Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Contrary to almost every intro econ teacher, the ‘Normative as Positive’ view is not remotely true. Actually-existing governments rarely use the theory of market failure to make markets work better. Instead, they routinely use the practice of Social Desirability Bias to make markets work worse. The chief output of government isn’t ‘public goods,’ but private goods – and pure waste – that people pretend to want much more than they really do. See Social Security and Medicare. Is there any excuse for what government does?” (05/21/25)