Taking more than it gives


How to add value
Someone asked me the other day what the real difference between government and the free market. I gave them my stock answer (it comes up more times than you think). The boldface words are the ones I emphasize

"The free market depends on voluntary mutual exchange without coercion. Government forces."

Now that is good as far as it goes, but there is something else we should consider.

The free market adds value. Government takes it away.

The reasons aren't that hard to understand. The free market means competition because people choose what to buy, or even if to buy. To keep the same customers you had yesterday, your product or service has to have more value now than it did then. Or your competition will get your customers. If something is wrong with what you are selling, you can't afford not to make it better as fast as you can. The feedback for what customers want is immediate and instantly affects your bottom line.

There are no such incentives in government. Even if someone makes the "right" choice for you, it could take months or years before it delivers any benefit to you. And you may not need it then. Since "free" government benefits displace private sector alternatives, people actually have less choice when government acts.

Even if you aren't the one paying the taxes or complying with the regulations, the public sector drain means that there is less in the private sector. Economics is a zero-sum game only when government is involved.

Or in simpler terms:

Government picks your pocket and demands that you thank it for not killing you today.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Tue - July 22, 2008 at 04:40 PM  Tag


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