Who Really Knows Best?
19 June 2006
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
Rep. Joe Knollenberg justifies ear-marked spending by asserting that members of Congress "know better than federal officials and bureaucrats...where to spend money" (Robert Novak, "Still Logrolling For Pork," June 19). This principle is sound even if Rep. Knollenberg's application of it isn’t.
The idea seems to be that distant, unaccountable government operatives can't be trusted to spend money wisely. Principled application of this principle would strip from Rep. Knollenberg and his ilk most of their current powers to tax and spend, returning more decisions over how best to use resources to private individuals.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
Rep. Joe Knollenberg justifies ear-marked spending by asserting that members of Congress "know better than federal officials and bureaucrats...where to spend money" (Robert Novak, "Still Logrolling For Pork," June 19). This principle is sound even if Rep. Knollenberg's application of it isn’t.
The idea seems to be that distant, unaccountable government operatives can't be trusted to spend money wisely. Principled application of this principle would strip from Rep. Knollenberg and his ilk most of their current powers to tax and spend, returning more decisions over how best to use resources to private individuals.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Sunday April 1, 2007 at 4:12pm