never see any tax dollars taken from their paycheck helping a fellow citizen. They never see any emotional or inspiring linked good come of it. The majority see what is in their local community and what is on the news. They have no natural connection to the needy. This is a very bad thing IMO.