Why Do So Many Government Programs Fail?

[Swiss_Guy]

Adam Smith, the father of economics, published his writings in 1776. Adam Smith talked about a free market. The founding fathers talked about political freedom. The two concepts go hand-in-hand. You cannot have one without the other.

The consensus of that era was that government was dangerous. It had to be controlled. George Washington used the analogy of a fire. Government was a fire that had to be controlled, or it would burn down the house.

Today we just give lip service to free markets. Most people think that the government is in charge of the economy. Listen to the politicians. “It’s the economy, stupid!” Additionally, I know scientists and educators who think that the minimum wage helps poor workers. Rubbish! There is 50 years of solid economic research that says that the minimum wage is a price floor that causes unemployment among unskilled workers, if the minimum wage is above the equilibrium price for wages. The minimum wage came from Socialist platform in the 1920s. (The Democrats adopted the entire Socialist platform of the 1920s.)

The change in economic opinion occurred during the Depression in the 1930s. The Depression was seen as a failure of the free market, when it was actually the failure of government that caused the Depression.

The government continues to promote the myth that the free market is the source of economic instability. “The government blames all problems on external influences beyond its control, and takes credit for any and all favorable occurrences…The government’s behavior documents the reality that government is the major source of economic instability (Milton Friedman).”

I would say the School of Salamanca is the father of economics, but .

 

[sedonaman]

…I think the real reason government programs fail is simply because they are contrary to the Catholic principle of Subsidiarity. … To successfully solve problems, they must be addressed by the most local and immediate body possible. And THIS is why government programs fail, because they lack subsidiarity.

Let me add that believing that a small number of intellectuals knows more than a large group of ordinary people collectively is a wrong conclusion. There is no way a few, no matter how smart, can know even as much as the whole population, let alone know more.

 

[sedonaman]

… Perhaps you can see Satan’s hand in all of this. …

I have suspected this for quite some time. Modern evil has gone on for longer than several generations, and no person or group of persons could continue it across that length of time. There has to be some supernatural evil force behind it. Maybe I didn’t say it quite right, but you get the idea.

 

[Christopher68]

The late, great Libertarian leader Harry Browne enumerated the reasons why government programs fail in his 1996 book “Why Government Doesn’t Work”.

savingcommunities.org/docs/browne.harry/ifyouwereking.html

It never ceases to amaze me the number of Republicans who claim to support “limited government” who fail to realize these truths. Even many posters on this forum - with regard to their pet issues - they are asking government to do MORE.

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

 

[sedonaman]

The late, great Libertarian leader Harry Browne enumerated the reasons why government programs fail in his 1996 book “Why Government Doesn’t Work”.

savingcommunities.org/docs/browne.harry/ifyouwereking.html

It never ceases to amaze me the number of Republicans who claim to support “limited government” who fail to realize these truths. Even many posters on this forum - with regard to their pet issues - they are asking government to do MORE.

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

There was a fellow at work who said he admonished his wife for crusading, in her case, for the rights of Christians. He told her that the only thing she would get accomplished is increased rights for those who persecute Christianity.

 

[Mickey_Finn]

The Best Laid Plans…

Why do so many government programs fail? We’ve seen it time and time again. A need is identified, a program is formulated and put into place, everything starts out well enough, and then, perhaps over time, something happens. The program doesn’t achieve its goals. Or the amount of resources needed for it to achieve its goals are vastly more than expected.

We’ve seen this in Social Security, Medicare, the Great Society programs, and the public school system. Is it waste, fraud, and abuse (those favorite whipping-boys of legislators)? Welfare cheats? Incompetence? Just needs a little fine tuning? We’re not spending enough (no matter how much we seem to be spending)?

I have long been impressed by the operation of Gammon’s law in the U.S. schooling system: (name removed by moderator)ut, however measured, has been going up for decades, and output, whether measured by number of students, number of schools, or even more clearly, quality, has been going down.

Why does this happen? Does it have to happen? The short answer is yes, it does. Unfortunately for those who contemplate grand solutions to the genuine problems in the world. In a modern society the implementation of the kinds of plans we’re talking about here requires a bureaucracy. And Gammon’s Law is an intrinsic feature of bureaucracies.
Everything I’ve seen suggests, in fact, that spending is negatively correlated with outcomes. That is, the more spent per child, the worse the results.

There’s a name for this: Gammon’s Law:

Dr. Max Gammon was a British physician who sought to solve a public policy riddle: In the 1960s, the government spent significantly more on health care than it had previously, but the National Health Service didn’t seem any better for it. After an extensive study of the British system of socialized medicine, Dr. Gammon formulated his law: “In a bureaucratic system, increase in expenditure will be matched by fall in production.”

Dr. Gammon reasoned: "Such systems will act rather like ‘black holes,’ in the economic universe, simultaneously sucking in resources, and shrinking in terms of ‘emitted production.’ "

Let me guess. TEA Party? Elaborate “evidence” to support your theories. Fetishizing the founding fathers. Or anyone else who supports your theory. I have to admit Gammon is a nice change up from Milton Friedman yawn. Well, at least it keeps you off of the streets.

1. Social Security and Medicare are very successful programs. They keep countless senior citizens and disabled persons. Healthy, clothed, fed, and housed. What more could you ask.
2. Public schools graduate many successful people. Which is more than we ask of it.

Remember to pay your taxes.

 

[sedonaman]

…1. Social Security and Medicare are very successful programs. They keep countless senior citizens and disabled persons. Healthy, clothed, fed, and housed.

For now.

What more could you ask.

That they continue to do so in the future.
…

Remember to pay your taxes.

Want more government? Make a contribution. You can write a check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt. Mail your check to:

Attn Dept G
Bureau of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

 

[Christopher68]

There was a fellow at work who said he admonished his wife for crusading, in her case, for the rights of Christians. He told her that the only thing she would get accomplished is increased rights for those who persecute Christianity.

Yes. The quickest way to make an issue or problem worse = get government involved.

 

[FaithBuild18]

1. Public schools graduate many successful people. Which is more than we ask of it.

And private Catholic institutions do a much better job.

 

[ACCT]

Bureaucracy

“The growth of the bureaucracy, reinforced by the changing role of the courts, has made a mockery of the ideal expressed by John Adams in his original (1779) draft of the Massachusetts constitution: ‘a government of laws instead of men.’ Anyone who has been subjected to a thorough customs inspection on returning from a trip abroad, had his tax returns audited by the IRS, been subject to inspection by an official of OSHA or any of a large number of federal agencies, had occasion to appeal to the bureaucracy for a ruling or a permit, or had to defend a higher price or wage before the Council on Wage and Price Stability is aware of how far we have come from a rule of law. The government official is supposed to be our servant. When you sit across the desk from a representative of the Internal Revenue Service who is auditing your tax return, **which one of you is the master and which the servant **(Friedman)?”

References

Friedman, M., & Friedman, R. D. (1990). Free to Choose. New York: Harcourt, Inc.

 

[ACCT]

Governments are parasites. Governments produce nothing. Governments are only able to produce shortages or surpluses through price ceilings and price floors.

Why does the government have to ration water? Rationing is a clue in solving the mystery. There is something wrong with the price of water! The price of water is below the equilibrium point. The low price tells us that water is abundant. Not so! A shortage arises.

What is the equilibrium price of water? No one will ever know unless there is market competition for water.

Would the equilibrium price solve the water shortage? Yes,** price is a natural rationing mechanism.**

 

[ACCT]

1. Social Security and Medicare are very successful programs. They keep countless senior citizens and disabled persons. Healthy, clothed, fed, and housed. What more could you ask.
   :

Thank you for contributing to my Social Insecurity check every month! We retirees need more naive people like you.

I am always amused when politicians say that they are going to “save” Social Security. If you are 35 years old, you will receive a 2% return on Social Security. If you are a retiree, you are receiving a 20% return on Social Security. **Social Security is just another Ponzi scheme. ** Ponzi schemes are illegal unless the government is running one!

Social Security is just another failed socialist scheme. All Ponzi schemes fail. Soon Social Insecurity will reveal its true socialist face. You will have to be “means tested” to receive a Social Insecurity check. All the talk about insurance at the Social Security Office will be revealed for what it is, a lie.

 

[Mickey_Finn]

For now.

That they continue to do so in the future.
…

Want more government? Make a contribution. You can write a check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt. Mail your check to:

Attn Dept G
Bureau of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

So, TEA Party then.

 

[Mickey_Finn]

And private Catholic institutions do a much better job.

Completely unfair to compare the two. Parochial schools have a choice of which students they accept. Public schools, not so much. But, your right. Catholic schools are some of the finest.

 

[Mickey_Finn]

Thank you for contributing to my Social Insecurity check every month! We retirees need more naive people like you.

I am always amused when politicians say that they are going to “save” Social Security. If you are 35 years old, you will receive a 2% return on Social Security. If you are a retiree, you are receiving a 20% return on Social Security. **Social Security is just another Ponzi scheme. ** Ponzi schemes are illegal unless the government is running one!

Social Security is just another failed socialist scheme. All Ponzi schemes fail. Soon Social Insecurity will reveal its true socialist face. You will have to be “means tested” to receive a Social Insecurity check. All the talk about insurance at the Social Security Office will be revealed for what it is, a lie.

Actually, I don’t contribute. But, it’s a program, all it needs is funding. Trust me, it will be around a lot longer then the TEA Party.

 

[ACCT]

Completely unfair to compare the two. Parochial schools have a choice of which students they accept. Public schools, not so much. But, your right. Catholic schools are some of the finest.

“Public” schools are a failure compared to just about anything. Each generation of Americans has outstripped its parents in education, in literacy, and in economic attainment. ** "For the first time in the history of our country, the educational skills of one generation will not surpass, will not equal, will not even approach, those of their parents (Friedman).**

Public” education does not need more money; it already has too much money, even in poor Louisiana. The United States spends more money per student than most other countries in the world; however, the academic performance is worse than other countries. More money for education is not the answer. “Public” education is inefficient and ineffective.

The answer is to take the power from the state governments and give the power to the parents in the form of universal vouchers. Friedman proposed vouchers as a way to separate government financing of education from government administration of schools. The “public” schools would now have to please the parents instead of the state legislature. Viva la competition!

I see universal school vouchers as inevitable.** School vouchers are a 50 year-old idea that is backed by solid economic research. Means-tested vouchers for poor families and failing school vouchers have already been tried with great success.** All we need now is a test of universal school vouchers.

The only real opposition to universal school vouchers is the education bureaucracy and teachers’ unions. When people strongly support universal school vouchers, they come up against the teachers’ unions and the educational bureaucracy, the government civil service.

The United States Department of Education has admitted that the average cost of public education per pupil is slightly more than double the cost per pupil of a private education, even though public schools have more students per teacher. Thus, there was no economy of scale as the per pupil cost should theoretically decline the more students there are per teacher.

Our total cost per student in our Catholic school in Louisiana, before any payments or subsidizations, is in the $4K range. That is less than half what the state is paying for one of the neighborhood kids.

 

[ACCT]

Actually, I don’t contribute. But, it’s a program, all it needs is funding. Trust me, it will be around a lot longer then the TEA Party.

Who is going to fund Social Insecurity?

The United States government is beyond broke! Almost all of the states are broke. Louisiana, for example, has an unfunded pension liability of $10 - $11 billion. **All of this debt will never be repaid! **

Global hyperinflation is directly ahead. It is probable that the dollar will lose 50% of its value in the next 3-4 years IF there is no more money printing. There is now $4 trillion of newly created government monopoly money in the global economy. It takes about 18 months for all of this government monopoly money to cause inflation.

 

[ACCT]

Europe is collapsing. Spain is on the edge of going over a cliff. Socialists have taken over France and Greece, vowing to cancel government spending cuts. Greece is now talking about pulling out of the euro. The euro is plummeting.

Real estate prices are sinking again. Washington is stuck in quicksand, obsessed with election-year politics while** our massive mountain of debt continues to grow ever higher.**

 

[Mickey_Finn]

“Public” schools are a failure compared to just about anything. Each generation of Americans has outstripped its parents in education, in literacy, and in economic attainment. ** "For the first time in the history of our country, the educational skills of one generation will not surpass, will not equal, will not even approach, those of their parents (Friedman).**

Public” education does not need more money; it already has too much money, even in poor Louisiana. The United States spends more money per student than most other countries in the world; however, the academic performance is worse than other countries. More money for education is not the answer. “Public” education is inefficient and ineffective.

The answer is to take the power from the state governments and give the power to the parents in the form of universal vouchers. Friedman proposed vouchers as a way to separate government financing of education from government administration of schools. The “public” schools would now have to please the parents instead of the state legislature. Viva la competition!

I see universal school vouchers as inevitable.** School vouchers are a 50 year-old idea that is backed by solid economic research. Means-tested vouchers for poor families and failing school vouchers have already been tried with great success.** All we need now is a test of universal school vouchers.

The only real opposition to universal school vouchers is the education bureaucracy and teachers’ unions. When people strongly support universal school vouchers, they come up against the teachers’ unions and the educational bureaucracy, the government civil service.

The United States Department of Education has admitted that the average cost of public education per pupil is slightly more than double the cost per pupil of a private education, even though public schools have more students per teacher. Thus, there was no economy of scale as the per pupil cost should theoretically decline the more students there are per teacher.

Our total cost per student in our Catholic school in Louisiana, before any payments or subsidizations, is in the $4K range. That is less than half what the state is paying for one of the neighborhood kids.

A lot of words there. I think the real threat of school vouchers is segregation.

ATB

 

[vz71]

A lot of words there. I think the real threat of school vouchers is segregation.

ATB

How so?