Public Choice 101
11 August 2006
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
Frederick Smith and P.X. Kelley say that "Markets do not account for the hidden and indirect costs of oil dependence" ("Are We Ready for the Next Oil Shock?" August 11). Even if true, this fact doesn't justify their conclusion that government, therefore, should more boldly intervene in energy markets.
Political institutions themselves notoriously fail to account for all of the costs of government action - such as when Congress appeases powerful agricultural lobbies by inflicting hidden and indirect costs on taxpayers and consumers. Messrs. Smith and Kelley too sanguinely ignore politics' monstrous defects.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
Frederick Smith and P.X. Kelley say that "Markets do not account for the hidden and indirect costs of oil dependence" ("Are We Ready for the Next Oil Shock?" August 11). Even if true, this fact doesn't justify their conclusion that government, therefore, should more boldly intervene in energy markets.
Political institutions themselves notoriously fail to account for all of the costs of government action - such as when Congress appeases powerful agricultural lobbies by inflicting hidden and indirect costs on taxpayers and consumers. Messrs. Smith and Kelley too sanguinely ignore politics' monstrous defects.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Tuesday May 1, 2007 at 10:17am