Silly Little Country

Another Right Question from Chris Dillow

Who asks, following Will Wilkinson:

if the case for free markets is logically separable from the case against redistribution, why have the two been bundled together in practical politics?

I have never got the connection between these issues. As a simple example, much of the problem with energy consumption in my province could likely be solved, or at least ameliorated, by injecting some decent market discipline into the story. It may be that the government that tried this a few years ago could not see how to solve the problem of the impact on the poor (which MUST be addressed) by simply finding ways to move more funds to them through pretty reasonable mechanisms like negative income tax. And that government did have some basic ideological problems.

As it stands we just have totally broken incentive structures and exhortation.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 7:46 PM