Tony Smith wrote:
> Econonists dislike subsidies but like vouchers?  And the difference is?
> Give me a break.

If you are sure you already know the answer, why ask the question?

For the benefit of those who actually want to know -- the difference is, 
education is a positive externality (the effect is magnified by the fact 
that the positive effect is delayed by 10+ years). An educated population 
has a huge net positive benefit to society (the benefit is at least an order 
of magnitude higher than the cost).

Another textbook example of a "good" subsidy is vaccines. The cost of 
vaccinating a population is often much much lower than the benefits of 
preventing epidemics.

Subsidies _in general_, on the other hand, have a negative impact on 
society. They benefit only a small minority (e.g., farmers -- 2% of US 
population) , distort the market, and result in misallocation of resources 
(corn syrop used as a sweetener instead of the cheaper sugar, corn grown for 
ethanol instead of food, etc). In some cases, subsidies have serious moral 
implications (e.g., hunger in third world countries).

> People (especially those without kids) think parents want the best for 
> their
> children.  That's somewhat true, but the novelty wears off after a while.
>
> Ask a parent with two children to show you their photo albums.  The one 
> for
> the first born will probably be too heavy to lift, and the second will be
> wafer thin, handed over in embarrassment "um, we didn't take many of this
> one, we had better things to do..."
>
> Sure, they'll do the research for the first kid, but the second?  "eh, 
> same
> again, I suppose".  People get lazy, so they pick the same as before, the
> closest or most advertised one.  I was wondering where monopolies come
> from... :)

Our of curiosity, how many kids do you have, Tony? And why do you have such 
a pessimistic view of parents?

It just so happens that my wife and I have a brand new 2nd baby (2 months 
old). So far, he is getting more attention from his parents than his sister 
did.

> (And for gods sake America, just
> elect someone already.  Geez.)

Comments like these are causing me to take your statements less seriously. 
:)

Vitaliy


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