Agree with:
Free people are usually able to solve coordination problems through voluntary association and exchange.
Individual people acting in their own self-interest are the most capable of directing their own lives. Each individual has the best knowledge of what he needs to survive, or what he needs to improve his standard of living. In the same way, business owners know the best way to grow their businesses and please their customers. This is because intelligent individuals that have gained a lot of knowledge in a specific field run businesses. They have worked hard to know the specifics of their trade.
Government officials, by their very job descriptions, are not experts in any field besides politics. How can they be expected to know the intricacies of any field well enough to regulate it?
Government regulations regarding how much of an item can be produced, or what price certain items must cost only prevents proper transfer of information from customers to entrepreneurs. How could a businessman know how much of something to produce when he can’t learn what demand is through the market? This results in the misallocation of resources, wasting time and money on things that consumers aren’t looking for.
Even government regulation of quality and cleanliness is unnecessary. A business that makes poor quality products or gets its customers sick would soon go out of business. A private company could easily offer a grading service for businesses if it were deemed a profitable move that earned more customers, and more revenue.
The government’s job is only to force companies and individuals to abide by the laws of private property. If the government does its job well, then businesses will only be able to make money by pleasing their customers. Every market transaction is done voluntarily; businesses can’t steal money from their customers. Government regulations only slow the free market down.
Government officials, by their very job descriptions, are not experts in any field besides politics. How can they be expected to know the intricacies of any field well enough to regulate it?
Government regulations regarding how much of an item can be produced, or what price certain items must cost only prevents proper transfer of information from customers to entrepreneurs. How could a businessman know how much of something to produce when he can’t learn what demand is through the market? This results in the misallocation of resources, wasting time and money on things that consumers aren’t looking for.
Even government regulation of quality and cleanliness is unnecessary. A business that makes poor quality products or gets its customers sick would soon go out of business. A private company could easily offer a grading service for businesses if it were deemed a profitable move that earned more customers, and more revenue.
The government’s job is only to force companies and individuals to abide by the laws of private property. If the government does its job well, then businesses will only be able to make money by pleasing their customers. Every market transaction is done voluntarily; businesses can’t steal money from their customers. Government regulations only slow the free market down.
Disagree with:
John Maynard Keynes says that government works of even questionable utility will stimulate the economy. For this reason, the recent government stimulus is a good thing. (something to that effect. i don't remember the precise question.)
Government can only obtain money in one fashion: at the point of a gun. The government does not produce anything that the public willingly buys; it compels its citizens to pay taxes by force. So when the government gives out money, it is money that has been taken from other groups of people. By handing this money out again, all that has been accomplished is a redistribution of wealth. The government can only benefit one group in society at the expense of another group.
Here Keynes is saying that since the government is spending money on public works, less money will have to be spent on welfare. He seems only to be focusing on the fact that less money will be spent in one area. However, those costs don’t just disappear, they’re simply transmitted to a separate part of the budget. The same amount of money is being spent if 100,000 people move off of one government program – welfare – onto another in the form of a public works project.
Moreover, the taxes imposed on businesses to get that money prevent those businesses from being able to hire more employees for lack of funds. By their very nature, government labor programs are short-term; they do not provide lasting employment like a job in the private sector. Once a particular project is over, each worker is once again unemployed. Public works are short-term solutions to long-term problems.
Finally, the government simply doesn’t have the knowledge required to spend all of that money effectively. If taxes were cut, then businesses would have more funds, and be able to hire more employees in long-term jobs. These individual businesses would be able to direct spending much more efficiently since they have more specific knowledge than the government about its product or service.
Here Keynes is saying that since the government is spending money on public works, less money will have to be spent on welfare. He seems only to be focusing on the fact that less money will be spent in one area. However, those costs don’t just disappear, they’re simply transmitted to a separate part of the budget. The same amount of money is being spent if 100,000 people move off of one government program – welfare – onto another in the form of a public works project.
Moreover, the taxes imposed on businesses to get that money prevent those businesses from being able to hire more employees for lack of funds. By their very nature, government labor programs are short-term; they do not provide lasting employment like a job in the private sector. Once a particular project is over, each worker is once again unemployed. Public works are short-term solutions to long-term problems.
Finally, the government simply doesn’t have the knowledge required to spend all of that money effectively. If taxes were cut, then businesses would have more funds, and be able to hire more employees in long-term jobs. These individual businesses would be able to direct spending much more efficiently since they have more specific knowledge than the government about its product or service.
